By now, you’re probably familiar with Prime, Amazon‘s subscription service that offers a variety of benefits. From free one-day shipping to access to their streaming platform, Prime Video, and even free video games, Amazon provides many perks. However, in the business world, things aren’t always as rosy as they seem.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency responsible for protecting consumer rights in the United States, has filed a complaint against Amazon for deceiving its customers into subscribing to Prime and making it difficult to cancel the subscription, which is automatically renewed.
According to BBC News, the FTC claims that Amazon uses a website design that encourages customers to subscribe to the service, with automated charges. Additionally, Amazon has allegedly made a conscious decision to make it challenging for customers to opt out of automatic Prime renewal because “such changes would also negatively impact Amazon’s bottom line,” as stated in the FTC’s complaint.
Furthermore, the FTC states that Amazon would require users who wanted to cancel their subscription to go through a cumbersome process of “four pages, six clicks, and fifteen options,” which internally was referred to as the “Iliad,” referencing the Greek epic that depicts the “long and arduous Trojan War.”
While Amazon did make changes to the Prime subscription cancellation process shortly before the lawsuit was filed, the FTC argues that these business tactics would violate laws aimed at protecting consumers. As a result, the FTC is seeking a court order to compel Amazon to change its practices and requesting an unspecified financial penalty.
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