How To Get Money Back From Amazon Prime

Reclaim unwanted Amazon Prime

Updated 21 September 2020

Have you been hit by a £79 fee for unwittingly using Amazon Prime? We've seen scores of complaints from confused shoppers whose accounts have been debited by Amazon without them knowing why. Here we show how to get your £79 back (or £7.99+ if you were on its pay-monthly plan).

OK, so first things first... what exactly is Amazon Prime? Amazon's Prime* service gives users who sign up for it unlimited free one-day deliveries on eligible items and access to its music and video streaming services. They can also borrow certain Kindle books for free and get unlimited photo storage on Amazon Drive, its cloud-based storage system.

Prime's free if you sign up for a 30-day trial, but if you don't cancel during the trial period, it automatically enrolls you for either a year, taking a £79 fee from your account, or pay-monthly, in which case it will take £7.99. How much it takes will depend on which option you chose when signing up for the trial.

Why do some people not realise they're signed up?Some users tell us they signed up for a 30-day trial and didn't realise they needed to cancel during the trial to avoid the fee.

Others say they clicked a certain button to buy online and simply didn't realise they had signed up to Prime by doing so.

In March 2015 the Advertising Standards Authority also banned Amazon from continuing to use a direct mailing offer for a 'free trial' of Prime after it found the online retail giant misled consumers about the cost (see the Amazon Prime 'free trial' ad banned MSE News story).

Have people managed to get their cash back?Yes. Since we first started warning people about this, we've received a host of successes from people who've checked their accounts, realised they've unwittingly been charged, and got a refund from Amazon. Here are a few:

"I contacted Amazon and they were happy to reimburse the yearly fee of £79. I pushed them a little and got two years' fees back, £158. Not bad for a five-minute phone call, try it."
- Gassey

"Thanks so much @MartinSLewis for your tip on Amazon Prime. Got a £79 refund for Amazon Prime 'free trial'. You've saved the day again!"
- Ted Loveday

"@MartinSLewis OMG didn't even know I had Amazon Prime - just cancelled it now and got £79 refunded! Thank you."
- Samantha

"@MartinSLewis 15 month backdated refund for Amazon Prime. Never requested. Thanks"
- Misstea

So how do I know if I have Prime? Log on to your Amazon account and go to Manage Prime Membership*. If you're a member, it will say "Membership: Prime". If not, it will say "you are currently not a member of Amazon Prime".

To see if you've been charged for Prime, check your bank and credit card statements for an unexpected £7.99 a month or one-off £79 fee paid to Amazon.

Amazon says everyone who signs up to Prime gets sent an email informing them of the duration of the free trial, how to avoid continuing to pay Prime membership and how to cancel the paid membership if someone took it out without a trial.

How do I cancel and get my money back?Here's what you need to know:

I'm within the free trial period. In this case there's obviously no money to get back - but you can make sure you're not charged. Go to Manage Prime Membership*. Once done you'll continue to receive Prime services until your free trial period ends. Then your membership will end, and your card won't be charged.
My free trial has ended. Go to Manage Membership* and click 'End membership'. If neither you nor anyone authorised to use your Prime account have used any Prime services since the trial ended, Amazon says you'll automatically get the £7.99 or £79 fee refunded.

If you have unknowingly used Prime services, while it's harder to get a refund, it's worth a punt - contact Amazon*, explain what's happened and urge it to refund you.
I subscribed to Prime without a free trial.You can easily cancel within 14 days of signing up by going to Manage Membership* and clicking 'End membership'.
As long as you haven't used any Prime services, you'll automatically get the £79 or £7.99 payment/s refunded. If you or anyone authorised to use your Prime account have used Prime services within the first 14 days, you'll be issued a partial refund based on your "use of Prime benefits".

If the 14 days are up, it's harder, but still worth a punt - contact Amazon*, explain what's happened and urge it to refund you.
This can work even after the first year. Even if you've been paying for Prime for a while, it's well worth trying to get a backdated refund - we've heard of MoneySavers managing to reclaim 20 months later.

What if Amazon refuses to give a refund? We haven't heard of Amazon refusing to refund Prime memberships which users unwittingly signed up to, but if you're unhappy with Amazon's response, you'll need to complain to them in the first instance by can raising a complaint directly with Amazon*.

If you do have problems reclaiming your Prime membership charge and feel Amazon has handled your case unfairly, you can also let us know at news@moneysavingexpert.com or post in the Reclaim Amazon Prime forum discussion.

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