Amazon in the United States has been alleged of tricking its customers to sign up for automatically renewing its prime Subscription and then making it difficult to cancel. The claims have been made in the lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission, which is the consumer rights watchdog of the country. The agency has claimed that the company has a manipulative website design. On the other hand Amazon has refused the charges and have called them false on the facts of law.
The FTC has alleged that the e-commerce giant has used its website designs that pushed its customers towards enrolling in to its Prime subscription to be renewed automatically while they make purchases. It has also been alleged that the company also made it tough for the users to opt out of the auto-enrolment program as the changes would ultimately affect Amazon. The agency has also alleged that the customers who desired to cancel the auto-enrollment, had to undergo a long four page process with multiple clicks with a number of options.
However, Amazon had shortly before the lawsuit was filed, had made changes in the cancellation process and FTC said that the tactics by the company had broke the laws that focused on protecting shoppers. Lina Khan, the FTC Chair said that the e-commerce giant tricked the users in to the recurring subscriptions without their consent which not just frustrated the uses but also cost them a significant amount of money. Under the current circumstances, the agency is seeking a court order that will force the company to make changes in its practices apart from the financial penalties.
On the other hand Amazon has explained that it is in talks with the agency as the lawsuit was filed without a notice. The company has also claimed that its customers love Prime and the design that they have made is clear and simple for its users to understand. The agency has been investigating Amazon since 2021.
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