Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert issues warning over Amazon Prime price hike – but you have DAYS left to avoid it
MARTIN Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert is warning Amazon customers that there are just days left to avoid a price hike.
The technology giant is pushing up the price of its monthly Prime contracts from £7.99 to £8.99 on Thursday (September 15).
The rise will also increase the annual membership from £79 to £95 a year.
It comes at a time when thousands of Brits are cancelling their subscriptions due to the cost of living crisis.
Martin Lewis and his MoneySavingExpert (MSE) team have revealed that customers who pay monthly can stall the rise by converting to an annual subscription.
If you paid the new £8.99 subscription cost, this would see you pay out £107.88 for the year.
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Switching to the annual membership before the price rise would save you £28.88.
But if you already have an annual subscription, the team at MSE say it won’t be easy to avoid paying the higher costs.
This is because Amazon won’t begin your annual subscription until your current month’s subscription has finished, meaning you needed to switch by 14 August to ensure you paid £79.
MSE say that if you’re new to Amazon Prime, you could beat the price hike by signing up before September 15 and waiving your 30-day free trial.
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You can do this by calling Amazon’s customer services.
While it means you will have to pay straight away, you will lock in at £79 for the rest of your yearly subscription.
Amazon has blamed the price increase on rising inflation and operating costs in the UK.
A spokesman said: “Prime offers the best of shopping and entertainment, and continues to improve each year.
“We have increased the number of products available with fast, unlimited Prime delivery, recently added ultra-fast fresh grocery delivery, and have significantly expanded our high-quality digital entertainment, including TV, movies, music, games, and books.”
It comes after Netflix increased the price of its most popular package by £2 to £10.99 and its basic plan, which is just one screen and one device, by £1 to £6.99.
How do I cancel your Amazon Prime subscription?
If you pay for Amazon Prime, you can cancel the service by going to your Amazon Prime Account page when logged into Amazon.
Then click “Manage” where you’ll have the option to update, cancel and more.
Choose “End membership” on the left-hand side of the page.
Amazon offers free Prime trials of 30 days or six months for students.
But if you’ve taken out one of these trials and don’t want it to automatically start charging you, you need to remember to cancel the service before the trial expires.
To do this, go to “Manage Your Prime Membership” when you’re logged into Amazon.
Then select “Manage” where you’ll have the option to update, cancel and more.
Click “End trial and benefits” to cancel.
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You’ll cancel your registration and the payment card you signed up with won’t be debited.
If you don’t cancel at the end of the trial period you’ll be converted to a full membership and charged either the monthly or yearly fee.