Amazon Membership Cost Charged on Card for an Unknown Amazon Account after Cancelling Membership

AussieDaddy on 07/02/2024 - 23:20
Last edited 07/02/2024 - 23:30

Hi everyone,

This is kinda long wall of text, so go to the last "TL;DR" paragraph if you can't be bothered the whole thing.

For over 5 and half years of having an Amazon AU account, and almost 20 years of being a CommBank customer, this is my first time of dealing with a situation like this. Little bit of a background story. I'm currently on the $59 annual Amazon AU membership, and that expires later this month. So late last week I came across a post that was talking about an Amazon membership related issue (can't recall the exact post), which reminded me to check the end of my current membership (I knew it was due to expire soon). Upon seeing the expiry date, and realizing that the new membership cost will be $79 annually, I decided to cancel my membership and removed my card (CommBank issued debit card) from my account since I don't make that many purchases on Amazon anyway. And my current membership will be active until the expiry date.

So this is where things get kinda weird. A day after I did all that, I noticed there's a pending $79 to Amazon AU Membership. I was confused as to why that was happening since I cancelled my membership, and removed my card from my account. It was after hours so I could only use the chat, so that's what I did. After I explained the situation to the rep on chat, they asked me for the last 4 digits of the card that was charged and I gave them. Then they said the card isn't on the account and I need to put it back on the account, with no further explanation. I have never been in that kind of a situation before, and told them I just don't need to be charged for a new membership, and that's why I cancelled my membership and removed my card from my account. They just said "thanks for contacting Amazon" and ended the chat. I was gobsmacked.

So I was off today and called Amazon (well, had them call me back, as I don't think there's a direct number to call them). The lady on the phone was very nice, and I explained the situation to her. She told me that in order to verify that Amazon charged my card, I had to add said card to my account again, and then I can remove it later. I did so, and she confirmed it has indeed been charged recently, but FOR A DIFFERENT AMAZON ACCOUNT. WTH! She asked if I authorized someone else to use my account, and I said no, I'm the only person who has access to my accounts, and that I haven't authorized anyone else to use any of them. I asked if they can put the funds back to my account as I didn't authorize it, but she advised that I need to contact my bank and make a transaction dispute with them.

I've done the transaction dispute thingy via NetBank, followed all the steps, and received what's very likely an automated response in my inbox that there's nothing the bank can do because "we’re unable to progress your dispute because of the delay in reporting the disputed transaction". They want me contact the "merchant" and have it resolved that way. And Amazon told me to contact my bank and have them fix it. The transaction date was on the 3d of this month, and it has been pending for three days and only cleared yesterday, the 6th of February. I've checked my bank account today and after seeing that it went through, I've checked to see if they've renewed my Amazon Prime membership for another year, and wanted to ask them to refund if it indeed has been renewed. But no, my last Prime renewal was from February 2023, and that's when I called Amazon.

So each party wants me to deal with the other for a solution, I am $79 out of pocket, and don't even have a new Prime membership after my current one expires soon. What I don't understand is, since Amazon AU has my card details, and I told them I didn't authorize the last membership renewal since I cancelled it and removed my card from my account, why not refund the money back to my account, since they asked me to add it again for verification, and confirmed it has been charged, but for a different account that isn't mine? And most importantly, has anyone been in this kind of a situation, and is there a chance I'll get my money back?

TL;DR: I recently decided not to renew my Amazon AU Prime membership, and removed my card from my account after cancelling my membership (which would stop further renewal after the current membership expires), but I still got charged for the membership cost more than 3 weeks before my current one is due to expire. Both Amazon and my bank are asking me to deal with the other for a resolution. Should I just keep contacted them again for help, or I should cut my losses and get another card?

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Comments

  • Settero on 08/02/2024 - 00:13
    +1

    Something dosnt add up, sounds like bank is saying chargeback is out of timeframe, timeframe should be 120 days, did you dispute the wrong charge.

    • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 01:15
      +1

      That's what I don't get either. It has only been a day since it has cleared, and it has been pending three days before that. Also, the email response I got was probably an auto-generated one as it arrived within seconds of me completing the charge-back application on netbank.

      • Settero on 08/02/2024 - 07:11
        +2

        I would call the bank, recently did a dispute and it was much easier sounds like something has gone wrong.

        • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 12:41

          Will go to my local branch this afternoon. Haven't called them for over a decade and heard the call waiting times can be ridiculous.

  • randomusername2017 on 08/02/2024 - 00:50

    been pending for three days

    Was the transaction still in pending state when you did the
    "Transaction dispute thingy"?

    • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 01:16

      Nah. I did it a day after it has been cleared. I actually thought to wait and then ask Amazon to refund me after it went through, hence this whole madness.

  • karnage1020 on 08/02/2024 - 01:20

    I'm confused. Has your debit card actually been charged? Or is it showing on your banking app as "pending" still?

    If it's still pending, then nothing you can do at this point (maybe you can try and tell the bank not to process the transaction, but sounds like you've already done that bit).

    I would say to give it time and see what happens with the bank dispute. If your card has been used fraudulently then I assume the bank and Amazon will work it out (big assumption on my behalf, but I assume the big corporations have people that assist the bank fraud teams!?)

    Edit: I see you've answered my question in your responses to other comments.

    • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 01:28

      Yeah, waited until has gone through, as I thought there's nothing they would do while it was still pending. And each side is telling me to talk to the other for a solution. Kinda annoying. I'm wondering if all the calls and mental anguish is worth it, or if I just cancel that card and get another one (it's due to expire in a few months anyway).

  • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 01:30
    +2

    Funny thing, this is what it shows as the merchant 'AMZNPRIMEAU MEMBERSHIP SYDNEY SOUTH NSW'. I Googled it and there are actually quite a number of posts online re that "merchant" being a scam. O boy! Is it a coincidence that I never had anything like this before, and it just happens when I decided not to renew my membership, and remove my card from my Amazon account? Call me paranoid, but I think all these scams have something to do with the people who work in these big corporations, thanks to the billion dollar conglomerates for offshoring call centers so they can save money. Who cares about the "customers" and their data/privacy, eh?!

    • djkelly69 on 08/02/2024 - 09:05
      +2

      My prime renewed last week. The merchant is 'AMZNPRIMEAU MEMBERSHIP SYDNEY SOUTH'. I don't think yours is a scam.

      Are you sure you didn't make a typo when disputing the charge with your bank and put 2023 instead of 2024?

      • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 12:43

        Just went with the calendar that pops up when you have to enter the date, and I'm sure it was 2024. Will see what they say at my local branch today.

  • wab on 08/02/2024 - 01:42

    By any chance have you made a new amazon account to use the free month prime trial while also entering the saved card from your main profile?

    • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 02:07

      Nope! Never created another account.

  • snapper17 on 08/02/2024 - 01:54

    at the very least you should cancel your comm bank card and get a new one
    also check which devices are linked to your comm bank account
    lodge a new chargeback request now that the transaction has cleared
    I find its easier if you go into a branch as on the phone or online chat can take hours or days to get a response

    • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 02:16

      Yeah, will drop in to my local branch today.

      PS: I've looked for how to check which devices are linked to my CommBank account both on the app and on the regular NetBank site and couldn't find it. Do you know where it's hidden by any chance? Tia

      • The-Real Team Doge on 08/02/2024 - 02:41
        +1

        In the app, tap on your profile picture icon (top left), then go to accounts and security and then registered devices (just under the options for location based security and log off).

        • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 03:17

          Thanks. Have been there before but somehow missed the 'registered devices' section right in front of me. Need to have my eyes checked. haha

          And yeah, only my current phone is listed there.

  • dandandan on 08/02/2024 - 01:55

    I wouldn't risk your card hasn't been hacked. I would dispute the charge with CBA and request a new card. My CBA account was charged by Amazon Kindle Services last week. A chat with Amazon confirmed it wasn't my account however someone elses, which Amazon obviously wouldn't divulge. Amazon checked other names of those in my family and it wasn't any account of my family. Calling CBA will direct you to lodge the dispute through their app.

    • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 02:19

      Yeah, the lady on the phone told me it was another account, but somehow she couldn't help refund me. All she could do was to send an email re the issue, and that I need to talk to my bank to raise a dispute. But the bank has generated a quick online response that they can't do anything and I need to deal with the merchant. Will visit my local branch today on my way to work and see what they say.

      • 7ekn00 on 08/02/2024 - 10:42
        +2

        At the bank you need to say the words "I wish to formally dispute this transaction as fraudulent" …

        Not fluff around with a long winded entire story blah blah Amazon cancelled, but charged, blah blah ..

        • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 12:44

          Will do that. Thank you.

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 08/02/2024 - 09:28
    +1

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/14936079/redir

    "Are you sure you didn't make a typo when disputing the charge with your bank and put 2023 instead of 2024?"

    • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 12:47

      Sure it's 2024. That's what I couldn't understand. It's one day after the transaction has been processed (it has been pending for three days before that).

  • randomusername2017 on 08/02/2024 - 13:11

    Heard of similar with comm bank credit cards that were compromised/binned early last year.. but it was like 10/20 prime subs opened as testers then purchases attempted.

    • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 14:09

      And I've got one of their credit cards recently (have always used their debit card only and had no issues before this one). Fingers crossed this will be the first and last of this dilemma.

  • kawinuyo on 08/02/2024 - 17:03

    I had this happen on a credit card we don't use (free came with home loan). The card hadn't even been taken off the letter it came in. Process was talked to Amazon who said it was with another user but cannot release information and to contact bank. I told the bank it was fraud and the card was compromised. They took a couple of weeks to investigate and then sent me a new card and refunded the fraudulent charges. I didn't have any further contact with Amazon and assume they'll have processed in place.

    • AussieDaddy on 08/02/2024 - 19:18

      While Googling this issue I came across a number of posts online where people had similar stories to yours, i.e. had their new or never used credit cards getting compromised. How does that happen? Is there someone in the places where they issue the cards who keep passing card info to scammers? I don't think it's a guess work, so there must be something fishy happening along the way for these scams to take place.

      • paulojr on 22/06/2024 - 00:36

        Yep that's exactly right, getting more and more common.

        I've figured out some of it.

        Amazon use a method that involves getting a scheme token (this is a term used by VISA and Mastercard) which is a direct link to the underlying bank account associated with a credit or debit card. Most banks the account number is actually based on the the first issued card number. The token is setup when they first request a payment method (the trial period) and never released even after deleting the payment methods from your account. Amazon then can charge the actual bank account the card is linked to regardless of whether the card is active or cancelled or replaced.

        Completely terminating the account may eventually break this but that often takes about 3 months as banks allow cards to "settle" any outstanding payments over that sort of period, in which case your at risk of fraud from Amazon.

        Legally Amazon are not suppose to do this as the use of scheme tokens is designed only for properly signed and approved automatic debts and must be cancelled immediately at the request of customers, but technically VISA/Mastercard trusts merchants to follow the rules and don't actually police its use. Banks will assume customers are at fault and tell you, your responsible for your card use.

        The approach of telling customers its probably some other account I've seen directly but its a pre-canned response to deflect back to you to prove otherwise. Amazon will claim they don't have access to the transactional data when they do. If you keep calling, get different people and ask over and over, eventually someone will slip and admit to knowing which account is from.

        Usually this sort of thing starts if you tick off someone on Amazon's customer support, they'll accidentally re-charge the membership or bill for an order you didn't make to make sure you learn your lesson.
        You need to be very careful, polite and let them take their time if you want to deal with Amazon.

        Once this starts with amazon you'll regret ever dealing with them as they'll keep notes on file on you.

        Its important, if these issues occur not to let it slide, report the incident to ACCC. Hopefully one day they'll be forced to remove the direct linking to accounts which will make it a lot harder to pull off these sorts of stunts on customers.

        Anyway thanks for sharing. Been through all this more than once and if I must deal with them, I will use gift cards or pre-paid visas only now to limit the amount of abuse they can level against my funds.

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