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Any tips on how to cancel trial with Audible.com (audio-book scam site)?

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Yirg

I registered for trial with Audible US and after cancelling (on time of course) I see charges from Audible AU. It turns out that this is a common way for the site to scam users (see here, here and here). Users register for trial with Audible and the site automatically registers them to multiple sister-companies in other countries (not clear how many). Cancelling from where one originally registered still leaves other registrations active and the charges start to come. According to some, this company sometimes re-activates an account month after cancellation and starts charging users.

Has anyone dealt with them and can suggest how to find how many other such sister companies they use, and what is there to do other than ask the credit card company to cancel the transaction (and possibly cancel the card altogether)?

Update: I eventually managed to contact Audible AU support and they promised to cancel my account and refund the charge. We'll see. Now I need to do the same with each of their other sister companies. Yay.

6 years ago*

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21 Comments
Shanti

O_O (try to remove your card details from Amazon & Audible and contact Support)

6 years ago
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kasztoix

I remember i was charged for audible somehow after being at free trial from amazon so I sent ticket to amazon and they give my moneyz back (bank f.. me because of currency exchanges but still victory for me)

6 years ago
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Yirg

I had very good experience with Amazon support, but this time I may have (see update in the OP) managed to get this resolved by contacting Audible AU support.

6 years ago
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crashdefeat

Have credit card cancel these accounts as being bogus as you never signed up for them, only the one you cancelled. I have never heard of this practice with Audible and have been a member for years.

6 years ago
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Yirg

The fact that you've "have been a member for years" is the main reason why you didn't have to deal with this crap. They'll get your money either way, so if you're a willing subscriber at least you're getting what you're paying for. The problem starts when you want to end your subscription or trialware.

6 years ago
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Bloom3D

Warent they part of Amazon ? OR somehow related ...
I got charged for some normal book thing they had a free Trial for . Didnt get refunded either .
So yeah ... id avoid any trial related to amazon ...

6 years ago
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Yirg

If you managed to cancel the subscription then at least you won't see more charges (or so I hope). As for the refund, if Audible support weren't co-operative, maybe try Amazon support. It worked for kasztoix above...

6 years ago
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This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

6 years ago*
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Yirg

It would probably be a good idea to remain vigilant for unexpected charges to your credit card, as this company has a tendency to register trial members with other Audible sister companies. At the very least I would suggest that you search your mailbox for "Audible" and see if there are any emails from their non-US sister companies. In my case I discovered that I received emails from both Audible.com and Audible.com.au, but until I saw the credit card charge I didn't give it any thought. I expected that if I registered in one place and ed-registered in the same place it would be the end of it...

6 years ago
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Andrewski

I've used audible in the past and never had a problem with them. I'd contact their support, they should get it sorted out and if not issue a chargeback.

6 years ago
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Yirg

Are you still a member? If not, did you have to de-register from multiple Audible sister companies or just from the one you registered with?

6 years ago
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Andrewski

I am still a member of Amazon, but not using Audible. I only had to go to the members area and cancel my subscription, nothing with any sister companies or anything like that.

6 years ago
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Yirg

Update: I eventually managed to contact Audible AU support and they promised to cancel my account and refund the charge. We'll see. Now I need to do the same with each of their other sister companies. Yay.

6 years ago
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ET3D

I prefer Downpour, which is DRM-free. Unfortunately following a site redesign and change to deals it's no longer as attractive as it once was. But I still don't plan to go near Audible.

6 years ago
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Yirg

I don't actually have any problem with the content of Audible or even with the use of DRM. It's their business practices that leave much to be desired. They make G2A look good.

6 years ago
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ET3D

Just throwing an alternative out there. You don't have to use it if you don't want to. For my use DRM-free does matter.

As for business practices, from my point of view if it's under Amazon then Amazon should provide support and in my experience they've always provided good support. I did have an Audible trial some years ago and don't remember having problems cancelling it. (Well, I vaguely remember contacting Amazon about it, so maybe I did.)

6 years ago
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Yirg

I looked at Downpour again, and their offering is appealing. Other than the lack of DRM (which is obviously a plus to anyone), subscription is a couple of bucks cheaper, and a single credit seems to be good for most books. However, unlike Audible, some books cost two credits, which makes them a bit too expensive. Still, if their business practices are better than Audible then I would at least consider subscribing. I don't want to ever deal with Audible again.

6 years ago
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ET3D

When I tried Audible it was $12 a month, so was a dollar less expensive. Now it's $15, and Downpour has stayed the same, so is less expensive.

6 years ago
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ceildric

FWIW, I have been an Audible member on two separate occasions and both times when I canceled, I never had to cancel any registrations on sister sites. My most recent membership period was for a short time last year.

6 years ago
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doctorofjournalism

Clerical error =/= “scam”

6 years ago
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Yirg

Read the links in the OP, then come back and tell me with a straight face that what Audible is doing here isn't intended to scam people out of their money.

6 years ago
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