Barry Collins is fed up with companies locking us in with “free” trials
Of all the terms that are roundly abused by tech companies, there’s only one that gets misused more than “unlimited” (advertising speak for “list of restrictions as long as your arm"), and that’s “free”. The Oxford Dictionary defines “free" as “given or available without charge”, and yet customers who sign up for “free trials" often end up facing more charges than Ronnie Biggs.
Amazon is the latest company to be found guilty of perpetrating this ruse. It recently (and rightly) had its wrist slapped by the Advertising Standards Authority - “authority” being another complete misnomer as far as this Cadbury’s teapot of a regulator is concerned, but that’s another column. Amazon was found to have misled its customers after sending them letters advertising a “30-day free trial" of its Prime subscription service, but neglecting to mention until the small print at the bottom that they would be automatically charged if they failed to cancel. Indeed, the letter completely failed to mention how much they would be stung for.
The Advertising Code is perfectly straightforward: marketing communications must make clear the extent of the commitment consumers must make to take advantage of a “free” offer. And yet Amazon - arguably the most consumer-friendly web retailer out there - stuck to its guns, arguing that “consumers would notice the terms” and that customers were invited to “go to the web link, where more information was clearly and prominently available”. What’s more. Amazon argued, "it was common practice for promotions offering free trials for services to convert to a paid subscription unless the subscription was cancelled”. Everybody else is doing it. so why shouldn’t we?
Actually. Amazon, not everyone demands credit card details before giving you a sample of their wares. About 18 months ago. I cancelled my increasingly extortionate Sky TV subscription and decided to investigate internet-streaming services instead. There were two obvious contenders: Netflix and Amazon's LoveFilm (now rebranded Amazon Prime Instant Video). Amazon demanded credit-card details upfront to participate in the 30-day trial, Netflix didn't. Guess which one I went with and am still a happy customer with 18 months later?
The same is true of other products I use for my work. I first started using Adobe’s digital photo software Lightroom on a 30-day commitment-free trial about five years ago. I’ve since bought every new version and am now a paying subscriber to its Creative Cloud plan for photographers. It doesn’t half fill you with confidence as a consumer when companies are so sure of their product that they reckon they can convert you into a paying customer without hoping that you’ll simply forget to cancel the subscription.
Alas, this column doesn’t have a happy ending. Netflix has now gone down the Amazon path of demanding a credit card before dishing out the “free" 30-day trial. I still love Netflix, not least because it locked down the price for existing customers for two whole years when it raised its monthly subscription fees for new members. But would I be a customer now if it had asked for my credit card number up front, or would I have signed up with Amazon, which already had my details stored? Netflix might catch a few people out with its rolling subscriptions, but I bet it’s missing out on many more potential customers, too.