Dark patterns.

[Sam Vimes]

I can't tell if you're familiar with the term 'Dark Patterns' but most likely you've encountered them when buying a product or service on line. Its the term for the tactics that on line vendors use to either get you to sign up for something you didn't want and also make it extremely difficult to cancel or change it.

Amazon often get hauled over the coals for this with their Prime service. Sometimes companies get fined by an amount that usually represents about 30seconds of turnover. What they then do is just revise there web site and carry on trying to con people.

I use Amazon a lot and have got wise to their tactics that try to get me to inadvertently sign up for Prime but I encounted a new one this week.

My daughter sent me an Amazon gift card which I duly entered into my account to purchase something, which cost more than the gift card. When checking out I always read the small print as Amazon always have an amazing personalised offer for me to join Prime - not! This time there was a little check box already checked that asked me to use my gift card to pay for Amazon Prime. Naturally I declined.

When I mentioned this to my daughter she told me that every time she orders something she's very careful but after every order deletes her card details.

Watch out for the Dark Side

 

[Buckman]

We have been Prime members for several years and have no issues and never had prior to signing up for Prime.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Joining Prime isn't a problem if you want to join. The Dark Patterns make it too easy to enrol if you don't want to. If your not a member, everytime you go to buy something they want to automatically enrol you in Prime. You have to search for the small print that says continue without Prime, and not just once.

Once joined trying to leave is not easy either and you have to go through multiple choices that are harder the deeper you get. Perseverance is needed.

 

[Hutch]

I had one of these, misterious payments of £10 taken from my bank account, every month for three months. Got the bank, NatWest, onto it, I had bought a coach ticket MK to Heathrow, on line, and had NOT unticked a tiny square.
Got my £30 back.

 

[Jcloughie]

We are Prime members like Buckman. And never had a problem. But I do understand the tactics of companies trying to get you to enrol, and making it difficult to cancel.

I just canceled my ‘Special offer’ for Now TV films. I have 6 months for £2.99. But in order to get HD and Dolby needed another £6.00. So not so cheap. I looked through the content, which is absolute rubbish.

In order to cancel, I had to go through pages of ‘are you sure’ and ‘you are going to miss out’ etc. Once for the films, then again for the Boost option.

It is common practice and not just Prime.

John

 

[Buckman]

We are Prime members like Buckman. And never had a problem. But I do understand the tactics of companies trying to get you to enrol, and making it difficult to cancel.

I just canceled my ‘Special offer’ for Now TV films. I have 6 months for £2.99. But in order to get HD and Dolby needed another £6.00. So not so cheap. I looked through the content, which is absolute rubbish.

In order to cancel, I had to go through pages of ‘are you sure’ and ‘you are going to miss out’ etc. Once for the films, then again for the Boost option.

It is common practice and not just Prime.

John

We got hooked the same way. Sky must be the only streaming service where you pay extra for HD. Strangely when we signed up for the offer for the 6 months at the vastly reduced price they had some excellent movies showing. Since then utter trash.

 

[Beachball]

i have joined Prime once only it was great getting next day delivery but now i avoid it because i don"t order enough stuff from them anymore

 

[Sam Vimes]

Joining Prime isn't a problem if you want to join. The Dark Patterns make it too easy to enrol if you don't mean to. If your not a member, everytime you go to buy something they want to automatically enrol you in Prime. You have to search for the small print that says continue without Prime, and not just once.

Once joined trying to leave is not easy and you have to go through multiple choices that are harder the deeper you get. Perseverance is needed.

While we've singled out Amazon, because that was my latest close encounter with Dark Patterns, as John stated earlier this is a common practise across many on-line service. Staying with the Amazon theme, this case appears in the States..... Amazon in court

Microsoft, Apple, Google etc all want you hooked into their 'ecosystems' using similar techniques. There are many others

 

[otherclive]

Try cancelling Ancestry, Bitdefender or Norton. They all make it very difficult to find your way to the final button.

 

[Dustydog]

I’ve had Amazon Prime for years with no issues at all. It suits us. Remember not only do you get next day delivery on most things but also access to other freebies, eg Amazon Music. Overall for the monthly payment it does make our lives easier or should I say lazy🤪
sam , I’ve e ever heard of “Dark Patterns”. Are they legal? Are they the modern version of subliminal advertising?

 

[Sam Vimes]

The name doesn't really bring to mind what they are. It was a term coined by someone years ago to cover deceptive practises.

The Prime service is not the subject of Dark Patterns, which if you want and like is ok, rather it's the deception that Amazon and others employ to get you to do things you might not want to and then can't undo easily.

Which, has a write up about the practice.

https://www.which.co.uk/policy-and-insight/article/dark-patterns-aZhwY4p0gPTc