Customers of Amazon Prime woke up this morning to the shocking news that their yearly subscription fee is set to rise
Amazon Prime has announced that their monthly fee to use their prime delivery and streaming service is set to go up from £7.99 to £8.99. Since the news broke, we have received emails from Amazon Prime customers in Skegness, Boston, Grimsby, Manchester, Blackpool, Scunthorpe, London, and Lincoln threatening to cancel their subscription.
Users of Amazon Prime are furious that the company who paid no corporation tax last year while revenues rocketed to £193 a second are putting up their fees. Amazon has tried to defend the rising fee on increased inflation and operating costs.
The rise will mean Amazon Prime customers will be paying an extra 20 per cent to use the service which many already believe is not value for money. The new increase will be implemented from September for new customers, while current customers will pay the new fee on their next renewal date.
The annual membership for Amazon Prime will increase from £79 to £95 per year in the UK. This rise is despite families across the UK are struggling with the high cost of living. Amazon are already losing customers and this price hike is a huge mistake according to many business experts.
We have been inundated this morning by Amazon Prime customers who have said Amazon has become too greedy while providing sub-standard service.
Mark from Scunthorpe contact In2town this morning to say that he will be cancelling his subscription at the end of the month. While Sarah from Manchester said she only uses Amazon Prime for next-day deliveries.
“I only use Amazon Prime for next-day deliveries and to be honest there have been plenty of times that the next-day service has not been available. I do not watch the shows on Amazon as they are boring. I will be cancelling my subscription at the of the month.”
Steven from Skegness also agreed that Amazon Prime is not value for money, and he will also be cancelling his subscription at the end of the month.
With a net income of £28bn in 2021, there is no need for Amazon to increase its price for Amazon Prime. This could become one of Amazon’s most embarrassing and biggest mistakes in its history. Many business experts believe millions of customers could turn their backs on Amazon Prime.
A spokesman for Amazon has tried to justify the price hike: ‘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.
‘With increased inflation and operating costs in the UK continuing to rise, we will change the price of Prime.’
Although Amazon claims they offer a value-for-money streaming service, many people have stated that they can get a better and more affordable streaming service with Netflix.
One thing is for sure, Amazon was not expecting the backlash they have received today over their price hike.