Letter to Audible about cancelling

[booklover6]

Just sent this to Audible. The text speaks for itself:

Why, when I go to cancel, does this message show up:

"If you cancel, you'll lose your credits and member benefits"

Yet on your help page it says this:

"Do I keep my credits if I cancel my membership?
If you end your Audible membership, your credits will be lost with your other membership benefits."

AND IT ALSO SAYS THIS

"Note: To give customers more flexibility with using their credits, we’ve recently made changes to when credits expire if you are on a membership plan:

Any credits received/issued after April 1, 2019 will expire 12 months after they are issued."

Great way to confuse your customers! Now I need to know ASAP if I will lose my credit when I cancel my membership. $14.95 a month is not something I can afford. But I hadn't decided what to use my credit on yet. So please advise. When I cancel, will I or won't I lose the credit, which I received May 2019?

Thank you.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Just sent this to Audible. The text speaks for itself:

Why, when I go to cancel, does this message show up:

"If you cancel, you'll lose your credits and member benefits"

Yet on your help page it says this:

"Do I keep my credits if I cancel my membership?
If you end your Audible membership, your credits will be lost with your other membership benefits."

AND IT ALSO SAYS THIS

"Note: To give customers more flexibility with using their credits, we’ve recently made changes to when credits expire if you are on a membership plan:

Any credits received/issued after April 1, 2019 will expire 12 months after they are issued."

Great way to confuse your customers! Now I need to know ASAP if I will lose my credit when I cancel my membership. $14.95 a month is not something I can afford. But I hadn't decided what to use my credit on yet. So please advise. When I cancel, will I or won't I lose the credit, which I received May 2019?

Thank you.

I agree that it's confusing, especially considering that this was supposed to be a clarification of the policy per a legal settlement. I'm pretty sure that what they mean is that credits expire after a year if you're a member, but are lost immediately if you cancel.

You might consider switching to a Silver membership, which is $14/1 credit every other month. That will give you more time to use up your existing credits without new ones piling up as quickly.

[booklover6]

Yes, catlady, they replied with the same clarification you described. And after they made that recent big deal about keeping your credits for a year. What BS. I will use my credit, which cost me $7.49 I believe under a special three month deal, and then cancel, unless they give me another deal.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Yes, catlady, they replied with the same clarification you described. And after they made that recent big deal about keeping your credits for a year. What BS. I will use my credit, which cost me $7.49 I believe under a special three month deal, and then cancel, unless they give me another deal.

It's annoying. Downpour lets you keep credits for a year, even if you cancel membership. Audible should do the same thing.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Catlady

It's annoying. Downpour lets you keep credits for a year, even if you cancel membership. Audible should do the same thing.

They should, and I thought that's what the big announcement was all about. It ought to be illegal for them to do that, since the customer already PAID for that credit. That's despicable.

$15 for an audio book is way too much for me and my budget!

[CRussel]

Personally, I found the text completely clear and unambiguous:
"...we’ve recently made changes to when credits expire if you are on a membership plan" (emphasis mine)

Should they change it? I suppose. Certainly it would be better for end users. OTOH, the price of most audio books has always been way more than the price of a credit, even on the most expensive (per credit) plan. But then, I listen to a LOT of audio books, and I definitely prefer to listen to them via the Audible app over any other alternative.

[booklover6]

Yes, of course, there I was assuming....

I also prefer the Audible app, but I prefer to get them through the library or on sale. I think next month I'll renew my BPL card, since they have such a fantastic audio book selection, it's well worth it. And much cheaper per month than Audible!

Until the next deal for Audible membership....all these R.C. Bray books coming out this month and no credits is distressing!

[issybird]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I also prefer the Audible app, but I prefer to get them through the library or on sale. I think next month I'll renew my BPL card, since they have such a fantastic audio book selection, it's well worth it. And much cheaper per month than Audible!

I prefer the Audible app, but I think it's only marginally better than the Overdrive and Downpour apps which are easily good enough. I like the granularity of the playback speed on Audible, where I'll listen to everything at a minimum of 1.10X. That's a lot more books I can listen to over time! The smallest bump in the Overdrive and Downpour speeds is fine for nonfiction for me, but tends to be a little faster than I want to listen to the performance of fiction.

Audible books at $14.95 each really are too expensive given alternatives, but I think the constant stream of promotions and sales recognizes that. The base membership price is a way for Audible to skim the cream of those who absolutely must listen to a particular book, now!

[pwalker8]

The cheapest plan is the one I have the Inactive Basic, a grandfathered plan where I pay $10 a year to buy books at the membership price. The yearly plan basically says you pay up front for 12 books at $12.50 a book, then pay the normal membership price. Oddly enough, the membership price for a majority of books in my wishlist are less than $12.50, with a number being around $8. Certainly I can find 12 books in the $20+ range that I am interested in, but overall, I really like my current plan.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

The cheapest plan is the one I have the Inactive Basic, a grandfathered plan where I pay $10 a year to buy books at the membership price. The yearly plan basically says you pay up front for 12 books at $12.50 a book, then pay the normal membership price. Oddly enough, the membership price for a majority of books in my wishlist are less than $12.50, with a number being around $8. Certainly I can find 12 books in the $20+ range that I am interested in, but overall, I really like my current plan.

Wouldn't work for me, as the member price range for the books I want tends to run from $20 to $40. Even when they have the sale where the members pay 50% of list, the credit price is almost always cheaper for my wishlist books. The only books I want for $7.95 are Whispersync classics.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Personally, I found the text completely clear and unambiguous:
"...we’ve recently made changes to when credits expire if you are on a membership plan" (emphasis mine)

Should they change it? I suppose. Certainly it would be better for end users. OTOH, the price of most audio books has always been way more than the price of a credit, even on the most expensive (per credit) plan. But then, I listen to a LOT of audio books, and I definitely prefer to listen to them via the Audible app over any other alternative.

They emphasize the longer time to use credits. They pretend that putting a membership on hold gives you extra time-which it doesn't. They know darn well that people will make assumptions that may cost them paid-for credits.

I do applaud the fact that they are sending out monthly updates on when credits expire, and showing that info in the account details. That is very helpful.

Don't get me wrong, I like Audible. If they offer a $100/year membership again on Prime Day, I'll happily grab it. But they could be more transparent.

[Tarana]

I don't think it's confusing at all. The comments about how long your credits last are based on ACTIVE membership. If you choose to quit, you are no longer an Active member. They give you a STRONG warning that you will lose that credit if you quit. So use your danged credit. Also $15 for an audiobook is actually very reasonable. Most retail audiobooks are $25-35 and more. Absolutely true that many of us seek the lowest cost, but $15 for next in the series of a series you really enjoy (and will likely listen to again) is not all that much. A 2.5 hour movie on a Saturday night is $13.95 in my area. Sales are promotions of authors, just like at a regular bookstore.

Yep, I agree PWalker, if most of your books are UNDER the cost of a membership, then it's harder to use your credits. I have no shortage of books that cost more than a credit, so not a problem for me, but we read different things.