The Kindle Compass bi-weekly free trial

[Larrue]

I received an email this morning, supposedly from Amazon telling me my free trial starts today. Do nothing and in 2 weeks my account will be charged biweekly. They even showed the last 4 digits of a credit card on file. I couldn't find anything on these boards or on Amazon about this. Does anyone know if this is a scam? Seems strange that if you don't do anything you automatically get billed when you never asked to join a "free trial".  It also does not explain what Kindle Compass is about.

[Lambert]

Well yeah, that sounds wield.

[Betsy the Quilter]

Here's what I could find out.

It's supposedly real, from Amazon.  There is not supposed to be any charge for it despite what the email says.  You can go to Manage Your Kindle on Amazon and check under "Magazines" on the left to see if the subscription is listed.  It's supposed to be information on getting the most out of your Kindle.

There's more here:
http://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1D7SY3BVSESG&cdThread=TxD8E5M8V47M9H

I would encourage you to contact Kindle CS (Inside the United States: 1-866-321-8851, Outside the United States: 1-206-266-0927) if you have any more questions.

Let us know if you find anything else out!

Betsy

[Betsy the Quilter]

Also, someone at the link I posted this response they received from Amazon:

The Kindle Compass is an editorial magazine designed to help customers get the most out of their Kindle reading experience. It is delivered wirelessly to Kindle devices, free of charge.

We are currently delivering the magazine to a random subset of Kindle customers. Customers who wish to unsubscribe from The Kindle Compass can do so from a link in the last section of the magazine, or from the Manage Your Kindle Subscriptions page at www.amazon.com/manageyourkindlesubscriptions

At this time we are not able to subscribe additional customers, but we look forward to making The Kindle Compass available to more customers in the future.

Thanks for your interest in Kindle.

Thank you for your recent inquiry. Did I solve your problem?

If yes, please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/survey?p=ATUBTY4VVVMAV&k=hy

If no, please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/survey?p=ATUBTY4VVVMAV&k=hn

Betsy

[Larrue]

Betsy, thank you. I will call them and let you know what they tell me. I was originally going to call but thought maybe someone on here might have already done so.

[Ann in Arlington]

I wish they'd pick me.  

It really does sound like the standard note you get when you subscribe to any periodical. . . .even the bit about charging your CC and even if it's a free periodical.  Where things got lost is they apparently never sent you anything saying they were subscribing you so, without knowing it's completely free, it does look a little odd. . . .

[bevie125]

I just wanted to add that I too recieved the above mentioned original email regarding the "free trial" , however Amazon just sent another email stating that it is not a trial and that the publication is free. Here is a copy of the email I recieved...

This morning we sent you an e-mail regarding The Kindle Compass, a new free publication built by the Kindle editorial team that we’re piloting to a small number of Kindle customers.

This e-mail incorrectly referred to The Kindle Compass as a subscription with a free trial. We built it to always be free for customers, and you will never be charged for it. We apologize for any confusion.

If you wish to unsubscribe from the pilot for The Kindle Compass, you can do so from a link in the last section of the magazine, or from the Manage Your Kindle Subscriptions page at www.amazon.com/manageyourkindlesubscriptions

Amazon.com Kindle Support

[Larrue]

I contacted kindle customer service via email and received the response below. It is not a scam but there was no mention of what it was or what the cost would be at the end of the trial period. After receiving the email I wrote back and asked them what the future charge would be at the end of the trial. I recently received a second email below which says it will be free and the original email was incorrect.


Hello,

I confirm that this mail is not a SCAM mail. It is sent from Amazon Kindle Team.

The Kindle Compass is an editorial magazine designed to help customers get the
most out of their Kindle reading experience. It is delivered wirelessly to
Kindle devices, free of charge.

We are currently delivering the magazine to a random subset of Kindle customers.
Customers who wish to unsubscribe from The Kindle Compass can do so from a link
in the last section of the magazine, or from the Manage Your Kindle
Subscriptions page at www.amazon.com/manageyourkindlesubscriptions

At this time we are not able to subscribe additional customers, but we look
forward to making The Kindle Compass available to more customers in the future.

Thanks for your interest in Kindle.

Thank you for your recent inquiry. Did I solve your problem?

If yes, please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/survey?p=AH611W6GONSO&k=hy

If no, please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/survey?p=AH611W6GONSO&k=hn



Praveena M


This morning we sent you an e-mail regarding The Kindle Compass, a new free
publication built by the Kindle editorial team that we’re piloting to a small
number of Kindle customers.

This e-mail incorrectly referred to The Kindle Compass as a subscription with a
free trial. We built it to always be free for customers, and you will never be
charged for it. We apologize for any confusion.

If you wish to unsubscribe from the pilot for The Kindle Compass, you can do so
from a link in the last section of the magazine, or from the Manage Your Kindle
Subscriptions page at www.amazon.com/manageyourkindlesubscriptions

Amazon.com Kindle Support

[ireadbooks]

I've been chosen also. Although the blog itself is OK, I didn't care for being randomly subscribed to something I didn't sign up for. And judging from the first "issue" it seems almost identical to Amazon's Omnivoracious blot, which I already receive.

They also automatically signed me up tu use my name and billing address for marketing and billing purposes. You have to manually uncheck the option under Manage My Kindle. Not cool.

Sent from my awesome Kindle Fire

[Betsy the Quilter]

Others have heard from Amazon that it is a free subscription.  Time will tell, I guess.

I think it could have been handled better, a rare Amazon mis-step that they seem to be doing damage control on.

Betsy

[Ann in Arlington]

They also automatically signed me up tu use my name and billing address for marketing and billing purposes. You have to manually uncheck the option under Manage My Kindle. Not cool.

Yeah, that's pretty standard for publications. . .though I've not noticed it on blogs. . .I have learned that when I do even just the free trial I need to go and 'manage' my subscriptions to make sure that toggle has been reset.  I, too, wish it was 'opt in' but I expect it's something to do with Amazon's agreement with the periodical publishers who make the Kindle edition available.  After all, they're not in direct contact with their subscribers this way.