I have an Amazon music machine thing to which we added a small one, a sort of extension speaker, at least in my mind. I have no idea how the damn thing works and very rarely use it, however I did know it wasn’t desperately expensive to run. This morning though when going through my Amazon account I came across an item for £14.99 which just said Amazon Music Unlimited which after some research I found to be the monthly payment for the Alexa music machine which used to cost £3.99 per month. The following is my online chat to their help department together with the translation of what I was thinking rather than what I wrote.
Me:I have an Amazon Music Unlimited payment which used to be £3.99 and I have just noticed that it changed on 17th November 2018 to £14.99 I don’t know why, can you tell me why this happened, please.
Me:Why the hell have you suddenly started to charge me nearly four times as much as I was previously paying??
You’re now connected to santhiya M from Amazon.co.uk
santhiya M:Hello, my name is Santhiya. I’ll be happy to help you.
I’m sorry to know that you have been charged 14.99 instead of 3.99 gbp.
Do you mind waiting for a minute while I research this for you?
Me:That’s fine.
Me:I suppose this is going to waste the entire morning, I’ve nothing better to do!
santhiya M:Thank for waiting.
I’ve checked your account and I see that from 17 November 2018 your subscription was upgraded to Amazon Music Unlimited Family Monthly from single device plan.
In this case I’ll cancel and request a refund from 17th November 2018 to Friday, 17 May 2019 so that you can again sign up 3.99 GBP plan.
Is that okay for you?
Me:I am unsure how this works. We had one alexa thing then got a small one as well. Do I have to pay for both of them, we don’t want the most modern music just old tunes.
Me:Yes, that’s very good, but why the hell was it suddenly increased for no apparent reason, answer me that, if you can!
santhiya M:I’ve checked your account and I see that you have active prime and music unlimited subscription under this account. From Monday, 20 March 2017 you have single device place which you can access only through alexa but from 17 November 2018 your subscription plan accidentally upgraded to family plan.
Me:Ok can we go back to £3.99 as you suggested. Will we have to do anything or will it just revert for us.
Me:Why the hell can’t you just put it back to where it started from, can’t you tell I have no idea how all this nonsense works!
santhiya M:I’ve now cancelled your subscription and requested a refund from 17th November 2018 to Friday, 17 May 2019 and it will get reflect to your account within 5-7 business days.
You can use your voice to modify your Amazon Music Unlimited Plan through Alexa.
To do this, say:”Sign up for Amazon Music Unlimited.”
Me:We have to start again by talking to the thing?
Me:You want me to start talking to a machine, it’s bad enough having to write to you, why won’t you put the bloody thing back to where it started from? Blast, I think the internet has gone down, bollocks!
You’re now reconnected with santhiya M.
santhiya M:you can degrade your plan. your plan now.
You can use your voice to modify your Amazon Music Unlimited Plan through Alexa.
To do this, say:”Downgrade Amazon Music.”
So that your plan will be revert back to single device plan
I’ve now requested a refund without cancelling your subscription.
Me:So we still have to say “downgrade amazon music” or have you done it for us?
Me:You must think I’m doolally, if you think I’m going to try to sort this out by talking to a machine!
santhiya M:Yes, please say “downgrade amazon music” you plan will be changed.
Me:I just said that and it said we have to go to our music settings on the web, I have no idea where this is?
Me:This machine has just sent me to a page which doesn’t seem to have any bearing on what I am trying to achieve, if I wasn’t doolally when I started this conversation I will be by the time I’ve finished!
santhiya M:You can sign up for Amazon Music Unlimited Single Device plan by visiting the Amazon Music Unlimited (https://www.amazon.co.uk/amazonmusicunl…(See full link) ) page.
Please try this above link and let me know.
The subscription will only be available with the Echo or Fire TV device that you will select during the sign up process.
Hope we are connected.
Me:I have no idea what I am doing, what has Echo or Fire Tv got to do with Amazon Music?
Me:I’m beginning to lose patients, what the fxxk are you talking about?
santhiya M:Echo means your alexa.
In this single device plan you can listen music only through alexa.
For a easy way I’ll cancel and request a refund for that subscription so that you can sign up single device plan through alexa.
Is that okay for you?
Me:I think so, I’ll wait until I can find a young person who has some idea of what we are supposed to do but thanks for your help anyway.
Me:I can see I’m fighting a loosing battle here, I’ll have to wait until I get assistance from a young person, quite clearly you’re never going to do it for me!
santhiya M:At this time simplest way I’ll now cancel your subscription now please ask your alexa to “Sign up for Amazon Music Unlimited.”
So that your single device plan will be activated.
Shall I cancel your subscription now?
Me:Yes, as I said we will get assistance from our children who probably understand what we need to do.
Me:I’ve tried talking to the bloody thing already, I’m losing the will to live!
santhiya M:Sure.
I’ve now cancelled and requested a refund from 17th November 2018 to Friday, 17 May 2019 and it will get reflect to your account within 5-7 business days.
Me:Thank you, at least we are half way there!
Me:I give in, at least we’re halfway there!
santhiya M:So that you can sign up your single device from alexa with the help of your children.
Me:Yes.
Me:I bloody hope so!
santhiya M:After that your alexa sign up single device plan and you will be charged only 3.99 GBP in future.
Me:Excellent, thank you.
Me:I’m still wondering why you couldn’t do it for me?
santhiya M:Thanks for your understanding.
It’s my pleasure to assist you!
Is there anything else I can help with?
Me:No, thank you.
Me:No thank you, I’ve had enough, I’m going for a lie down in a dark room!
santhiya M:Bye have a lovely day!
Me:And you.
Me:Bye, I suppose you did your best!
santhiya M:Thank you:)
Please click the “End Chat” link to close this window. You’ll then be asked to complete a quick survey and provide comments about your experience. We hope to see you again soon!
Me:Ok
Me:See you again soon, I bloody hope not!
Finally, after all this paralarva I tried to follow the link which would lead me to the page where I could go back to where we started and sign up again for £3.99, unfortunately the only page it took me to said it would cost £7.99 a month. I would love to contact them to find the link to the page where we go back to where we started at the promised £3.99 but I don’t think I’ve got the strength left today!
The Diary of a Country Bumpkin 
One of the many reasons I don’t have Alexa or anything like her. Every once in a while my iPhone asks me if I want to “turn Siri on?” No thank you. I’m afraid of what might happen if I turned Siri on. Now my wife has Siri turned on, and Siri can’t seem to help herself as she often butts into our conversations without either of us asking her to. One time my wife asked me what I thought Siri would think about something. I said “Stupid Siri!” Siri came on my wife’s phone and told me I hurt her feelings. Another time the cat stepped on the phone and meowed. Siri came on with definitions of “meow” and “cat”. I tried meowing into the phone and Siri said she didn’t understand me! Siri is a scrappy lass. I couldn’t deal with Alexa.
I never have any of this sort of problem with the old valve radio in my 1947 Bentley, although it does only receive Radio Four!
A single station old valve radio is a good thing in this day and age. My calendar app has, out of the blue, started telling me the drive time to the coffee shop next door to my office.
Modern technology does do some odd things sometimes.
If you are really brave you could say “Alexa, try Amazon Music Unlimited, Single device plan.” You MAY get 30 days free before they charge you £3.99/month. Good luck.
To be fair all I want is the damn thing to go back where we started at £3.99 a month but I have now sought solace in a can of lager and by the time I’ve had a few more I could end up signing my life away without realising it, so I’m resigned to look at it again tomorrow.
Good idea all round!
Classic .. but frustrating in the extreme.
I have thought about trying Alexa for the music, but maybe not. I hate new technology. Your post reminds me of my recent conversations trying to get a quote from Bell Canada to bundle my internet/phone and cable TV. I had been a Bell phone customer for 40 years, but was losing my Internet provider at the end of the month, so I thought I would look into bundling. I did not like the quote Bell gave me which was more than what I currently pay for their phone (landline) service, by 30 dollars, a fact they had neglected to tell me over the phone but which I noticed when I got the email quote. The quote was good for 5 days, but they told me they could not give me another quote until the current quote expired. When I asked why they couldn’t just cancel the current quote and start over, they said they couldn’t cancel a current quote, but in trying to do so, they managed to extend the quote by another week. If I waited then I would only have two weeks left to find another provider. The call centre had been outsourced to the Philippines, but the Canadian manager confirmed that a current quote could not be cancelled so I would have to two weeks to try again for a better quote. I gave up at that point, and went with a different service provider, where I spoke with intelligent people and got a cheaper bundled rate. When Bell realized I was cancelling, they then bombarded me with phone calls from their Loyalty program offering me all kinds of cheap rates if I would only stay with them. When I told them that I probably would have stayed with them if I could have gotten a quote, they didn’t have any reply?? It tired me out having to explain it all. I am still getting mail from them with new offers….shakes head.
I’m forced to wonder why do the people who are employed to organise this chaos still have jobs?
yes, it is a strange thing, when the people running an organization are so disconnected from what is going on!
Couldn’t organise a cocktail party in an off licence is an expression which springs to mind!
I have Alexa, it was a thank you gift from one of the son-in-laws. It’s not something I would have purchased for myself.
I never ask it anything except to play music of my choice. I always switch it off after use because I don’t like the idea of something listening in to our conversations.
The younger grandchildren treat it as a toy and delight in shouting their instructions, I think they assume Alexa is deaf.
I don’t pay for the music because it’s included In my Amazon Prime account.
I have Prime but my wife seems to think you need to pay for music if you want to search for more obscure music, or modern for the kids, I have no idea. I ask it for forties music and it plays one tune which is not forties so I listen to Harry and Edna on the wireless and The Radium Hot Club both found on Facebook.
Not sure about obscure music. I just ask for what I want and it plays my list. According to Amazon’s site, Prime music is free to Prime account holders. Might be worth checking again. Give me an example title, I’ll ask Alexa and let you know the outcome
My wife likes obscure reggae songs and had to sign up for the basic £3.99 package to get it so she said. We are going to try and see if we can get it with just the Prime before we sign up again. Life was so much simpler, although not perhaps as convenient, when you went to the record shop and they played the record and if you liked it you bought it. If you tell young people today that’s how we got our music they think your mad!
Now that’s a blast from the past. You’ve just brought a name to mind that I’ve not heard in a very long time. Valence’s record shop It was fun going there and into a booth to listen to the record. Always knew what I wanted to buy but still went into the booth! I hope you get your Prime sorted.
I keep telling my wife to just ask and see what happens, I think at the very least we will be back on the cheaper £3.99 package, I’ll stick to Harry and Edna on the Wireless!