Fury Over $420 Bill After Vacationer Forgot To Log Out of Amazon in Rental

A vacationer has been left with a $420 bill after forgetting to log out of Amazon Prime on a T.V., with the next guests renting movies on their account.

The holidaymaker vented their frustration to Mumsnet, under username BroodleToodle, as they revealed they'd been saddled with the exorbitant amount following a trip around a month ago.

BroodleToodle reveals they went away in the U.K., where they're thought to be based, and logged into Netflix and Amazon Prime on the T.V. in their rental.

While they remembered to log out of Netflix, the same can't be said for their other account.

They wrote: "I logged out of Netflix but didn't the Prime it seems as today I've had a credit card bill for 340.00 ($419.90). My CC [credit card] is attached to my Prime account.

"It lists a lot of Prime video, and on logging in I can see that a lot of films have been bought, some to permanently keep in HD (15.99) ($19.75) a piece. All are charges from one week, so I'm guessing when a family were staying there?"

They asked for advice over what to do about the massive bill, admitting they'd also asked some friends.

"The thing is what to do next? DFriend says that I should phone the credit card company and deny the charges? But it's from my account! DM thinks that I should call the bloody police as it's theft.

"And I'm just at a loss, I'm aware that I left it logged in so I'm not sure if I'd even be able to put blame. I've messaged the holiday home owner and I've logged myself out of all devices," they said.

In the comments, they confirmed contacting Amazon is their first port of call. And they revealed more about the content on the account, saying: "It amounted to 340.00 ($419.90) but it was mostly kids stuff. Kids films and also a boxset where every episode was bought.

"I don't know if it was a very naughty child just clicking and buying away to just be basically a little s***, or if they watched any of it.

"Only a few of the films have actually been watched, and a few have only had the opening credits by the look of the loading bar."

The dilemma, shared on Monday, has amassed more than 261 replies, and can be read here, as people had conflicting advice over what to do—and who was to blame.

There was disbelief and anger over the charges, as heavyistheheed thought: "Oooh it's tough but you're going to have to suck this one up I'm afraid. As I'm sure you know, it was your responsibility to log out etc. Ugh, doesn't make it any less annoying tho."

Youdothemaths raged: "OMG how frustrating for you! Yes it's your mistake to have stayed logged in, but how can people be such CFs? speechless."

JenniferPlantain advised: "You do NOT have to suck it up. Every time you purchase on prime you have to confirm purchase, so every time someone did it knowing it wasn't their account: they were stealing.

"Contact holiday home, ask them to let people who stayed after you know you will be contacting police. They can either pay for what they watched or go through police/small claims. It is theft."

Jedsnewstar agreed, saying: "Of course it is theft. The prime clearly says 'purchase' with a price attached. Unless they were paying they were 100 percent aware they were stealing. Report to the police.

"It doesn't matter if the account was left logged in. If it was your Amazon account and they ordered items which you could touch and feel nobody would question whether it was stealing."

Suchasadcliche thought: "Your account might have been hacked. It's not necessarily the holiday home. I'm constantly getting alerts that someone in Mumbai is trying to access my Amazon account."

Ellmau pointed out: "Unless they thought it was included in the rental. I do sympathize with OP, but you should have logged out. Definitely take it up with Amazon in the first place, and your card issuer, but don't count on anything."

Although Blarting commented: "And OP really should think before she leaves her account open and then wants to waste police time! Bloody ridiculous!"

WonderingWanda added: "Oh no what a nightmare. The size of the bill suggests they knew exactly what they were doing and took advantage of it. Have you contacted the owner yet to see what they've got to say?"

The chart below, provided by Statista, shows how many streaming subscriptions services people have.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Amazon Prime's video service allows members to watch numerous movies and T.V. shows, as part of their $14.99 membership, although not all content is included in the subscription.

Explaining more about the service, the website said: "Prime Video offers unlimited streaming of movies and TV episodes for paid or free trial members in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. For more information, go to Prime Video.

"With Amazon Channels, you can watch your favorite shows and movies from HBO, SHOWTIME, and STARZ channels. You don't need a cable or additional apps and you can cancel anytime. Amazon Channels costs $4.99–$14.99/month for Prime members."

And addressing unknown charges on members' accounts, the website suggests to first check: "An order has been placed by a child, spouse, friend, or coworker with access to your card number. To reduce the risk of accidental purchases, you can Set Up Restrictions on Prime Video for Web, Android or iOS."

If none of the criteria are fulfilled, the website allows members to contact Amazon providing information about the charges for investigation.

Newsweek reached out to Amazon for comment.