Why Does Audible Keep Charging Me? (Solved)

Audible has become a household name given its dominance in the world of online audiobook services, and countless users make purchases and pay monthly subscriptions each day.

However, if you’ve found that your credit or debit card keeps getting charged by Audible and you don’t know why then this article should help shed light on the reason that Audible keeps charging you.

You are being Charged because Your Free Trial has Come to an End

Free trials are a fantastic way in which users can try out a service without having to spend any of their hard-earned cash.

A free trial with Audible allows users to take full advantage of all that Audible has to offer before deciding to sign up as a monthly subscriber.

Although it is true that you do not need to pay a monthly subscription to Audible to purchase audiobooks, in fact, anyone can access Audible’s incredible library of content and pick an audiobook to keep forever.

However, a membership with Audible has some impressive perks, such as:

• Unlimited access to the Plus Catalog (thousands of audiobooks and exclusive original content).
• Gain credits to spend on any audiobook from the entire Audible library (credit amount varies depending on the plan).
• Massive discounts and deals that are exclusive to members.

Due to the obvious benefits of signing up for a membership plan with Audible, many potential subscribers decide to give the free trial a go first and test the waters.

Audible’s free trial lasts 30 days, allowing free trial users to get a good idea about what’s on offer – they even get a free credit to spend on an audiobook to keep forever.

Anybody who is interested in audiobooks will find that taking a free trial of Audible is worth their time to investigate whether it’s a service that could work for them.

However, it is important to understand that if you do not cancel your free trial before it ends, then you will begin to get charged on a monthly basis.

Here’s What Happens if you Do Not Cancel your Audible Free Trial:

As stated, the Audible free trial will last 30 days from the date you sign up. Once that 30 days is complete, you will be charged at the rate of the current cost of a monthly subscription to the service.

This is an automatic process and your credit or debit card will be charged either $7.95 or $14.95 respectively, depending on which plan you are on (costs correct at the time of writing).

If you loved your experience of Audible’s free trial and were hoping to continue your time with the service, then this won’t be a problem. The automatic sign-up to become a subscriber will have saved you time and allow you to get stuck into even more Audible content.

However, if you found that becoming an Audible member was not worth it for you, be it because of the cost or that the content was not to your liking then this automatic sign-up as a paying member is going to come as an unwelcome surprise.

Unfortunately, if you’ve been charged after a free trial, you will continue to be charged on the same date each month from now on until you cancel.

It is crucial that if you are not planning to subscribe once your free trial comes to an end that you can cancel your free trial within the 30-day window.

“You can cancel anytime before your trial ends and you won’t be charged. There are no commitments and no cancellation fees.”

[Source: Audible.com]

If you’ve found charges to your bank account from Audible, and you remember signing up for a free trial, then the chances are that you didn’t cancel your free trial during its duration and have automatically been signed up for a membership plan.

Unfortunately, you will not be issued a refund if you forgot to cancel in time, but Audible will send you a reminder email to let you know that your free trial is about to end.

It’s good practice to either make a note of when your free trial with Audible is up so that you can cancel in time or pay particular attention to any emails from Audible that will serve as your reminder.

How to cancel a free trial with Audible or a currently recurring subscription will be covered later in this article.

Temporary Authorization Charges are Nothing to Worry About

A temporary authorization charge is a way for a company to check that your payment method is valid and can be used for ongoing purchases.

The term temporary authorization charge is also known as:

• Authorization
• Digital service charge
• Processing
• Pending charge

Audible will check that your credit card or debit card is valid by charging your account temporarily.

The money that has been deducted will be returned to you, but the time that it will take will depend on your particular bank.

However, this is nothing to worry about and is a normal process that many companies use.

• Remember, it is not unusual to find a $1.00 charge from Audible.
• The $1.00 that has been deducted is a temporary authorization charge.
• Purchasing books or attempting to sign up to a free trial or membership can result in this charge.
• The $1.00 charge will be refunded to you once the card has been authorized, but can take up to 7-10 days.

You are being Charged for Buying Books from Audible’s Library

This may seem like an obvious reason, but it’s important to understand that there are different ways to listen to Audible’s content.

Audible offers its users an incredible wealth of audiobooks and audio content, but members can access this content without having to spend any money on their cards.

If you’re a Premium Plus member and have been stung by a surprising amount of charges to your card from Audible, you may want to check if you’re making a mistake on how you are accessing or purchasing the content in question.

All Audible membership plans allow access to the Plus Catalog, which provides unlimited listening, both streaming and downloading, of thousands of audiobooks and podcasts.

Plus Catalog content is free, and you don’t need to pay for it in order to dive in and start listening.

However, titles do leave the Plus Catalog from time to time, and although they will be replaced with new content, you will have to purchase them when they do.

If you’ve fallen in love with a book that has left the Plus Catalog, then the chance is that you’ve decided to purchase it, as that will have been your only choice in order to keep listening.

Luckily, you’ll be notified when a title is leaving the Plus Catalog, so you shouldn’t get caught out, but if you do and you need to purchase it, then you will incur charges.

It’s also important that you understand that purchases can be made with credits.

Premium Plus members will gain a certain amount of credits each month with their specific plan. These credits can be used to purchase Audible content and allow you to keep that content forever – even if you cancel your membership at a later date.

Purchasing audiobooks with credits is entirely different from listening to the Plus Catalog. You only have access to the books in the Plus Catalog while you are a current subscriber to the service, whereas a purchase made with a credit means true ownership of the book you choose.

However, in order for this free credit to be used for a purchase, and not incur a charge on your credit or debit card, you must select the correct payment method.

When you are ready to make your purchase of an audiobook on Audible, ensure that you click or tap ‘Buy Now with 1 Credit’.

If you are on the Audible website and are on the ‘Basket’ screen (the page before ‘Checkout’) you need to click the button next to ‘1 Credit’ within the section titled ‘Price’.

Ensuring that you are using your credits to purchase audiobooks on Audible will prevent your card from being charged and will use the credits that you’ve gained from being a Premium Plus subscriber.

Remember, credits do run out as you spend them and also expire (usually after 12 months after being issued), so it is worth checking on their status and ensuring that you have one left in your account.

If you do not currently have any credits in your account, you’ll have no choice but to pay on your card instead and that will result in your bank account being charged by Audible. However, there are options to return Audible books.

If you’re out of Audible credits, take a look at our article about how much Audible books cost.

You are being Charged Because you are On a Recurring Membership Plan

Membership plans are a big part of how Audible operates, and as we’ve seen, there are some very real benefits to becoming a member. Nevertheless, membership comes at a monthly cost, and that cost will vary depending on the plan that you are on.

If you’ve found that you keep getting charged by Audible on a monthly basis, then it’s very likely that you’re currently on a recurring membership plan.

Thankfully, if you want to stop being charged by Audible, you can cancel your membership at any time.

Use the following step-by-step instructions to cancel your Audible membership on whatever device you are using, but remember, the process of canceling your membership will depend on how you signed up.

You will have signed up for a membership in one of three ways:

1. With the iOS app
2. With Google Play
3. Directly with Audible on the Audible website

Here’s How to Cancel your Audible Membership for the iOS app:

1. Access ‘Settings’ on your iOS device.
2. Select your name, followed by ‘Subscriptions’
3. Find Audible and tap it.
4. Finally, tap ‘Cancel Subscription’

Here’s How to Cancel your Audible Membership on Google Play (Android Devices):

1. Launch the Google Play Store.
2. Select the ‘Profile Menu’ by tapping your profile picture.
3. Select ‘Payments and Subscriptions’
4. Choose ‘Subscriptions’
5. Find Audible and select ‘Cancel Subscription’

Here’s How to Cancel your Audible Membership on Audible’s Website:

If you did not find the option to cancel your membership on Google Play or iOS, then this means that you didn’t sign up with the app. In this case, you need to cancel your membership with Audible directly on their website.

Remember, deleting the Audible app will not cancel your membership plan.

1. Navigate to Audible’s website.
2. Log in to your account.
3. Access ‘Account Details’
4. Tap or click (depending on the device being used) on ‘Cancel Membership’
5. Select a reason why you are choosing to cancel at this time.
6. Once you’ve completed the process, you will receive an email to confirm that your cancelation has been processed.

Once your membership plan has been canceled, you will no longer be charged by Audible, but you will not receive a refund for any books you have bought or any previous charges incurred from your subscription. Refunds for books are dealt with on a book-by-book basis.

Sources

What is this Charge from Audible?

Easy Way To Cancel Amazon Audible Membership

The Audible Service Conditions of Use