Audible has become a household name due to its enormous range of top-quality audio content; from podcasts to audiobook dramatizations – they’ve got it all.
However, whether you’re returning an audiobook because you can’t bear the narrator’s voice, or you’ve decided that your membership no longer suits you, you’ll want to know where you stand in terms of refunds.
In this article, you’ll find all the answers you need to understand when and how to get your money back from Audible.
Can You Get Your Money Back From Audible?
Audible offers refunds on returned content purchased on their platform, but not on membership plans. Returned content will be refunded with the exact same payment used to make the purchase, either:
- Audible Credit
- Coupons
- Credit Card Payment
Audible will not refund any fees that have already been incurred upon cancellation of any membership plan and free trials that are not canceled in time will be charged accordingly with no option for refund.
Why Can You Not Get Your Money Back When Canceling Audible?
Sometimes the last thing we want to do is cancel a subscription to a platform we’ve come to love.
However, there are moments in life when the budget just will not stretch far enough to allow for extra expenses.
Has Audible become an inconvenient extra expense for you?
Audible definitely offers a fantastic wealth of audiobooks and podcasts.
Their impressive catalog has got so many of us hooked on the service that they provide, but if you’ve found that Audible no longer is doing the trick for you, or that it’s just not cost-effective at this time, you may well be looking for a refund.
So the next step in the process is to cancel your membership to Audible.
The cancellation process needs to be done by either:
- Signing into your Audible account via Audible.com and changing your subscription preferences on your ‘Account Details‘ page.
- Alternatively, you can contact the ‘Customer Service Team‘ directly and asking them to cancel for you.
- If however, you opened your membership plan using the Audible app you need to cancel using this site for IOS or the Audible Google Play site.
Once you’ve gone through that process you may be wondering why you haven’t received all the money back that you expected.
If you’ve felt short-changed after you’ve canceled Audible then read on for the reasons why that may have happened.
Audible’s Terms & Conditions On Cancelling Your Membership & The Refund You Will Recieve
If you were expecting a big check in the post after canceling your Audible membership then unfortunately you’re going to be disappointed.
Once you cancel your membership you will no longer be charged for any upcoming payments, however, all of the purchases that you made, and any fees incurred, will not be refunded.
As their T&Cs confirm:
“If you cancel your membership or subscription, you will not receive a refund of any fees already paid. Your member benefits terminate when your membership is cancelled, but cancellation does not terminate your license and access to purchased content. “
The good news is that anything you’ve already purchased is yours to keep, you won’t lose access to that. So those audiobooks that you mulled over and then took the decision to buy will still be yours.
Remember, when you cancel your membership to Audible you are simply severing your payment plan from that point. Everything that was purchased during your time as a member will not be refunded.
The bottom line is that Audible does not refund memberships.
It’s worth pointing out that you can pause membership plans that offer credits, but remember, you can only do this once in a 12-month period.
What If I Simply Forgot To Cancel Before The Trial Period Ended?
Free trials are a great way to test out a service or a platform before you take the plunge and purchase a membership.
Audible’s 30-day free trial includes:
- Access to the Audible Plus Catalog – that means you get to discover everything from Audible’s exclusive Originals, meditations, podcasts, and of course – audiobooks.
- You’ll also be given 1 credit to spend on any premium content that takes your fancy. Using a credit to make a purchase means you get to keep it forever.
- If you’re an Amazon Prime member you’ll get 2 credits!
- Lastly, Audible will drop you an email to remind you that your free trial is about to end.
It’s no surprise that many people find Audible’s free trial quite appealing. The idea of having a free premium audiobook to keep almost sounds too good to be true.
However, it’s important to know what happens when that free trial comes to end.
If you get to the end of your 30-day free trial and you forget to cancel then you will be automatically signed up for a membership and will be charged accordingly.
That’s right. You’ll be stung by a charge on your credit card as soon as the trial ends and unfortunately, there’s no way to get a refund.
If you’ve been wording why Audible keeps charging you, its probably because you are now a rolling subscription and will need to pay each and every month for the service.
Now you can of course cancel anytime, but, as we’ve already covered, Audible will not refund membership payments.
If you’ve signed up for a free trial on Audible it is your responsibility to cancel it before your 30 days are up.
As stated, Audible should send you a reminder, but it’s safer to make a note of the date your trial ends, or, set a reminder on your phone.
If you’ve been caught out by free trials before it could be worth using a service such as DoNotPay.
DoNotPay offers users the ability to use a ‘virtual credit card’ instead of their own.
This use of DoNotPay’s virtual card prevents you from losing any money if you forget to cancel your free subscription – whether that’s Audible or another site.
Moreover, you can easily manage and cancel any subscriptions you already have using DoNotPay.
What Are The Rules For Refunds On Audible?
Customers should have no problems when they wish to return a book using the refund process provided.
Audible enables users to return books within 365 days of the original purchase for the following reasons:
- They are not satisfied with the purchase.
- The product isn’t as advertised (shorter, low-quality audio, etc.).
- The purchase was made by mistake.
In certain rare circumstances, returns may be refused by Audible if they feel the terms and conditions have been exploited by the customer.
This can happen when a customer repeatedly uses credit to purchase an audiobook, listens to it, then requests a refund, and the refunded credit is used to simply purchase another title.
The repercussions of abusing this system are covered in further detail in the next few sections.
Does Audible Refund Credits?
Credits allow users to select premium content and own it for life.
If you’ve had your eye on an audiobook that you’ve always wanted in your collection you can spend one of your credits to ensure that you keep it forever.
Membership plans provide credits to their users and credits will be given each month depending on your subscription.
You even get credit (or two if you have an Amazon Prime account) with a free trial.
However, whether you are on a free trial or the highest level of Audible membership, you won’t be refunded your credits when you cancel your subscription.
When a membership or trial is canceled, any unused credits will be lost.
So what exactly are these credits all about?
All You Need To Know About Audible Credits
- Users can use credits to buy content at no extra charge.
- Credits can only be used with Audible.
- They have no actual monetary value.
- They cannot be transferred to other users.
- They are valid only for the time stated in your membership plan or promotional duration.
- They will become immediately unavailable for use as soon as a membership or plan is canceled.
- A credit will be refunded to the user if they purchased content using a credit.
Credits are a great way to encourage Audible members to own premium content without forking out real cash.
These credits are issued to paying members, so they’re not completely free, but they’re included in the price of your particular membership.
If you purchase an audiobook with a credit and then return it, you’ll be refunded with a credit.
However, do note that a credit does not last forever.
Audible has explained exactly what will happen with a refunded credit:
“All credits received from returning a title expire 12 months after they are issued, regardless of the original credit type or where it was received.”
How Long Does Audible Take To Refund?
There are 3 methods of purchasing titles through audible, and the time it takes to receive a refund will differ slightly depending on which payment method you originally used:
- With Credit, you will be refunded in Credit instantaneously.
- With Coupons, the refund can take 7-10 business days.
- With a Credit Card, the ref