No Amazon, for the millionth time, I do not want a free trial of Amazon Prime!

Amazon sent me a letter today, with a credit card style card attached telling me I was eligible for a "free" trial of Amazon Prime.

In case you live under a rock, Amazon Prime is a special extra from amazon, it costs £79 a year and gives you free next day delivery on products, lots of kindle books to rent, and access to movies via streaming since they bought LoveFilm.

Now I use Amazon a fair bit, but rarely am I so desperate that I need things the next day, so I opt for the free delivery in 5 days. I watch a reasonable amount of TV but have plenty on my free view storage to keep me going for some time. I also rarely get time to go to the cinema, so films on TV are often new to me. I am also frugal (in some things) and £79 is the price of a teen ticket to a festival so...well you get the picture, I don't need or want Amazon Prime. 

Each time I make a purchase on Amazon I am asked if I'd like to try a "free" trial of Amazon Prime and every time I check the "no thanks" button. So I was surprised by the arrival of the card. 

Soon after the surprise I was annoyed, then I was angry. The more I thought about it the angrier I got. I read the letter. Lots of talk of how great Amazon Prime was, lots of talk about its "free-ness" no mention of the price, and scant mention of what would happen at the end of 30days. Well there was mention of cancellation but no clear description of how to do it, nor what notice was required. I checked the teeny tiny print too. Still no mention of the cost.

So I asked twitter, did they get a letter too? What did they think? Interestingly, except for two replies, everyone that received the letter was annoyed. I storified the conversation.

Is advertising just that and I'm over reacting? Or should companies take no for an answer? Should they be required to clearly state what you may be signing up to, and how much it may cost you in the future?

Should I be feeling sorry for poor little Amazon? Obviously struggling to make ends meet with their tiny company, that they need to screw extra cash from all of us rich people that are denying them the opportunity to make a reasonable profit....

I'd love to hear your thoughts, both for and against.

**edited to add - I gave in, by 2016 I had joined the Amazon Prime generation