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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Patrick Collinson

Alexa, why have you charged me £2 to say the Hail Mary?

Alexa Amazon Carine Guardian Money
Patricia Collinson
Patricia Collinson discovered she had signed up without the standard terms and conditions for paying for things online. Photograph: Patrick Collinson

When my 87-year-old mother, Patricia Collinson, was given an Alexa speaker by my sister, she was delighted to find she could ask it to say the Hail Mary. Every morning for a week the devout Catholic asked Alexa to recite the prayer.

What she was less delighted to learn was that she had unwittingly ordered a premium subscription payable through Amazon to a private company called Catholic Prayers.

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