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It’s prime time to get your money back.
Amazonwill pay a historic $2.5 billion settlement to customers after the Federal Trade Commission accused the e-commerce giant of enrolling site users in the Prime subscription service without their consent — and making it difficult to cancel.
Amazon will pay a historic $2.5 billion settlement to an estimated 35 million customers. REUTERS“Today, we are putting billions of dollars back into Americans’ pockets, and making sure Amazon never does this again,” FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a statement.
The settlement includes a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in refunds to affected customers — making it the FTC’s largest-ever settlement and the second-highest refund award in history.
The FTC accused the e-commerce giant of enrolling customers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and making it difficult to cancel. REUTERSIf you meet the following criteria, you could be eligible:
- Signed up for Amazon Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.
- Attempted to cancel your Prime subscription but were unsuccessful during that period.
- You are a customer in the United States.
Refunds are capped at $51 per eligible customer, and payments will be made in two waves, CNN reported.
Automatic payouts will be made to customers who signed up for Prime via a “challenged enrollment flow” — such as the Universal Prime page, shipping option select page, Prime Video or Amazon’s single page checkout — and used no more than three Prime benefits within any 12-month period of their enrollment.
People who fit the bill will receive an automatic refund within 90 days of the FTC order.
Customers who signed up through a challenged enrollment flow or tried to cancel Prime unsuccessfully during the period, and used no more than 10 Prime benefits in any 12-month period, will need to submit a claim form after the automatic payouts are completed.
Amazon will send notification emails and letters within 30 days after the automatic payments end. After you submit your claim, Amazon has 30 days to review it and issue refunds.
The FTC and Amazon have not yet published the official claims website or process details. Once available, information and links will appear on the website and app. Eligible customers will receive claim forms via email and mail after the automatic payout period.
You will have up to 180 days from receiving your claim form to submit it via email, prepaid mail or the claims website.
This is the largest-ever settlement and the second-highest refund award in history. ALLISON DINNER/EPA/ShutterstockThe FTC revealed that Amazon used “sophisticated subscription traps” to trick shoppers into signing up for Prime. This allegedly involved deceptive enrollment practices and hard-to-find cancellation options, impacting an estimated 35 million customers during the time period.
However, Amazonreleased a statement claiming the company and its executives “have always followed the law,” but see this settlement as a way to “move forward and focus on innovating for customers.”
If you’ve been an Amazon Prime member or tried to cancel your subscription between mid-2019 and mid-2025, keep an eye out for refund notifications.
