- Amazon has just reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Out of the total sum, $1.5 billion will cover customer refunds
- Many Amazon Prime users might be eligible for a refund, but there are a few caveats
Amazon recently decided to settle in its big case against the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), agreeing to a massive $2.5 billion payout instead of pursuing a trial.
The allegations against Amazon included that the company made it difficult to cancel Prime subscriptions and that it enrolled people in a subscription without fully informed consent. Amazon admitted no wrongdoing in the case, but decided to settle rather than face years of appeals.
According to the FTC, the historic $2.5 billion settlement includes a civil penalty of $1 billion – the largest ever in the FTC’s history. The remaining $1.5 billion will cover customer refunds.
Here’s everything you need to know to find out whether you qualify for a refund, and how to claim it if you do.
What happened with the Amazon Prime settlement?
In a complaint filed in June 2023, the FTC alleged that Amazon had “knowingly duped millions of consumers into unknowingly enrolling in Amazon Prime.”
The complaint specified that Amazon had used “dark patterns” to trick people into enrolling or renewing their Prime subscriptions. Moreover, the FTC claimed that cancelling a Prime subscription was too complicated, with way too many roadblocks in the way.
Amazon denies any wrongdoing, but it has agreed to overhaul how Prime is presented, disclosed, and cancelled. In a statement, a company spokesperson said: “Amazon and our executives have always followed the law, and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers.”
FTC secures historic $2.5 billion settlement against Amazon. Agency alleged that Amazon used deceptive methods to sign up consumers for Prime subscriptions and made it exceedingly difficult to cancel: https://t.co/c6e1tpIgDiSeptember 25, 2025
How big is the Amazon Prime refund? The settlement sets aside $1.5 billion specifically for consumer refunds, but of course, the actual sum one person can get is limited.
The FTC estimates that millions of Amazon Prime users could be eligible, so the payout amount will be capped at up to $51 per person. That figure is based on the refund pool being distributed across all approved claims, so not every user will necessarily receive the maximum amount.
Who will qualify for the Amazon Prime refund?
To qualify for the Amazon Prime refund, you need to have signed up for the service between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.
If you tried to cancel Prime during that time period but didn’t end up doing it, you also qualify. Trying to cancel was defined as starting the process, but not completing it, or being tempted into staying subscribed. The settlement only applies to customers in the United States.
How do you check when you signed up for Prime? Go to the Amazon app (or website) and go to Account > Memberships & Subscriptions, then tap ‘Payment history’. You can scroll down to see your Prime payment history.
How will the refunds be processed?
Axios reports that there will be two waves of payouts. No matter the wave, only certain customers will qualify.
Whether you get your refund automatically or not depends on which group of customers you belong to.
The first group, eligible for an automatic payout, includes Amazon Prime subscribers who signed up via a “challenged enrollment flow”. In other words, a process that made it difficult to cancel your subscription. This refers to any version of:
- The Universal Prime Decision Page
- The Shipping Option Select Page
- The Prime Video enrollment flow
- The Single Page Checkout
Eligible customers also cannot have used more than three Prime benefits during the course of their subscription. This means benefits that you otherwise wouldn’t have received without being a Prime member, and presumably includes Prime Video streaming or free shipping.
If you’re part of that first wave of payments, you don’t need to submit a claim. Amazon will distribute payments based on the total amount of membership fees paid during your subscription (a maximum of $51), and you can expect to get your payment within 90 days.
The second group of customers will need to apply for refunds. To qualify, you need to have signed up through a challenged enrollment flow (as outlined above) or unsuccessfully tried to cancel your subscription. You also can’t have used any of your Prime benefits more than 10 times during any 12-month subscription period.
Customers who fall under the criteria for the second wave of payments will have to fill out a form.
The Amazon Prime refund process
We’re currently only at the first wave of the process, where automatic refunds will be processed for those who enrolled through a “challenged enrollment flow” (see above) and have used no more than three Prime benefits within a 12-month period.
Unfortunately, wave two claimants will have to wait, as Amazon hasn’t sent out the refund form yet or created a website with details about the claim process. It’ll only be available once the wave one customers all get their payments.
Once the website is live, you’ll apparently be able to access it from the Amazon website and Amazon Prime page, according to the FTC.
Within 30 days of Amazon settling its automatic payments, anyone eligible for that second wave will be notified via email (and mailed letters). This will tell you how to fill out the form, and you’ll have 180 days to do so (from the day of receipt). The email should contain links to the website where you can file your claim.
You’ll be able to do this via email, First Class postage pre-paid email, or directly on the Amazon settlement website. It’s currently unclear when this second part of the process will start, but we’ll update this guide once it does.
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