Amazon will refund millions with $2.5 billion in prime payment
Amazon will refund millions after resolving an FTC lawsuit over Prime subscription and cancellation issues.
Amazon customers who are eligible to receive a portion of the $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission will be paid immediately.
The retail giant agreed to a settlement to resolve the antitrust law filed by the FTC in 2023. Federal officials allegedly forced millions of consumers to sign up for Prime subscriptions, making it extremely difficult to cancel those contracts.
The FTC announced the settlement on September 25th, officials dubbed “historic.” Amazon has agreed to make some changes to its website, despite denial of fraud.
In a statement, the company said it was “always following the law.”
“We are working very hard to make it clear and simple that our customers sign up or cancel key memberships and provide significant value to millions of loyal key members around the world,” the statement added. “We continue to do so and look forward to what we have to offer to Prime members over the next few years.”
Here’s what you need to know about timing of payments.
Who is eligible to be paid from Amazon’s settlement?
To qualify for settlement payments, Amazon customers must be signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025, according to a court order.
Customers are only eligible for payment if they no longer attempt to cancel their Prime subscription or if they sign up for Prime through what the document is called the “challenged registration flow.”
“Challenged” flow means subscriptions launched from a specific page on Amazon’s website, such as “Universal Prime Decision Page, Shipping Options Selection Page, Prime Video Registration Flow, or Single Page Checkout.”
Do I need to file a claim in an Amazon settlement?
Amazon Settlements have two stages of payment.
- Auto-payment: Your initial payment will be distributed through automated payments. This means that customers do not need to file claims.
- Who is eligible: Only Amazon customers who have used the benefits of less than three times in the 12 months of registration will receive automatic payments.
- File your claim: Under the second wave, customers must submit claims to receive payments.
- Who is eligible: Only Amazon customers who have used the benefits of less than 10 times in the 12 months of registration will receive payments during this phase.
When will Amazon send payments for the settlement?
Amazon confirmed to USA Today that eligible customers receive financial rewards rather than Amazon credits or gift cards. Payments will be processed by a third-party billing administrator.
According to Amazon, this is your payment timeline.
- Customers eligible for automatic payments will receive them by December 24th, 2025.
- Third-party billing administrators will submit information on how to make a claim by January 23, 2026.
- Eligible claimants must submit the form until July 23, 2026.
How much money can eligible customers earn from Amazon Settlement?
The amounts that each customer earns from the settlement are based on the total amount of Amazon Prime membership fees paid during the term of the subscription.
However, according to court orders, the amount will be the maximum at $51 per customer.
Melina Kahn is a national trending reporter for USA Today. She can be contacted at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
