Amazon lost a battle with the Federal Trade Commission in September that will cost the company $2.5 billion.
Will you get any of it?
Maybe!
More details have been released regarding Amazon Prime members who were judged to be wronged by the FTC.
What happened?
The FTC found Amazon enrolled millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and also made canceling difficult.
As a result, the company has to pay a $1 billion penalty and provide $1.5 billion in refunds to customers.
Amazon was also ordered to end “unlawful enrollment and cancellation practices for Prime.”
“The evidence showed that Amazon used sophisticated subscription traps designed to manipulate consumers into enrolling in Prime, and then made it exceedingly hard for consumers to end their subscription,” FTC chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a news release. “Today we are putting billions of dollars back into Americans’ pockets, and making sure Amazon never does this again. The Trump-Vance FTC is committed to fighting back when companies try to cheat ordinary Americans out of their hard-earned pay.”
Are you eligible?
Customers based in the U.S. who signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025 are part of this settlement if they enrolled through methods the FTC took issue with.
Customers who tried unsuccessfully to cancel their Prime membership during those dates are also eligible.
They could get up to $51, but there is a catch.
Those who used more than two Prime benefits are not eligible for the settlement. That includes people who watched Prime video or listened to Amazon Music.
RELATED: Amazon removes key Prime benefit for some customers
Do you have to do anything?
Probably not.
The FTC says refunds are automatic and will be paid out via a third-party (so not as a straight refund from Amazon or an account credit).
Refunds are set to go out by Dec. 25.
According to USA Today, customers who do not receive automatic payments will receive information from the third-party claims administrator to make a claim in 2026.
The FTC also warned to be aware of the potential for scammers to take advantage of this settlement by posing as FTC representatives looking to help them get their refund. According to the FTC, no on from that agency or Amazon will contact anyone about getting their refund.
What else must Amazon do?
The FTC ordered the company to include “a clear and conspicuous button for customers to decline Prime,” and it must pay for an independent third-party supervisor to monitor compliance of that process.
Amazon also much create an easier way for customers to cancel Prime that is not “difficult, costly or time-consuming and must be available using the same method that consumers used to sign up.”
