Up to $1.5 billion of a $2.5 billion FTC settlement will be used for $51 consumer refunds. The first round will be sent automatically, but you’ll be able to submit a claim for the second round.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last month reached a $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon over its “deceptive” Prime subscription tactics. Of that total, $1.5 billion will go toward consumer payouts, which are expected to be released by year’s end.
“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 announcing the deal.
Who Is Eligible for a Payout?
Money will initially be disbursed in two ways: through auto-payments and via a claims process.
Automatic Payout
If you accidentally subscribed to Amazon Prime through what this lawsuit calls a “Challenged Enrollment Flow” between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, and used no more than three Prime benefits in a 12-month period, Amazon will automatically send you up to $51.
People in this group don’t need to submit any claims to get paid, and Amazon is supposed to distribute funds within 90 days of this Sept. 25 court filing, which is Dec. 24, 2025.
If there are too many people in this group for everyone to get $51, the money will be prorated.
Claims Process
If there’s money left over once the automatic payouts are made, Amazon will establish a claims process for people who accidentally subscribed to Prime and used no more than 10 benefits within a one-year period. Amazon will send out claim forms to eligible customers within 30 days of completing autopayments (late January), and those people will have 180 days to respond. Amazon then has 30 days to accept or reject the claim.