WASHINGTON (Gray News) – Amazon has started sending automatic refunds to customers who are eligible to receive a portion of the company’s billion-dollar settlement.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Amazon began issuing automatic payments to some customers starting Nov. 12.
Under the settlement, eligible Prime customers will receive a refund of their Amazon Prime subscription fees, up to a maximum of $51, with payments continuing to Dec. 24.
The payments come just months after Amazon reached a historic $2.5 billion settlement with the FTC, which said the online retail giant tricked customers into signing up for its Prime memberships and made it difficult for them to cancel.
“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 Ferguson said when announcing the settlement.
Amazon previously shared that it was confident it would win the case but chose to resolve it quickly instead of going through a potentially years-long trial and appeals.
The company agreed to the settlement while admitting no wrongdoing in the case.
“We are putting billions of dollars back into Americans’ pockets, and making sure Amazon never does this again,” Ferguson said.
According to the FTC, Amazon will also begin a claims process next year for eligible Prime customers who didn’t get an automatic refund between November and December.
The agency said those eligible for a refund don’t need to do anything at this time, as the payments are automatic, and it will update the claims process once that starts.
Copyright 2025 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
