Amazon sending out refunds in $2.5 billion settlement with FTC

Amazon is refunding Amazon Prime customers as much as $51 for their subscription fees as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

To be eligible for an automatic refund, a recipient had to have signed up for the service in the U.S. through the online retailer’s shipping selection or checkout pages, the universal Prime landing page or the Prime Video enrollment process between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025.

In addition, a consumer has to have used three or fewer of the benefits associated with Amazon Prime membership, the FTC said.

Amazon and the FTC reached the settlement in September. The FTC said the company subscribed customers to Amazon Prime without their consent through the use of confusing user interfaces on its website and apps, and then made it difficult for people to unsubscribe.

Amazon is required to pay the FTC a $1 billion penalty, the largest ever for an alleged violation of FTC rules, and pay $1.5 billion in refunds. Although Amazon reached the agreement with the FTC, it did not admit wrongdoing and asserts that the company abided by the law.

“Amazon and our executives have always followed the law, and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers. We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership,” Amazon said in a statement when it reached the settlement.

Amazon started sending out refunds on Nov. 12 and is sending them out through Dec. 24, contacting those eligible via email. If people open the email, they will be able to get their refund via PayPal or Venmo. The FTC asks that people accept the refunds within 15 days.

People who ignore the email or do not accept the automatic refund via PayPal and Venmo will have a check sent to the default shipping address used for their Prime subscription. The FTC wants those who receive a refund check to cash it within 60 days.

Amazon will initiate a claims process for other affected customers after Dec. 24.

“If consumers are eligible to submit a claim but were not eligible for automatic payments, they will be notified between December 24th and Jan. 23, 2026,” Amazon spokesman Mark Blafkin told NBC News.