Amazon’s $2.5billion settlement: Are you eligible for a $51 refund? Here's how to claim the amount

Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to resolve claims brought by the US government that it tricked millions of people into enrolling as Prime members and made it difficult to cancel. The FTC announced that Amazon will pay $2.5 billion in penalties and refunds to settle allegations that it enrolled its customers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and made it difficult for them to cancel.

The deal came just a few days after trial began before a jury in Seattle. It marks a major victory for the FTC, yielding the largest ever civil penalty secured by the agency. A total of $1.5bn will go to refunds for customers who were duped into signing up for the service, according to the proposed settlement announced by Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Amazon, which did not admit or deny the allegations, said it had "always followed the law" and the settlement would allow the firm to "move forward". The settlement, reached just days into a trial in the US District Court in Seattle, addresses violations of the 2010 Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.


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Who is eligible for $51 refund and when can you get it?

Amazon will refund subscribers in two waves, per the court. To qualify for a refund, subscribers must have signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025.

The first group will receive an automatic pay out. The first group includes subscribers who enrolled in Prime through a “challenged enrollment flow” and used fewer than three Prime benefits—defined as perks they wouldn’t have received without a Prime membership.

These challenged sign-up methods include any version of the Universal Prime Decision Page, the Shipping Option Select Page, the Prime Video enrollment flow, or the Single Page Checkout. Amazon will refund these members the full amount of membership fees paid, up to $51, without requiring a claim. Payments will be issued within 90 days.

The second group covers customers who either signed up through a challenged enrollment flow or attempted—but failed—to cancel their memberships during the past five years, provided they used fewer than 10 Prime benefits in any 12-month period of enrollment.

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The court considers an attempted cancellation as starting but not finishing the online cancellation process or accepting a Save Offer during that process. These consumers must submit a claim form after the automatic payout period ends.

Within 30 days of completing automatic payouts, Amazon will send a claims form to eligible consumers. Consumers can use this form to confirm whether they were unintentionally enrolled, unsuccessfully tried to cancel their subscription, or both. They have up to 180 days from receiving the form to submit it to Amazon via email, prepaid First-Class mail, or through the settlement website.

Amazon will review each claim and make a decision within 30 days of submission. Consumers with valid claims in this group will be reimbursed for the total Amazon Prime membership fees paid, up to $51.

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What else is Amazon doing

Amazon has also agreed to: include "a clear and conspicuous button for customers to decline Prime." That's instead of "No, I don't want Free Shipping."

The tech giant has agreed to have better disclosures about "material terms" such as the cost, dates, and frequency of charges and make a method to cancel Prime that's similar to how one signs up. It will also pay for an independent supervisor to verify Amazon's compliance in the consumer redress distribution process.

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