Amazon’s $2.5 billion settlement: These are the customers who are eligible to receive money

Roughly 35 million people will be getting a refund for their Amazon Prime subscriptions after the online retailer reached a record $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The government consumer watchdog filed a lawsuit two years ago against Amazon accusing it of using “deceptive methods” to enroll customers in its Prime subscription service without their consent.

$1.5 billion of that settlement will be paid directly to customers. The FTC said it had evidence that “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.”

These people can expect to get refund from Amazon lawsuit

“Today, we are putting billions of dollars back into Americans’ pockets, and making sure Amazon never does this again,” said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson in a statement.

In order to be eligible for a payment customers must live in the United States and have signed up for Amazon Prime or unsuccessfully attempted to cancel their subscription between 23 June 2019, and 23 June 2025. Refunds will be sent out in two waves and are capped at $51 according to CNN.

The first wave will be sent out automatically to customers who signed up for Prime through a “challenged enrollment flow” and used no more than 3 Prime benefits within a year of enrolling in Amazon Prime. These refunds will be sent out within 90 days of the FTC order.

The second group will have to file a claim. This includes those who unintentionally signed up for Amazon Prime or unsuccessfully attempted to cancel their subscription. Amazon will send out an email or letter within 30 days of finishing the automatic payments.

Currently, there is no website available for filing a claim, but information and links will appear on the website and app as stipulated by the FTC order. Claimants will have 180 days from receiving a claim form to submit it via email, prepaid mail, or the claims website.

Amazon say it has “always followed the law”

Amazon insisted before settling that their subscription system was transparent and above industry standards. However, internal documents showed that not everyone at the company felt the same, with some calling it an “Iliad” process that confused and frustrated customers.

Others employees said that “subscription driving is a bit of a shady world” or that directing customers to unwanted subscriptions was “an unspoken cancer,” according to the FTC.

After the online retailer settled with the FTC, the company’s spokesperson, Mark Blafkin, said: “We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership, and to offer substantial value for our many millions of loyal Prime members around the world.”

“We will continue to do so, and look forward to what we’ll deliver for Prime members in the coming years,” he added. “Amazon and our executives have always followed the law and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers.”

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