Summary
Amazon will pay $2.5 billion in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for enrolling customers in Prime memberships using questionable tactics. As part of the settlement, Amazon is sending refunds to eligible Prime customers across the U.S. Customers began receiving payments in November 2025.
Key Facts
- Amazon reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the FTC.
- The FTC claimed Amazon used deceptive methods to sign up customers for Prime and made it hard for them to cancel.
- Of the settlement amount, $1.5 billion will go to Prime customers as refunds.
- Automatic refunds started on November 12, 2025, and continued until December 24, 2025.
- Eligible customers received emails to choose either PayPal or Venmo for refunds, or they will get checks in the mail.
- Refunds are available for customers who enrolled in Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, under certain conditions.
- Refunds could be up to $51, the cost of an annual Prime membership.
- Amazon will make changes to improve transparency in the subscription process.
