Amazon Sending $1.5 Billion in Automatic Refunds to Customers: 4 Things to Know

It’s part of a settlement to resolve claims that Amazon enrolled millions of customers into Prime subscriptions without their consent.

Amazon packages are transported by conveyor belts inside of an Amazon fulfillment center on Cyber Monday in Robbinsville, N.J., on Dec. 2, 2019. Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Amazon has started sending emails and paying out up to $1.5 billion in automatic refunds to Prime customers who may be affected by a recent settlement, according to an update from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

In late September, the FTC secured a $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon to resolve the agency’s claims that the online retail giant had enrolled millions of customers into Prime subscriptions without their consent. The settlement also resolved charges that Amazon intentionally made it more difficult for people to cancel their Prime subscriptions.

1. When and How Much?

Amazon began providing automatic refunds to its Prime customers on Nov. 12 and will continue doing so until Dec. 24 of this year, the FTC said. People who are eligible to get an automatic refund should receive an email between those two dates.

“You can get your refund by PayPal or Venmo,” the FTC’s website reads, directing people to “please accept” the refund within 15 days of getting the email.

Eligible Prime customers will get a refund of up to $51 under the settlement for their Amazon Prime subscription fees, the FTC also said.

People who want a check are advised to ignore the Amazon email, the agency said. Once they don’t claim a Venmo or PayPal payment through the email, Amazon will send a check to their default Amazon Prime shipping address.

Customers who opt for a check are advised to cash it within 60 days, according to the website.

2. Who Is Eligible?

One may get an automatic refund from the company if he or she meets three requirements: He or she is an Amazon Prime customer inside the United States; he or she signed up for a Prime subscription via one of its enrollment processes that were the subject of the FTC’s allegations between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025; and he or she used no more than three Prime benefits such as Prime Video or Prime Music in a 12-month period after signing up for the Amazon service.

The applicable enrollment processes include “the universal Prime decision page, shipping selection page, single page checkout, or the Prime Video enrollment flow,” according to the FTC site.

3. What Happens If No Refund Is Sent?

Starting next year, Amazon will start a separate claims process for Prime customers who did not receive the automatic refund between Nov. 12 and Dec. 24 of this year. The FTC and Amazon will issue an update on the FTC enforcement page with more details.

The FTC also stated that customers should be wary of possible scams, noting that it won’t ask people to pay to receive their refund.

“Don’t pay anyone who promises you a refund in exchange for a fee. And don’t give personal information to anyone who contacts you promising a refund,” the site reads.

4. What Did the Settlement Entail?

Amazon agreed in September to pay $2.5 billion in fines and reimbursements to Prime subscribers, and roughly 35 million Prime customers are eligible for payouts from a $1.5 billion fund, according to the FTC. Amazon will separately pay $1 billion in fines and civil penalties to the FTC.

The company did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

“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,” Amazon stated.

As part of the settlement, Amazon also agreed to create a “clear and conspicuous” button to allow customers to decline a Prime subscription and to make it easier to cancel a membership. Amazon has also agreed to more clearly disclose the terms of a subscription during enrollment and to pay an independent supervisor to monitor compliance.

Reuters contributed to this report.