Amazon has started sending automatic refunds of up to $200 to some Prime customers under a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. The first round of payments went out in early October, and no one has to file a claim, ABC7 reported.
The FTC accused Amazon of signing up millions of shoppers for Prime without their knowledge or consent, and of making the service hard to cancel. The company settled the case in September.
Who gets a payment
ABC7’s consumer reporter listed these conditions for a refund: you signed up for Prime between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025, you tried to cancel online during that period and failed, and you used no more than 20 Prime benefits, such as Prime Video or Amazon Music, in a 12-month stretch. The report did not spell out how the conditions fit together, so check the official settlement information before assuming you do or don’t qualify.
How the money arrives
Amazon pays out through Venmo, PayPal or a mailed check. You have 60 days after the issue date to redeem the payment, so watch for messages in your email and mailbox. Customers who already received $51 from an earlier settlement may still get the $149 difference. Eligible customers should receive their refunds by April of next year.
Watch for scams
Because refunds arrive without a claim form, any message asking you to pay a fee, “verify” your bank details or click a link to claim your money deserves suspicion. Check the settlement details on the FTC’s website, not through a link in an unsolicited email or text.
The settlement lands as other changes reshape online shopping. Google also launched a shared shopping cart this month, which we covered in our report on Universal Cart in Search and Gemini.
