$2.5 Billion Amazon Prime Sign-Up/Cancellation Settlement

Consumers who enrolled in an Amazon Prime subscription for the United States market between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, or who unsuccessfully attempted to cancel their Prime subscription may qualify to claim up to $51 from a settlement.

Amazon.com Inc. agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging it enrolled consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and made it difficult for them to cancel, violating federal consumer protection laws, including the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.

Who is eligible to submit a claim?

U.S. consumers must meet one or both of the following criteria:

• They enrolled in an Amazon Prime subscription for the United States market between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, using a "challenged enrollment flow." These flows include the universal Prime decision page, shipping option select page, Prime Video enrollment flow or single-page checkout.
• They unsuccessfully attempted to cancel their Amazon Prime subscription for the United States market during the same period but either failed to complete the online cancellation process or inadvertently accepted a "save offer" during the process.

Amazon will identify eligible consumers using its own records, based on the enrollment or cancellation flows they used and the number of Prime benefits they accessed.

How much is the Amazon Prime payout?

The settlement provides for two main types of payment, depending on the consumer’s experience and Prime usage:

• Automatic payout: Consumers who enrolled in Prime through a challenged flow and used no more than three Prime benefits in any 12-month period following enrollment will automatically receive a refund for all Prime membership fees paid during their subscription up to a maximum of $51.
• This group does not need to submit a claim form. They will receive an automatic payout approximately 90 days after the court grants final approval to the settlement.

• Claims process: Consumers who used no more than 10 Prime benefits in any 12-month period and either (a) enrolled through a challenged flow or (b) unsuccessfully attempted to cancel Prime but do not qualify for the automatic payout must submit a claim. If their claim is valid, they will receive a refund for all Prime membership fees paid during their subscription (or after their first unsuccessful cancellation attempt) up to a maximum of $51.
• Amazon will send a claim form via email, mail or through a settlement website. Claimants must submit the form within 180 days of receipt either online or by mail. The settlement website will remain available throughout the claims process. Those who receive a claim form should follow the instructions carefully.

If the total amount due to eligible consumers exceeds the $1.5 billion consumer fund, the settlement administrator will reduce payments on a pro rata basis.

Additionally, if the settlement administrator pays less than $1 billion after the initial payment rounds, it will continue to make additional rounds of automatic payments to consumers who used slightly more Prime benefits, increasing the threshold by one benefit at a time until it distributes $1 billion.

$2.5 billion settlement fund breakdown

The settlement fund of $2.5 billion incudes a $1 billion civil penalty, the largest ever in an an FTC rule violation case, and $1.5 million in consumer redress for an estimated 35 million consumers impacted This is the second-highest restitution award an FTC action has secured.

Amazon will pay all costs associated with the claims process and administration.

Important dates

• Automatic payouts to eligible consumers: Within 90 days of the initial settlement order
• Claim forms sent to eligible consumers: Within 30 days after the settlement administrator completes automatic payouts
• Claim form submission deadline: 180 days after receipt of claim form

Why did this settlement happen?

The Federal Trade Commission alleged Amazon enrolled consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and made it difficult for them to cancel. It claimed Amazon used deceptive user interfaces and complicated cancellation processes, violating the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act.

Amazon agreed to settle the lawsuit without admitting wrongdoing.

Sources

1. Federal Trade Commission press release
2. Stipulated order for permanent injunction, monetary relief, civil penalty judgment and other relief