Last June, 2023, Amazon was accused by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of misleading its customers into subscribing to its Amazon Prime service. According to the FTC Chairman, Andrew N. Ferguson, the company manipulated customers and then made it difficult to cancel this subscription. Amazon always defended its innocence but reached a settlement with those affected, eligible being Prime members who enrolled between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025. The maximum amount they can receive will be $551 per claimant, who have expressed their dissatisfaction, as they were supposed to receive their payments on December 24, 2025.
Lawsuit against Amazon
After being accused of tricking its users into subscribing to its paid version, Amazon Prime, the company has agreed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to pay no less than $2.5 billion. Amazon will pay a $1 billion civil penalty and provide $1.5 billion in refunds to an estimated 35 million customers that were “harmed by their deceptive Prime enrollment practices,” the agency said in a press release. The company has been accused of misleading users into subscribing to its Amazon Prime service, as well as making the cancellation process difficult.
According to FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, “The evidence showed that Amazon used sophisticated subscription traps designed to manipulate consumers into signing up for Prime, and then made it extremely difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions. Today, we are putting billions of dollars back into the pockets of Americans, and making sure that Amazon never does this again”.
What does Amazon say about it?
Amazon has always maintained its innocence and stated that it had not broken any laws, but it decided to reach a settlement to resolve the legal dispute. In its statements, it said that it “always followed the law” and worked “incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership”.
Who is eligible and when will they receive payments?
According to the agreement, those users who subscribed to the Prime service between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2023, will be eligible. Claimants must have attempted to cancel their Prime subscription and failed, or have signed up through a “questioned enrollment flow”.
This term refers to selected pages on the Amazon website, such as the ‘Universal Prime Decision Page,’ the ‘Shipping Options Selection Page,’ the ‘Prime Video Enrollment Flow,’ or the ‘Single Payment Page.’ Another eligibility requirement specifies that claimants must not have used their Prime benefits more than three times during a one-year period. According to the agreement and the court order, a claimant could receive the maximum payment of $551, which was expected by December 24, 2025, but ultimately did not occur.
Frequently asked questions
What was Amazon exactly accused of in this lawsuit?
The FTC accused the company of using ‘sophisticated subscription traps’ to manipulate users and force them to sign up for Prime. According to FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, Amazon deceived customers and deliberately made the membership cancellation process difficult.
Who is eligible to receive the payment from the Amazon settlement?
Members of Prime who enrolled between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2023, through questionable subscription processes are eligible. Additionally, they must have attempted to cancel the service unsuccessfully and not have used Prime benefits more than three times within a one-year period.
How much is the compensation and what happened to the payment date?
Each claimant can receive a maximum amount of $551. Although payments were expected to be made on December 24, 2025, affected individuals have expressed their dissatisfaction because the payments were not made on the scheduled date.
