
Millions of Amazon Prime customers could be due for a cash payment after the retail giant settled a lawsuit over claims it had misled customers into signing up for Prime but made it difficult to cancel.
The landmark lawsuit against the Jeff Bezos-founded company was raised in 2023 by the Federal Trade Commission after the agency accused Amazon of tricking people into signing up for its Prime service.
Although Amazon itself denied any wrongdoing and stood by its statement that it had broken no laws, the online retailer did concede to pay a settlement amounting to a whopping $2.5 billion.
In a statement from September last year, the company said: "Amazon and our executives have always followed the law and this settlement allows us to move forward and focus on innovating for customers.
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“We work incredibly hard to make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up or cancel their Prime membership.”

Around 35 million customers are thought to be eligible for a cut of the settlement, with some consumers already having received automatic payments shortly before Christmas.
Customers who signed up for a Prime membership between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, in the US and only used Prime benefits three or fewer times in any year of their membership, were automatically paid via PayPal or Venmo in the first round of payouts last year.
However, if they were not accepted, Amazon will have sent a check to the address attached to the account.
But there is still a category of people who weren’t automatically paid that may still be eligible – and lodging a claim is easier than you might think.
Who is eligible for the second round of Amazon payments?
To be eligible for the second round of payments, you need to have signed up for Amazon Prime between June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, and only used your Prime benefits 10 times or fewer within a single year.
Eligible customers will be contacted by Amazon and directed to fill in a simple form that requires an ID and pin code to process.
Amazon spokesman Mark Blafkin told NBC News: “If consumers are eligible to submit a claim but were not eligible for automatic payments, they will be notified between December 24th and January 23, 2026.”

Is there a deadline to submit a claim?
You have until July 23, 2026, to submit your claim.
How much is the claim worth?
While the total settlement is an eye-watering $2.5 billion, individual customers can expect payouts of up to $51 each.
Topics: Amazon Prime, Amazon, US News