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Amazon Reviews, Complaints & Contacts

Amazon.com, Inc. is a Seattle-based online retailer and marketplace that sells goods itself and for third-party sellers and runs the paid Prime membership. Open settlements that may pay eligible shoppers include the FTC's 2025 Prime settlement and a $309.5 million class settlement over missing, late or wrong return refunds, with a December 1, 2026 claim deadline.

REVIEWS & COMPLAINTS694on USAComplaints · 1 in 2023-2026
WEBSITEamazon.com
HEADQUARTERSSeattle, WA
PROFILE CHECKED
Submit a Complaint Read reviews & complaints ↓ Official website ↗

Contacts & Login

Customer service & general contact

Cancel, billing & returns

Official website

Report abuse or suspicious activity

  • Report a suspicious message that claims to be from Amazon, no personal reply[email protected]

Other contacts

For businesses, partners & providers

Show all 15 contacts

Settlements & legal notices

Corporate & press

Reference numbers (not support lines)

  • Listed by BBBPhone number shown on Amazon's BBB profile(888) 280-4331
VERIFIED

Locations

  • Headquarters410 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109-5210
EDITORIAL

Company Information

BBB, ComplaintsBoard and Trustpilot figures

Legal name
Amazon.com, Inc.
Founded
1994
Business type
Online retailer and marketplace (Nasdaq: AMZN) selling products directly and through third-party sellers, with the paid Amazon Prime membership, digital content, devices and Amazon Web Services
Website
amazon.comSource: Company website, checked
Headquarters
Seattle, WASource: Amazon.com, Inc. Form 10-K for 2025, cover page, checked

Amazon.com, Inc. is a publicly traded company that files annual and quarterly reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Its BBB headquarters profile is BBB Accredited with an A+ rating. It has resolved several government cases, including the FTC's Prime case, through agreed court orders or judgments in which it did not admit the allegations, and it is defending pending antitrust cases, whose allegations it disputes. Those matters are described in the sections on government actions and lawsuits.

A separate risk is people who only pretend to be Amazon. Amazon's help page on spotting fake messages lists these warning signs. They include false urgency; requests for personal details such as payment information or login credentials. Others include requests to send money outside the Amazon website or app, through another site or by wire transfer. The page also lists demands to pay with gift cards or to read out a card's claim code or PIN, and notices about an order you did not expect. Amazon says that if you received a message about an order you didn't place, it likely wasn't from Amazon, and that you can check Your Orders to confirm. Suspicious messages can be forwarded to [email protected], preferably as an attachment, or sent to [email protected]; Amazon does not reply personally. Suspicious calls and texts can also be reported to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

EXTERNAL SOURCE

Independent Sources

BBBComplaints in the last 3 years
4,697 reviews · 61,249 complaints · BBB business grade A+ · average customer rating 1.11 / 5
Figures checked
ComplaintsBoard
26 reviews · 2,129 reports · average customer rating 1.2 / 5
Figures checked
Trustpilot
50,035 reviews · TrustScore 1.5 / 5
Figures checked
EDITORIAL

Complaint Themes

Refund or return problemsCustomer service contactsSeller account suspension or withheld fundsItem not received or shipping delayUnauthorized or unexplained chargesPrime membership chargesA-to-z Guarantee disputes

Themes, not a count of complaints.

CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Reviews & Complaints on USAComplaints

694 complaints linked to the Amazon profile are published on this site (2002-2026). 1 is from 2023-2026.

Show 15 more complaints on this page
EDITORIAL

Complaints about Amazon: posts on this site, BBB and other review sites

On this site. The reports are dated 2002-2026. They name Amazon, its marketplace or its card-statement descriptors, such as Amazon Marketplace, Amazon Prime, AMZN Mktp US or AMZN.COM/BILL. Most of them were written between 2002 and 2013, before the Prime settlement and Amazon's current return rules, so they show what shoppers and sellers reported at the time rather than how Amazon works today. A few posts about Amazon-branded services and cards issued by other banks, such as Amazon Mechanical Turk and CreateSpace, appear as related posts. All posts are submissions from consumers and sellers that this site has not verified, and a few are positive.

The topics that come up most often are:

  • Refund or return problems
  • Contacting customer service
  • Seller account suspensions and funds held back from sellers
  • Items not received or delivered late
  • Unauthorized or unexplained charges
  • Prime membership charges
  • A-to-z Guarantee disputes

BBB. Amazon.com's headquarters profile is BBB Accredited with an A+ rating. BBB states that customer reviews are not used to calculate the letter grade; the reviews on the profile average about 1.1 out of 5. BBB lists the profile at 202 Westlake Ave N, Ste 2, Seattle, WA 98109-5264, which differs from the 410 Terry Avenue North address in Amazon's SEC filings, and shows the phone number (888) 280-4331.

ComplaintsBoard. The Amazon page on ComplaintsBoard shows 2,129 complaints and 26 reviews, with an average rating of 1.2 out of 5.

Had an experience with Amazon? Tell other people what happened.

Submit a Complaint
EDITORIAL

Returns, refunds, Prime and unexplained charges: what Amazon's own pages say and where to escalate

Most problems with an Amazon order are settled through your account and Amazon's own help pages for the U.S. store. Where two Amazon pages say different things, both are given on this page.

An unfamiliar charge. Amazon's help page Unknown Amazon Payment Charges explains the names that appear on card statements: AMAZON MKTPLACE PMTS, AMZN Mktp US followed by a code. AMZN.COM/BILL are ordinary Amazon.com purchases; AMAZON PRIME followed by a code is a Prime fee; Amazon Digital Svcs is a digital purchase such as a Kindle book or video. A temporary authorization for an order you placed or cancelled is not an actual charge. The full history is under Your Transactions in your account. If a charge still matches nothing in your account, contact Amazon Customer Service and your card issuer; the dispute rights described on this page apply.

Returns and refunds. Amazon's Return Policy says most items can be returned for a refund or a replacement within 30 days of delivery if they are in original or unused condition. Some items have other windows, for example 15 days for new Apple-brand products and 7 days for Kindle books bought by accident and not read. Some items cannot be returned, including perishables, customized products and automobiles, and items marked Final Sale are neither returnable nor refundable.

Start a return from Your Orders with Return Items. A refund is issued once Amazon, or the third-party seller, has received the item and found you eligible, and receiving and processing a return can take up to 30 days. After the refund is issued, Amazon's timeline table gives 3 to 5 business days for a credit card and up to 10 business days for a debit card or checking account.

Fees can apply: a late fee of 20% of the item price if the item is dropped off within 30 days after the return-by date and 100% after that. A damage fee of up to 50% of the price for items returned damaged, incomplete or visibly used for reasons that were not Amazon's or the seller's fault, or 100% for Amazon Luxury items. Keep the drop-off receipt or tracking number until the refund arrives.

Third-party sellers and the A-to-z Guarantee. When a third-party seller ships its own stock, the return goes to the seller, who must offer a U.S. return address, a prepaid return label, or a full refund without asking for the item back. If the seller does not resolve the problem, Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee covers on-time delivery and item condition for items sold and fulfilled by a third-party seller.

You can file a claim when the last possible delivery date was 90 days ago or less and, for example: the package has not arrived three days after the latest estimated delivery date, or tracking shows it delivered. The seller has not resolved it more than 48 hours after you contacted them. The item is damaged, defective or not as described and the seller has not authorized your return request within 48 hours; or you returned the item and have no refund seven days after the seller received it. The guarantee does not cover digital items, services, stored value instruments, Spot Buys or automobiles. If you ask your card company for a chargeback or refund, you are no longer eligible for an A-to-z refund, so choose one route. A denied claim can be appealed through Amazon's A-to-z pages.

Cancelling Prime. Go to Amazon's Cancel Your Prime Membership page and follow the prompts. If that does not work, Amazon's help page says to open the Customer Service homepage, choose Something else under Can't find what you're looking for, and then I need help with something else. Prime bought through Google Play on Android is cancelled through Google's subscription settings, and Prime billed through another company is cancelled with that company. Amazon's two pages describe refunds differently.

The cancellation help page says paid members who have not used their benefits get a full refund of the current membership period, processed in three to five business days. The Prime Terms and Conditions, last updated August 14, 2026, say that if you cancel within 3 business days of signing up or of a free trial converting to paid, Amazon refunds the full fee. It may still charge or withhold the value of benefits used in those days. At any other time it refunds the full fee only if you and your account made no eligible purchases and used no Prime benefits since the last Prime charge.

Amazon's fee page lists Prime at $14.99 a month or $139 a year, Prime Video alone at $8.99 a month, Prime for Young Adults at $7.49 a month or $69 a year. Prime Access at $6.99 a month for people who verify that they receive EBT, Medicaid, SNAP or other qualifying government assistance. A Prime Video subscription is cancelled online under Manage Your Memberships and Subscriptions, or through the mobile carrier or other company it was bought from.

If you may be owed money from a settlement. Amazon's Amazon Settlement help page says its Customer Service has no information about lawsuits or settlements and sends people to the settlement administrators: for the FTC Prime settlement, [email protected] or (888) 999-8094; for the returns class settlement, ReturnSettlement.com, [email protected] or (888) 553-4246. The terms and deadlines of both settlements are set out in the government actions and lawsuits sections.

Disputes with Amazon. Amazon's Conditions of Use, last updated August 14, 2026, say that disputes about Amazon's services or products sold through Amazon.com will be resolved by binding arbitration rather than in court. The exception is for claims that qualify for small claims court where you live and certain intellectual property claims. They also say arbitration is individual only, with a class action waiver. Before arbitration you must first contact customer service, then send a Notice of Dispute on Amazon's claim form and negotiate in good faith for 60 days. Arbitration is run by JAMS before a single arbitrator, virtually or in the county where you live. Whether a particular claim falls under these terms is a legal question for a lawyer or the arbitrator.

Recalled or unsafe products. Amazon says that when it learns of a recall or safety alert it removes the product from its store and supply chain and tells customers and sellers. The Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts page in your account lists recalls for items you bought in Amazon's store. For a specific recall question Amazon says to contact the manufacturer first and, if you cannot reach them, the seller. Unsafe products can also be reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission at SaferProducts.gov.

Seller accounts. Amazon's Seller Central help says a seller whose account is deactivated appeals from the Account Health page under Performance in Seller Central, where the issues behind the deactivation are listed.

If Amazon does not resolve it. Amazon says its Customer Service can help by phone, chat or email; start from the Customer Service page, choose the issue, and keep the order number, dates and screenshots. For a charge you did not authorize or an item paid for but not delivered as agreed, a credit card holder can dispute the charge with the card issuer in writing. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act the dispute must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first statement showing the charge was sent.

That is the legal minimum, and an issuer may accept a dispute later under its own rules, so ask it even after 60 days. Remember that a chargeback ends eligibility for an A-to-z refund. Debit card and bank account problems go to your bank, and a payment issue the bank does not fix can be sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov. You can also file a complaint with your state attorney general, or with the Washington State Attorney General, since Amazon is based in Seattle; report deceptive practices to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov; and file a complaint with BBB, which forwards it to Amazon.

EDITORIAL

Government actions involving consumers: FTC, D.C. Attorney General and CPSC

FTC and Amazon Prime: settled September 2025, payments continuing. The FTC sued on June 21, 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, case 2:23-cv-00932-JHC, alleging that Amazon signed people up for Prime without clear consent and made cancelling hard. On September 25, 2025 the court entered a stipulated order. Amazon must pay a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in refunds to consumers. Amazon must also offer a clear and conspicuous button to decline Prime, disclose Prime's cost, billing dates, auto-renewal and cancellation terms clearly at sign-up, and provide a way to cancel that, in the FTC's words, cannot be difficult, costly or time-consuming. Paragraph 4 of the order states that Amazon neither admits nor denies the allegations except as specifically stated in the order.

More on regulatorsShow less

Who gets a Prime payment. According to the FTC's refund page, eligible people are U.S. Prime customers who joined through one of the challenged sign-up flows, or tried to cancel online but could not, between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025. Eligible people also must have used no more than 20 Prime benefits in any 12-month period. No action is needed: Amazon sends payments automatically by mailed check, PayPal or Venmo, and the FTC says eligible customers will be paid by April 2027. Payments expire 60 days after they are issued, so accept or cash them promptly.

Under a stipulated order the court entered on September 14, 2026, the maximum total payment rose from $51 to $200, and customers who used 11 to 20 Prime benefits in a one-year period became eligible for automatic payments starting October 1, 2026. The FTC's announcement of September 17, 2026 adds that people who already received a payment could get up to $149 more if accepted payments fall short of a threshold set in the order by February 2027, in a final automatic round starting by April 2027. The FTC reported more than $845 million paid as of September 2026. The settlement administrator's contacts are in the section on what to do.

District of Columbia Attorney General: settlement announced October 1, 2026. In December 2024 the D.C. Attorney General sued Amazon in D.C. Superior Court, case 2024-CAB-007611, alleging that from June 2022 Amazon excluded ZIP codes 20019 and 20020, east of the Anacostia River, from its own fast delivery network. The suit also alleges that Amazon sent those packages through slower outside carriers, while charging full Prime fees and not telling members. Amazon says it made the change because its drivers faced specific safety threats. On October 1, 2026 the Attorney General announced a settlement under which Amazon pays $8.25 million: $7.25 million in refunds to Prime members in those ZIP codes, where about 69,000 members live, and $1 million in penalties to the District.

Eligible customers are to be told of their refund amount in the weeks after the announcement. If Amazon limits delivery anywhere in D.C. for safety reasons in the future, it must tell existing and prospective Prime members how that affects delivery speed and benefits. The Attorney General says Amazon ended the exclusions in April 2026. In the signed consent judgment Amazon denies the District's claims and admits no wrongdoing; the judgment takes effect when the court enters it. Residents with questions can contact the Attorney General's office at oag.dc.gov or (202) 727-3400.

Identity theft records: Fair Credit Reporting Act settlement, 2026. Section 609(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a business to give identity theft victims the application and transaction records of fraud committed in their names. The Justice Department, on referral from the FTC, sued Amazon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, case 1:26-cv-02305, alleging that Amazon did not provide such records and had no written procedure for these requests until early 2025. The case was filed with an agreed order on June 29, 2026, and the court entered the order on August 13, 2026.

Amazon pays a $2.25 million civil penalty, which the FTC calls a record for this kind of violation, and neither admits nor denies the allegations. Amazon must now give victims these records free of charge within 30 days of a request, may first verify the person's identity and claim, must post a notice explaining how to ask, and must contact people who requested records since April 2024 without receiving them. A victim can start by filing a report at IdentityTheft.gov and then asking Amazon for the records.

FTC and Alexa children's data, 2023. On May 31, 2023 the FTC and the Justice Department filed a complaint against Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com Services LLC in the Western District of Washington, case 2:23-cv-00811-TL. The complaint alleges that Amazon kept children's Alexa voice recordings and location data in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, and that it misled parents about deleting them. The FTC lists the stipulated order as entered by the court on July 19, 2023. It imposes a $25 million civil penalty, requires Amazon to delete such data when a consumer or parent asks, and requires a privacy program for geolocation data.

Consumer Product Safety Commission: order challenged in federal court. In July 2024 the CPSC decided unanimously that Amazon is a distributor of more than 400,000 hazardous products that third-party sellers sold through Fulfilled by Amazon: faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hair dryers without protection against electrocution, and children's sleepwear that fails federal flammability standards. Amazon had argued that it is not a distributor of those products. In January 2025 the CPSC ordered Amazon to post recall notices on Amazon.com, notify original buyers by email and on their Your Orders page, and refund the full price to buyers who show they destroyed the product.

On March 14, 2025 Amazon sued the CPSC in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, case 8:25-cv-00853, asking the court to set the decision aside. The parties have briefed Amazon's motion for summary judgment before Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby, and the court has not ruled. Anyone who owns one of these products can check the recall pages on CPSC.gov and Amazon's Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts page.

FTC and 22 states, advertising auctions: filed August 31, 2026. The FTC and 22 states sued Amazon.com, Inc. in the Western District of Washington, case 2:26-cv-03097-JHC. The complaint alleges that in its Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display ads Amazon secretly charged advertisers more than its auctions produced. The case concerns advertisers, such as brands and sellers, rather than shoppers' purchases. These are allegations and no court has made findings. Amazon says in its quarterly report for the period ended September 30, 2026 that it disputes the allegations and intends to defend itself vigorously; Texas filed a separate case in Collin County.

EDITORIAL

Lawsuits: returns settlement, a certified antitrust class action, the FTC antitrust case and the CPSC challenge

Court records

In re Amazon Return Policy Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, case 2:23-cv-01372-JNW. A class settlement has preliminary approval and awaits the court's final decision. The plaintiffs allege that Amazon's return and refund practices broke Washington consumer protection and other laws. Amazon denies the allegations and any wrongdoing, and the court has made no finding that Amazon did anything wrong. The class covers people who started a return or asked for a refund for a physical product sold through Amazon.com and, according to Amazon's records, received in the U.S. from September 5, 2017 to February 12, 2026. Within that group, the class covers people who did not get a refund, got a late or wrong refund, or were refunded and later charged again for the product.

More on the lawsuitsShow less

Amazon will pay $309.5 million into a non-reversionary fund and will also make reasonable efforts to complete refunds it has identified as unpaid, outside the fund. After costs, fees and awards, 92.7 percent of the fund goes to Subclass A, whose members are paid automatically, and 7.3 percent to Subclass B, whose members must file a claim. Claims, requests to opt out and objections are due December 1, 2026, and the final approval hearing is March 16, 2027.

A Subclass B member who does nothing will not receive a payment and gives up the right to sue over the claims the settlement resolves. Class counsel may ask for up to $100 million in fees plus up to $1 million in costs. Amazon also agrees to change its practices for 12 to 24 months, for example by messaging customers when a refund is approved or denied. No payments are made until the court approves the settlement and it becomes final. The settlement administrator's contacts are in the section on what to do.

De Coster v. Amazon.com, Inc., U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, case 2:21-cv-00693-JHC. A certified nationwide class action under the Sherman Act. The plaintiffs allege that Amazon used its market power to impose an anti-discounting policy on third-party sellers, which they say let Amazon charge higher fees and raised the prices shoppers paid for goods from those sellers. Amazon denies doing anything wrong, and the court has not decided who is right. On August 6, 2025 the court certified a class of all persons in the United States who, on or after May 26, 2017, bought five or more new, physical goods from third-party sellers on Amazon's marketplace.

The plaintiffs seek money damages and changes to Amazon's policies, but the class notice says no money or benefits are available now and none is guaranteed. The deadline to opt out was a letter postmarked by August 31, 2026. Trial is set for June 14, 2027, subject to change by the court. In its quarterly report for the period ended September 30, 2026, Amazon says that in the U.S. one antitrust and consumer protection class action has been certified and three others are at the pre-certification stage. Amazon also says that it disputes the allegations and intends to defend itself vigorously.

FTC v. Amazon.com, Inc., antitrust case 2:23-cv-01495-JHC, Western District of Washington. Filed September 26, 2023 by the FTC with 18 states and Puerto Rico, alleging that Amazon used exclusionary conduct to keep monopoly power in online superstore and online marketplace services. On March 20, 2025 the court dismissed three counts of the amended complaint; the rest of the case continues, and trial is scheduled for March 29, 2027. This is a competition case brought by regulators, with no consumer payment program.

Amazon.com, Inc. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, case 8:25-cv-00853. Amazon's lawsuit challenging the CPSC's decision that it is a distributor of hazardous products sold by Fulfilled by Amazon sellers. It is described with the CPSC order in the government actions section.

PUBLIC RECORD

Court & Public Records

Federal Trade Commission v. Amazon.com, Inc., et al. (Prime enrollment and cancellation)

Settled

U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.Filed Decided Docket 2:23-cv-00932-JHCSource ↗

Settled

The FTC reported more than $845 million paid as of September 2026.

Case details: Federal Trade Commission v. Amazon.com, Inc., et al. (Prime enrollment and cancellation)Show less

Settled by a stipulated order the court entered on September 25, 2025 (Document 535). Amazon must pay a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in refunds to Prime customers, offer a clear button to decline Prime, disclose Prime's terms clearly at sign-up and keep cancellation simple. Paragraph 4 of the order states that Amazon neither admits nor denies the allegations except as specifically stated in the order. A further stipulated order entered September 14, 2026 raised the total payment per customer from $51 to $200 and extended automatic payments, starting October 1, 2026, to customers who used 11 to 20 Prime benefits in a one-year period.

United States v. Amazon.com, Inc. (Fair Credit Reporting Act, Section 609(e))

Settled

U.S. District Court, D.D.C.Filed Decided Docket 1:26-cv-02305Source ↗

Settled

Amazon neither admits nor denies the allegations except as stated in the order.

Case details: United States v. Amazon.com, Inc. (Fair Credit Reporting Act, Section 609(e))Show less

Settled. The Justice Department, on referral from the FTC, filed the complaint together with a stipulated order on June 29, 2026, alleging that Amazon failed to give identity theft victims the records of fraudulent transactions made in their names, as Section 609(e) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires. On August 13, 2026 Judge Amy Berman Jackson entered the stipulated order for a permanent injunction, which requires joint compliance status reports every six months. Amazon pays a $2.25 million civil penalty, must provide such records free of charge within 30 days of a victim's request, must post a notice explaining how to request them, and must contact people who asked for records since April 2024 but did not receive them.

District of Columbia v. Amazon.com, Inc. (Prime delivery exclusions)

Filed

Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Civil DivisionFiled Checked Docket 2024-CAB-007611Source ↗

Filed — no final outcome recorded

The judgment takes effect on the date the court enters it.

Case details: District of Columbia v. Amazon.com, Inc. (Prime delivery exclusions)Show less

Settlement announced, court entry pending. The D.C. Attorney General sued under the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, alleging that from June 2022 Amazon excluded ZIP codes 20019 and 20020 from its own fast delivery network while charging full Prime fees. Amazon says it made the change because its drivers faced specific safety threats, and that packages were still delivered through other carriers. On October 1, 2026 the Attorney General announced a settlement: $7.25 million in refunds to Prime members in those ZIP codes and $1 million in penalties to the District, with eligible customers to be told of their refund in the following weeks. In the signed consent judgment Amazon denies the District's claims and admits no wrongdoing.

United States v. Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com Services LLC (Alexa, Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule)

Settled

U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.Filed Decided Docket 2:23-cv-00811-TLSource ↗

Settled

Settled. The FTC lists the stipulated order for permanent injunction, civil penalty judgment and other relief as entered by the court on July 19, 2023. The government alleged that Amazon kept children's Alexa voice recordings and location data in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule and misled parents about deleting them. The order imposes a $25 million civil penalty and requires Amazon to delete such data when a consumer or parent asks, and run a privacy program for geolocation data.

Federal Trade Commission, et al. v. Amazon.com, Inc. (advertising auctions)

Filed

U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.Filed Checked Docket 2:26-cv-03097-JHCSource ↗

Filed — no final outcome recorded

Pending; no findings have been made. The FTC and 22 states allege that Amazon secretly raised the prices advertisers paid in its Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display auctions above the auction result, and they seek a permanent injunction and money. The case concerns advertisers, such as brands and sellers, not shoppers' purchases. In its quarterly report for the period ended September 30, 2026 Amazon says it disputes the allegations and intends to defend itself vigorously; Texas filed a separate complaint in Collin County.

In re Amazon Return Policy Litigation

Filed

U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.Checked Docket 2:23-cv-01372-JNWSource ↗

Filed — no final outcome recorded

Class settlement with preliminary approval; the court has not yet decided whether to give final approval. Amazon will pay $309.5 million into a non-reversionary fund, make reasonable efforts to complete refunds it identified as unpaid, and change its refund practices for 12 to 24 months. Amazon denies the allegations and any wrongdoing, and the court has made no finding against it. Claims, opt-outs and objections are due December 1, 2026; the final approval hearing is March 16, 2027. Subclass A members are paid automatically; a Subclass B member who does nothing will not receive a payment and gives up the right to sue over the claims the settlement resolves.

De Coster v. Amazon.com, Inc.

Filed

U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.Filed Checked Docket 2:21-cv-00693-JHCSource ↗

Filed — no final outcome recorded

Trial is set for June 14, 2027, a date the court may change.

Case details: De Coster v. Amazon.com, Inc.Show less

Pending consumer class action. The plaintiffs allege that Amazon broke the Sherman Act by enforcing an anti-discounting policy on third-party sellers, which they say let Amazon charge sellers higher fees and raised prices for shoppers. Amazon denies doing anything wrong, and the court has not ruled on the merits. On August 6, 2025 the court certified a class of all persons in the United States who, on or after May 26, 2017, bought five or more new, physical goods from third-party sellers on Amazon's marketplace. The class notice says no money or benefits are available now. The deadline to opt out was a letter postmarked by August 31, 2026.

Federal Trade Commission, et al. v. Amazon.com, Inc. (antitrust)

Filed

U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.Filed Checked Docket 2:23-cv-01495-JHCSource ↗

Filed — no final outcome recorded

Pending; no ruling on the merits. The FTC, 18 states and Puerto Rico allege that Amazon used unfair, exclusionary conduct to keep monopoly power in online superstore and online marketplace services. On March 20, 2025 the court granted Amazon's motion to dismiss three counts of the amended complaint; the rest of the case continues. Trial is scheduled for March 29, 2027. This is a competition case brought by regulators and has no consumer payment program.

EDITORIAL

Company background

Amazon.com, Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal executive offices at 410 Terry Avenue North, Seattle, Washington. Its shares trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol AMZN. According to its annual report on Form 10-K for 2025, filed February 6, 2026, Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994 and has been Executive Chair since July 2021, when Andrew R. Jassy became President and Chief Executive Officer. The company had approximately 1,576,000 full-time and part-time employees at the end of 2025.

Amazon's stores are built so that products can be sold both by Amazon itself and by third-party sellers, and it also sells subscriptions such as Amazon Prime. For a shopper, who handles a problem depends on who sold and shipped the item. Items sold by Amazon are returned to Amazon, while a third-party seller that ships its own stock handles its own returns, with Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee as a backstop. The Prime membership agreement is with Amazon.com Services LLC and/or its affiliates, a different entity from Amazon.com, Inc. Card statements show Amazon charges under several names, such as AMZN Mktp US, AMAZON MKTPLACE PMTS and AMZN.COM/BILL for purchases and AMAZON PRIME for Prime fees.

EDITORIAL

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cancel Amazon Prime?

Open Amazon's Cancel Your Prime Membership page while signed in and follow the prompts. If you get stuck, Amazon's help page says to go to the Customer Service homepage, choose Something else, then I need help with something else. Prime bought through Google Play on Android is cancelled in Google's subscription settings, and Prime billed by another company is cancelled with that company.

On refunds, Amazon's help page says paid members who have not used their benefits get a full refund of the current period within three to five business days. The Prime Terms and Conditions add that a cancellation within 3 business days of signing up or of a trial converting to paid is refunded in full, minus the value of any benefits used. The Prime Terms and Conditions also add that at any other time the full fee is refunded only if no eligible purchases were made and no Prime benefits were used since the last charge.

How do I return an item to Amazon and when will I be refunded?

To return an Amazon item, start the return from Your Orders with Return Items. Amazon's Return Policy allows most items to be returned within 30 days of delivery if they are in original or unused condition; some products have shorter or longer windows and Final Sale items cannot be returned. The refund is issued once Amazon, or the third-party seller, receives the item and confirms you are eligible, and receiving and processing a return can take up to 30 days. After that, a credit card refund takes 3 to 5 business days and a debit card or checking account refund up to 10 business days. Drop the item off by the return-by date: a late return costs 20% of the item price in the first 30 days after that date and 100% afterwards, and a damaged or visibly used item can cost up to 50%.

What is the A-to-z Guarantee and when can I use it?

Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee covers on-time delivery and item condition for items sold and fulfilled by a third-party seller who handles its own customer service. Contact the seller first. You can then claim from Amazon when the last possible delivery date was 90 days ago or less and, for example, the package has not arrived three days after the latest estimated delivery date, or tracking shows it delivered. The seller has not resolved it within 48 hours. The item is damaged, defective or not as described and the seller has not authorized your return within 48 hours; or you returned the item and have no refund seven days after the seller received it. Digital items, services, stored value instruments, Spot Buys and automobiles are not covered. If you ask your card company for a chargeback, you can no longer get an A-to-z refund.

Who gets a payment from the FTC Amazon Prime settlement, and do I need to file anything?

According to the FTC's Amazon Refunds page, eligible people are U.S. Prime customers who joined through one of the challenged sign-up flows, or tried to cancel online but could not, between June 23, 2019 and June 23, 2025. Eligible people also must have used no more than 20 Prime benefits in any 12-month period. You do not need to file anything: Amazon sends payments automatically by mailed check, PayPal or Venmo, and eligible customers are to be paid by April 2027, up to $200 in total. Customers who used 11 to 20 benefits in a year became eligible for automatic payments from October 1, 2026. Payments expire 60 days after they are issued, so accept or cash them promptly. Questions go to the settlement administrator at [email protected] or (888) 999-8094.

How do I claim in the Amazon returns class settlement?

The class covers people who started a return or asked for a refund for a physical product sold through Amazon.com and, according to Amazon's records, received in the U.S. from September 5, 2017 to February 12, 2026. Within that group, the class covers people who did not get a refund, got a late or wrong refund, or were refunded and later charged again for the product. Subclass A members are paid automatically and do not file anything.

Subclass B members must submit a claim form at ReturnSettlement.com or by mail, postmarked by December 1, 2026; a Subclass B member who does nothing gets no payment and gives up the right to sue over the claims the settlement resolves. December 1, 2026 is also the deadline to opt out or object. The final approval hearing is March 16, 2027, and no one is paid until the court approves the settlement and it becomes final. If you are not sure whether you are in the class or which subclass, ask the administrator at [email protected] or (888) 553-4246; Amazon's own Customer Service has no information about the settlement.

What do Amazon's Conditions of Use say about resolving disputes?

Amazon's Conditions of Use, last updated August 14, 2026, say that disputes about Amazon's services or products sold through Amazon.com are resolved by binding arbitration rather than in court. The exceptions are claims that qualify for small claims court where you live and court actions to stop misuse of intellectual property. Arbitration is individual only, with a class action waiver. You must first contact customer service, then send a Notice of Dispute on Amazon's claim form and negotiate in good faith for 60 days before starting arbitration, which is run by JAMS before a single arbitrator, virtually or in the county where you live. Whether a specific claim is covered is a legal question for a lawyer or the arbitrator. Complaints to a state attorney general, the FTC or a card issuer are separate from this process.

How do I report an email, call or text that claims to come from Amazon but may be fraudulent?

Forward the message to [email protected], preferably as an attachment; Amazon does not reply personally but may send an automatic confirmation. You can also send it to [email protected] to check whether it is genuine. If the message is about an order you did not place, check Your Orders in your account: Amazon says such a message likely did not come from Amazon. Report suspicious calls and texts to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Warning signs listed by Amazon include pressure to act fast, requests for payment or login details, requests to pay outside Amazon's website or app, and demands for gift cards. The FTC is not contacting anyone about Amazon refunds, and no one from Amazon will ask for money to send a refund. If you already paid or shared card details, call your bank or card issuer right away.

What do 'AMZN Mktp US', 'AMAZON MKTPLACE PMTS' and 'AMZN.COM/BILL' on a statement mean?

All three are ordinary charges for an Amazon.com purchase, according to Amazon's help page Unknown Amazon Payment Charges. A charge shown as AMAZON PRIME followed by a code is a Prime membership fee, and Amazon Digital Svcs is a digital purchase such as a Kindle book, app or video. A temporary bank authorization for an order you placed or cancelled is not an actual charge. To match a charge to an order, check Your Transactions in your Amazon account. If it matches nothing, contact Amazon Customer Service and your card issuer; a credit card billing error must be disputed in writing so that it reaches the issuer within 60 days after the first statement showing it was sent.

Is Amazon responsible for products sold by third-party sellers?

Amazon's responsibility depends on the problem. For delivery and item condition, Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee lets you claim a refund from Amazon for items sold and fulfilled by a third-party seller when the seller does not fix the problem. Examples are a package that never arrived or an item that is damaged or not as described. For product safety, the Consumer Product Safety Commission decided in July 2024 that Amazon is a distributor of certain hazardous products that third-party sellers sold through Fulfilled by Amazon, and in January 2025 it ordered Amazon to notify buyers and offer refunds. Amazon is challenging that decision in federal court in Maryland, and the court has not ruled. For a question about a recall, Amazon tells customers to contact the manufacturer first and, if they cannot reach it, the seller.

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