Amazon Agrees to Pay $2.5-B Over Claims It Tricked Prime Customers

Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion (£1.9 billion) to resolve claims brought by the US government that it tricked millions of people into enrolling as Prime members and made it difficult to cancel, Natalie Sherman reported for BBC News

The deal marks a major victory for the FTC, yielding the largest-ever civil penalty secured by the agency. (Image: Amazon) 

A total of $1.5 billion will go to refunds for customers who were duped into signing up for the service, according to the proposed settlement announced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The deal came just a few days after a trial began before a jury in Seattle.

It marks a major victory for the FTC, yielding the largest-ever civil penalty secured by the agency.

Amazon, which did not admit or deny the allegations, said it had “always followed the law” and that the settlement would allow the firm to “move forward.”

Prime offers free shipping, access to streaming movies, and more. Hundreds of millions of people around the world subscribe to the service, which costs $139 a year in the US, or $14.99 a month, and £95 a year in the UK.

The FTC had targeted Amazon practices such as pop-ups during checkout that repeatedly suggested customers sign up for Prime, collecting billing information without fully disclosing terms, or making it clear how to decline the service.