$309.5 Million Amazon Returns Settlement: Who Qualifies and How to File by December 1, 2026

Ten Amazon customers sued, alleging that some of Amazon's return policies and practices violated Washington consumer protection law and other laws. The core complaint: people sent items back, but Amazon did not issue the refund, issued it late or for the wrong amount, or refunded them and then charged them again (a "retrocharge") for the same returned item.

Amazon denies every allegation and says it would have fought class certification. The court has not found that Amazon did anything wrong. After the case was filed, Amazon reviewed its own records and began paying refunds that had not gone through. According to the settlement agreement, Amazon had issued about $570 million in previously unpaid refunds as of December 1, 2025, with about $34 million still unpaid. Amazon agreed to make reasonable efforts to pay the rest outside the settlement fund.

On top of those refunds, Amazon will pay $309.5 million into a non-reversionary common fund, meaning none of it goes back to Amazon. The plaintiffs' preliminary approval motion values the business changes Amazon agreed to at more than $363.7 million. Those changes include monitoring return timelines, automatically reprocessing stuck refunds after 30 days, notifying customers when a refund is approved or denied, and refunding returns that have not been graded within 90 days when fraud is not suspected. For other claims involving the company, see our Amazon lawsuit page.

You are a class member if, between September 5, 2017 and February 12, 2026, you started a return or asked for a refund on a physical product sold through Amazon.com and received in the U.S. (per Amazon's records), and either:

• you did not receive a refund you should have, or got an untimely or incorrect refund, or
• you did receive a refund but were later incorrectly charged for the item you returned.

The class is split into two groups:

Group	Who is in it	What you do
Subclass A	Transactions Amazon's records show as owed	Nothing required; pick a payment method
Subclass B	All other class transactions	File a claim by December 1, 2026

Your notice should say which subclass you are in, and you can be in both. Subclass B members must show the administrator it is "more likely than not" that they were owed a refund, because Amazon's records alone do not establish it.

Excluded are Amazon and its employees and agents, the judges and their families, counsel of record, the U.S. government, and purchases from Amazon affiliates unless the purchase happened on Amazon.com and the return went through Amazon's fulfillment channels. Returns that were refunded correctly and on time do not qualify. Our guide on how to tell if you qualify for a settlement covers how to read a notice.

This settlement pays back money owed on specific returns rather than a flat amount per person. After court-approved fees, costs, and administration expenses, the net fund is split:

• Subclass A (92.7% of the net fund): the unpaid transaction amount shown in Amazon's records, plus a proportional share representing potential prejudgment interest.
• Subclass B (7.3% of the net fund): a payment proportional to the unpaid transaction amount and potential interest, divided among those who file valid claims.

Class counsel may ask for up to $100 million in attorneys' fees and $1 million in costs, which would come out of the $309.5 million fund before class members are paid. The judge may award less. Each of the ten class representatives may seek a $7,500 service award, paid out of class counsel's fee rather than the fund.

How far the money goes depends on the dollar value of unpaid returns. The settlement agreement notes that Subclass A's total unpaid transaction amounts are less than the Subclass A fund, so Subclass A members should get their owed amount plus some interest. Subclass B's share is fixed at 7.3%, so the more people who file valid Subclass B claims, the smaller each payout. No per-person estimate has been published. For how fee requests affect your payment, see how class action money is divided.

What you do depends on your subclass. Subclass A members do not file a claim but should choose a payment method on the settlement website within 105 days after final approval. If they do not, the administrator will try to pay them by Zelle and, failing that, by other means described in the agreement.

For Subclass B:

1. Find the Notice ID in your email or mailed notice.
2. File online on the official settlement website linked above, or download the claim form and mail it to Amazon Return Policy Litigation, Attn: Claim Forms, PO Box 10, East Brunswick, NJ 08816-9998, postmarked by December 1, 2026.
3. Include what you have: order numbers, return labels or drop-off receipts, carrier tracking, emails from Amazon about the return, and bank or card statements showing no refund or a later charge. Amazon's records will be used to help, but the burden is on you to make your case.
4. Choose how to be paid. The agreement lists PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, ACH, prepaid card, Amazon credit, or check.

If your claim is found deficient, the notice describes a review and appeals process through the administrator, Angeion Group. You can reach it at 1-888-553-4246 or info@ReturnSettlement.com. We do not file claims for anyone. If you are unsure what records to gather, our guide on whether you need proof of purchase for a settlement will help.

Event	Date
Class period	September 5, 2017 to February 12, 2026
Preliminary approval order	August 18, 2026
Claim deadline (Subclass B)	December 1, 2026
Opt-out and objection deadline	December 1, 2026
Final approval hearing	March 16, 2027, 10:00 a.m. PT
Subclass A payment choice	Within 105 days after final approval
Payments	After final approval and any appeals

The final approval hearing is scheduled for March 16, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific at the federal courthouse at 700 Stewart Street in Seattle. As of September 2026, the claim period is open and no settlement payments have been made. The hearing date can change without further notice, so check the settlement website. Our guide on checking a settlement's status shows how.

If you do nothing and you are in Subclass A, the administrator will try to pay you anyway. If you do nothing and you are in Subclass B, you get no payment and still give up your right to sue Amazon over these returns. Subclass B members who miss the December 1, 2026 claim deadline will not be paid from the fund.

To opt out, use the online opt-out form or mail a signed request with your name, address, phone number, the email addresses on your Amazon account, and a clear statement that you want to be excluded, postmarked by December 1, 2026. Phone and email requests are not accepted. Opting out only makes sense if you have a large unpaid refund and plan to pursue it yourself, for example through Amazon's customer service, your card issuer, or small claims court.

Objectors must file with the court by December 1, 2026, and the parties may ask to depose objectors. Read our guide to opting out or objecting before you decide. Also, if you have a currently stuck refund, contact Amazon directly; the settlement does not replace Amazon's normal refund process.

This is Amazon's second major consumer payout in two years. Under a separate FTC order, Amazon agreed to pay $1.5 billion in refunds to Prime customers, and it had paid more than $845 million of that by September 2026. See the Amazon Prime FTC settlement to check that eligibility, and compare the Route package protection lawsuit for another online shopping dispute.

For this settlement, file on the official settlement website linked above. If a retailer kept a large refund or charged you for a return it received and you want advice on options beyond this class settlement, a free case review can connect you with independent attorneys who handle consumer claims.