Amazon return policy settlement

Amazon has agreed to pay $309.5 million to settle In re: Amazon Return Policy Litigation, a class action in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington over how it handled returns and refunds. The notice describes the class as people who started a return or asked for a refund on a physical product sold through Amazon.com and received in the United States between September 5, 2017 and February 12, 2026, and who either did not get the refund, got it late or in the wrong amount, or got it and were later charged for the returned item. If that describes you, you may be eligible. Subclass A is paid automatically with no form; Subclass B has to file a claim by December 1, 2026, and the online form opens only with the Notice ID and Confirmation Code from a personalized notice. The notice gives no per-person amount, so any payment is an estimate. The court considers final approval on March 16, 2027, and filing on the official site is free.

When the money moves

What the official materials say about the payment schedule for this settlement, and what the administrator has published since. Every figure below is linked to the page it was read from.

Status: Payments have not started

Expected

The notice says no payments go out unless the court approves the settlement and it becomes final. The final approval hearing is set for March 16, 2027, and an appeal would push it further out.

Read off the official notice, in its own words. These dates slip — an appeal can move a distribution by a year or more — so treat it as the administrator's plan rather than a schedule.

Source: the official notice ↗

Facts from the official materials

Status: Open
Type: Class-action settlement
Category: Consumer products
Defendant / company: Amazon.com, Inc.
Administrator: Angeion Group (Amazon Return Policy Litigation Settlement Administrator)
Claim deadline: December 1, 2026
Eligibility period: September 5, 2017 – February 12, 2026
States: See official notice (often nationwide)
Proof: Notice ID / PIN from the official letter or email may be required
Possible amount: Share of a $309.5M fund, by what you paid
Source confidence: high
Last verified: September 28, 2026

Covered products and services

Amazon.com orders
Amazon returns

In re: Amazon Return Policy Litigation · 2:23-cv-01372-JNW · U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington

Amazon pays $309.5 million into a common fund and separately completes refunds it identified as unpaid. After administration costs and court-awarded fees, 92.7% of the fund goes to Subclass A, paid automatically, and 7.3% to Subclass B, whose members must file a claim showing they more likely than not belong to it. Payments are proportional to the unpaid transaction amounts plus potential interest, so the notice states no per-person figure and any amount is an estimate. The notice does not define the two subclasses; it points to the settlement documents on the official site.

Important dates

Claim deadline: December 1, 2026
Opt-out deadline: December 1, 2026
Fairness hearing: March 16, 2027

Where the settlement fund goes

The common fund is $309.5 million and does not revert to Amazon. Class counsel may ask the court for up to $100 million in attorneys' fees and up to $1 million in costs, and each class representative may seek a $7,500 service award paid out of the fee award; the court may award less. Administration costs also come out of the fund. What remains is split 92.7% to Subclass A and 7.3% to Subclass B.

Amazon return policy settlement

When the money moves

Facts from the official materials

Eligibility questions

Related records