Amazon returns settlement: who is included and what the deadlines are
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Open for claims
Claim deadline: , submitted online or postmarked by this date.
Status as recorded on .
This settlement resolves a lawsuit saying Amazon mishandled refunds on returned items: no refund, a late or wrong one, or a refund followed by a charge for the item. It covers people who started a return or asked for a refund on a physical product bought through Amazon.com and received in the U.S. between September 5, 2017 and February 12, 2026; Amazon denies wrongdoing and the court has made no finding.
Key facts
- Case
- In re: Amazon Return Policy Litigation, No. 2:23-cv-01372-JNW U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (Seattle) In re: Amazon Return Policy Litigation, official settlement websitechecked October 1, 2026
- Defendant
- Amazon.com, Inc.
- Who is included
- People who initiated a return or requested a refund for a physical product bought through Amazon.com and received in the U.S. from September 5, 2017 to February 12, 2026, and who did not get a refund, got a late or wrong one, or got one and were later charged for the item.
- Claim deadline
- submitted online or postmarked by this date U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.checked October 1, 2026
- Opt-out (exclusion) deadline
- Objection deadline
- Final approval hearing
- What a claimant can receive
- A $309.5 million non-reversionary fund, plus Amazon pays certain unpaid refunds outside the fund. After fees, costs and administration, 92.7% of the net fund goes to Subclass A and 7.3% to Subclass B claimants, each in proportion to unpaid transaction amounts plus an interest-based amount. No per-person amount is stated. Payment follows final approval and any appeals; no payment date is given.
- Proof of purchase or loss needed
- Subclass A: no claim. Subclass B: yes, claim form with documentation (usually proof of tender) and a sworn certification.
- Tier without proof
- Subclass A (automatic)
- Settlement administrator
- Angeion Group
- Official settlement website
- returnsettlement.com
Read in the official record on . A row without its own source mark comes from the source marked above it.
Two groups: paid from Amazon's records, or by claim
Which of the two subclasses a transaction falls in decides whether there is anything to file.
- Subclass A covers transactions that Amazon's own records show as unpaid. The notice says: “Subclass A members will automatically receive a payment” U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.checked October 1, 2026. No claim form is involved. Members choose how to be paid within 105 days after the Court grants final approval.
- Subclass B covers all the other transactions at issue. Nothing is paid on these unless a claim form is sent with documentation.
One person can have transactions in both subclasses and, under Question 8 of the long-form notice, receives a payment from each. The notice also tells readers they can review their order history under "Your Transactions" on Amazon.com. This case is separate from the Federal Trade Commission's Prime refunds, which have their own page.
How notices are being sent and what they carry
The court's order sets the date by which notice must go out: October 2, 2026 U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.checked October 1, 2026.
Under the settlement agreement, notice goes by email to the last known email address of each Amazon account in the class data, and to an alternate address on the account if the first one bounces. The email links to the settlement website, and at least three reminder emails follow. The agreement provides for no mailed notice. The notice refers to a Notice ID, which the Subclass B claim form asks for. A Spanish version of the notice exists. The official documents mention no other code.
The administrator is Angeion Group, appointed by the court. The notice gives three ways to reach it: by phone at 1-888-553-4246, by email at info@ReturnSettlement.com, and by mail at P.O. Box 10, East Brunswick, NJ 08816-9998. None of the notice, the claim form or the website's answers to common questions mentions a tax form. To compare a message you received with these details, the notice check walks through the address, the sender and what the message asks for.
What a class member can do, and by when
All three deadlines fall on the same day, but they are not the same kind of deadline.
- File a claim (Subclass B). Due December 1, 2026 U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.checked October 1, 2026, submitted online or postmarked by that date. The claim form asks for the Notice ID, a list of the orders, proof of tender (proof the item was returned, or in one situation a bank statement) and a statement signed under penalty of perjury. If a claim is found deficient or is denied, the claimant has 14 calendar days to fix it or appeal, according to the website.
- Exclude yourself (opt out). Due December 1, 2026, using the online form on the official website or a signed letter by mail. The notice says a request by phone or email is not accepted. Opting out ends any payment from this settlement and keeps the right to bring your own case about these claims.
- Object. Due December 1, 2026. An objection is filed with the court and, at the same time, sent to the settlement administrator.
- Do nothing. A member who does nothing stays in the class and gives up the right to sue Amazon over these claims. A Subclass A member is still paid automatically; for Subclass B transactions, no claim means no payment.
The mailed opt-out deadline is worded two ways. Question 18 of the long-form notice asks for a letter postmarked by December 1, 2026. The website's answers to common questions and the notice attached to the settlement agreement ask for a letter received by the administrator by December 1, 2026 In re: Amazon Return Policy Litigation, official settlement websitechecked October 1, 2026. The court's order says the request must be received by the date the notice designates. A letter that arrives by that date meets both readings; one only postmarked on that date meets just the first. The online form avoids the mail question. The deadlines guide explains the difference.
What a claimant can receive, in the notice's own terms
Amazon pays $309.5 million U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.checked October 1, 2026 into a non-reversionary fund, which means none of it goes back to Amazon. Separately, Amazon pays certain unpaid refunds outside the fund.
The court may approve payments out of the fund first: attorneys' fees of up to $100,000,000, costs of up to $1,000,000, a service award of $7,500 for each class representative and administration costs. Of what is left, Subclass A receives 92.7% of the Net Settlement Fund and Subclass B 7.3% of the Net Settlement Fund.
Within each subclass, shares follow the unpaid transaction amounts plus an amount based on interest. No official document states an amount per person, and nobody can work one out until claims are counted. The claim form lets you choose an Amazon gift card, a check, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle or a virtual prepaid card. Under the agreement, a Subclass A member who does not choose is paid by Zelle when a match is found, and by another method otherwise.
What happens after the deadline
The final approval hearing is set for March 16, 2027 U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.checked October 1, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, before Judge Jamal N. Whitehead in Seattle; Question 23 of the notice gives the courtroom address. The notice adds: "The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing is subject to change without further notice to the Settlement Class." The official website is where a new date would appear.
If the judge approves the settlement, payments wait for any appeals to end. The official documents give no payment date. The court named Zigler Law Group, LLC and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP as class counsel.
The preliminary approval order posted on the official website is a copy headed "[PROPOSED]"; the signed version in the court record could not be read on the day this page was checked. The notice states that the court authorized it. To read the court record yourself, the case lookup guide starts from the case number in the facts box.
Where other websites disagree with the official record
- Some sites list a later end date for the class period. The notice, the claim form and the website's answers all say February 12, 2026.
- Some sites say a claim needs a "confirmation code". The notice, claim form, agreement and website mention only a Notice ID.
- Some sites give a single kind for the mailed opt-out deadline. As shown above, the official documents themselves word it two ways.
- One answer on the official website itself prints a different post office box for claim-form requests; the notice, claim form and contact page all use the box given above.
Questions about your own rights in this case go to class counsel named in the notice, the court clerk, or a legal aid office.
Sources
- Frequently Asked Questions (29 FAQs, text embedded in the page)In re: Amazon Return Policy Litigation, official settlement website
- Settlement Agreement with exhibitsParties to the case
- Order on Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Approval (copy headed [PROPOSED], dated August 18, 2026)U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement (long form, English)U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.
- HomeIn re: Amazon Return Policy Litigation, official settlement website
- Contact UsIn re: Amazon Return Policy Litigation, official settlement website
- Claim Form (Subclass B)Angeion Group, settlement administrator
- Docket search record, In re: Amazon Return Policy Litigation, 2:23-cv-01372 (W.D. Wash.)CourtListener
Each source listed here was read on .