Does Amazon Prime Owe You $51? Answer Three Questions and Find Out

(KMDL-FM) It's beginning to be "prime time" for some Prime time, as many households around Louisiana and the nation will do the shopping and arrange for the shipping with Amazon Prime. And if you're an Amazon Prime member, you just might have $51, or up to $51, heading for your Louisiana mailbox or bank account.

Here's what's going on with Amazon, Amazon Prime, the courts, and your chance to get a little of that money you spent with Amazon back into your own bank account.

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If you didn't hear, Amazon ran "afoul" of the Federal Trade Commission when they made it "too easy" to "accidentally" sign up for the Amazon Prime Service. After the legal dust had cleared, it was decided that the giant retailer would pay some $1 billion in fines. We can only assume that's a nice way to say "Uncle Sam's cut".

And the retailer would spend another $1.5 billion "making things right" with the consumers they tricked but didn't mean to trick. Apparently, about 35 million of us "accidentally" signed up for Amazon Prime, and that's exactly how many of us could be getting up to $51 bucks back.

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Amazon has denied any wrongdoing and says it works very hard to make all of its services very transparent to customers. And I am sure they are sticking to those principles even more after paying a $2.5 billion settlement.

3 Questions To See if You're Automatically Eligible for Amazon Settlement Money

The problem with settlements like this one is that it's hard to know if it's worth your time to even explore. So, we figured we'd try to make it a little easier to answer that question by asking you three questions.

Question 1: Are you an Amazon Prime Member who lives in the United States?

If you are, you are automatically considered eligible to participate in the settlement. See, the first one was easy. The second and third questions you might have to think about, but maybe not.

Question 2: Did You Sign up for Amazon Prime Between June 2019 and June 2025?

Okay, we do have to get specific on this question. The official dates are June 23, 2019, and June 23, 2025, through what is called "challenged enrollment flows." Or, you attempted to cancel your Amazon Prime Membership during that period but were unsuccessful in doing so.

To shed a little more light on "challenged enrollment flows," that means did you sign up via Prime Video enrollment flow, Universal Prime Decision Page, Single Page Checkout, or Shipping Option Select Page? If so, then you're elegible.

Question 3: Did You Use Fewer Than Three Amazon Prime Benefits?

This means, did you watch Prime Video or listen to Amazon Music at any time during any 12-month period after you enrolled? If you didn't, then you are elegible for the settlement program.

According to reports, Amazon should have refunds for those who automatically qualify for the settlement heading your way by Christmas Day. If you do not get an automatic refund, you will likely be contacted by a third-party administrator. That contact should come within 30 days of the first payment, and you will have 180 days to complete and return the claim form when you receive it.

Once your claim form has been accepted and approved, your settlement payment should be sent out within 30 days. Of course, all of this requires your due diligence to stay on top of things, but hopefully, this cleared up the question of "Is this worth my time and trouble?".  Let us know if you got paid.