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PARIS, FRANCE - JAN 28, 2016: Amazon logotype printed on cardboard box side, seen from above on a wooden floor. Amazon Inc is the an American electronic e-commerce companyAmazon was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging the online retail giant falsely advertises its “prime” membership to consumers.

A group of Amazon customers from California and Texas allege in their class action lawsuit that they were duped into paying for a prime membership when they purchased products online from Amazon.

According to the Amazon website, “Prime members … enjoy exclusive access to movies and TV shows, ad-free music, Kindle books, original audio series and unlimited photo storage,” in addition to free shipping.

The plaintiffs allege that they purchased products from Amazon under the belief that they would not be charged for a “prime” membership; however, they say that unbeknownst to them they were actually charged for the membership for multiple years. The plaintiffs further claim that Amazon refused to provide a refund when they discovered their accounts were being charged for the prime membership without their consent or knowledge.

“[Amazon] represents to its consumers that they could use its services to purchase products directly from its website at no cost to the consumer in addition to the cost of the product,” the Amazon class action lawsuit states. “However, despite these representations, Defendant charged Plaintiffs and similarly situated consumers additional fees. Specifically, when consumers purchased products from Defendant, they were also charged an additional ‘Amazon Prime’ membership fee”

According to the class action complaint, the plaintiffs and proposed Class Members were never presented with written terms prior to their purchase of Amazon’s prime membership. Additionally, they say that Amazon represented to them and others that they would not be charged for a membership.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who used Amazon and were charged for a prime membership along with Texas and California subclasses. The plaintiffs also seek to represent a subclass of individuals who had bank accounts that were charged the prime membership fee by Amazon using electronic fund transfers.

“[A]ll claims in this matter arise from the identical, false, affirmative written statements that consumers would not need to pay additional fees to purchase products from Defendant’s website,” alleges the class action complaint.

The plaintiffs allege that Amazon extracted between $100 and $400 electronically from their bank accounts for prime memberships they didn’t want.

“[Amazon] knew that their representations and omissions were untrue and misleading, and deliberately made the aforementioned representations and omissions in order to deceive reasonable consumers,” alleges the Amazon class action complaint.

According to the lawsuit, Amazon’s marketing and charging of the prime membership fees violates California and Texas consumer protection laws, as well as the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act. The plaintiffs are seeking damages for these claims as well as an order requiring Amazon to notify its customers of its alleged false marketing scheme.

The Amazon consumers are represented by Todd M. Friedman, Adrian R. Bacon, Meghan E. George, and Thomas E. Wheeler of the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman PC.

The Amazon Prime Membership False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Laura Makenna, et al. v. Amazon.com LLC, Case No. 3:17-cv-04412, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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545 thoughts onAmazon Class Action Filed Over Unwanted Prime Membership

  1. Emily says:

    My issue is a little different. Amazon gave me 30 days prime, which I took, but instead bait and switched me and charged me instead. When I contacted Amazon, they said that since I got 30 days free in March, they were not allowed to give it to me again, even though it was offered to me and I had a screenshot of it. That has to be illegal, right?

    1. Jamie Ostrander says:

      Been being charged for a prime account for months and have not authorized them to take the money from my account

    2. Monique Little says:

      Add me Amazon prime still keeps charging my account

      1. Erin Washington says:

        I had to erase all my cards off the account and ADD a prepaid card so it can stop charging my account. Its still trying to charge it til this day.

        1. Frederick D Rollins says:

          You need to put the US Virgin Islands on the list. I am a victim of Prime taking money from my account that I didn’t authorize.

  2. Yeseline Colon says:

    Add me please

  3. Anderie Sigure says:

    I had an Amazon Prime account that was closed a few years ago. Today I became aware that they have been taking a fee of $16.32 out of my checking acct. Tried resolving the issue with them and to return my funds, getting the run around.

  4. Nolan Greene says:

    Can I be added to the lawsuit please. I’ve been charged Amazon Prime US fees for the past 22 months… And I live in Canada! Almost 500$ stolen from me!

    1. Dena Krawczyk says:

      Can Indiana residents join in on the law suit too? I had $ 7.99 taken out of my account every 2 weeks for god only knows how long. I finally had to cancel my debit card because of the fraudulent transactions but was unable to recover the hundred(s) of dollars that amazon had stolen from me. The whole Fiasco was a nightmare and for the longest time I blamed my kids. (Grounded them at one point.) Even after canceling and removing all amazon accounts and apps from every single device in my household, like clockwork, $7.99 would still be taken from my account for a Phantom Prime Membership. I felt uncomfortable dealing with amazon customer service over the phone at this point, so much.. that I hung up on their representative when they asked for my personal details. Amazon is so sketchy of a company that I didn’t feel comfortable giving them any more information. I was just happy when I could cancel my card through the bank and be done with it at the time. I would love to see amazon get what they got coming to them.. Even better if I can be a part of the retribution..

  5. Caitlyn Bushaw says:

    Can I be added to this lawsuit? The first time they charged me $99 without my knowledge which I happened to see right away and they refunded it when I called. This was a few years ago. Now last month I was looking at my account on the 23rd and saw a charge for $16 and some change. I looked back at the previous month to see if I was charged and I was, looked back and saw that I was charged every month since January 2021 and that is as far back as I can see on my bank app without contacting my bank to get a longer transaction history. Wow I can’t believe they did this again they should be required to disclose that by clicking you are signing up for a monthly subscription. They are unknowingly charging all these customers all this money and it should be illegal.

  6. Boomer says:

    Amazon rep advised we received duplicate payments, and admitted the Amazon system automatically signed us up for a second Amazon Prime account when we already had a household prime membership account. They refunded one year of the unauthorized individual account but no more. The total refund should be around $310. The household account is showing the unauthorized monthly rate but transactions back to when the household account was established.

    1. Cora Chan says:

      I was charged with 3 different prime accounts they claimed I signed up on my tv. Though I never had an Amazon account and they claimed they got my credit card info from my merchandise purchase in my husband’s account. They automatically signed me up for those accounts without my consent claiming I watched something on it and I asked them to name the movie or show, and they said they couldn’t see it at their end, which contradicted their accusation. After back and forth conversations, they only refunded partial of those monthly payments. This happened a few years before but with only one account that I disputed and they agreed to block so it will never happen again back then. When I informed them about that, they said they don’t have that conversation on file.

    2. Cora Chan says:

      I want to be included in the class action lawsuit against Amazon. I was charged with 3 different prime subscriptions they claimed I signed up on my tv. This was the second time! I’ve never had an Amazon prime account and they said they charged my credit card info from my merchandise purchase under my husband’s prime account. They automatically signed me up for those accounts without my consent claiming I watched something on it and when I asked them to name the movie or show, they said they couldn’t see it at their end, which contradicted their accusation. After back and forth conversations and involving my bank with fraud, they only refunded partial of those monthly payments. I also informed them that this happened a few years ago, and they agreed to block any subscription so it would never happen again. They said they don’t have that conversation on file. So now I don’t dare using my credit card on their website. It’s so ridiculous how a big corporation would steal $ from their customers.

  7. Paul H Willmer PE says:

    Please! I need to be included on this lawsuit against Amazon. I have had an Amazon “Account” since 2014, but NEVER wanted or needed “Prime Membership”. My wife in same household has had Prime membership since approx 2015. In Dec2018 Amazon started charging me monthly for Prime membership that I not even once used! I discovered these fraudulent charges dating back now more than 4 years (~$700)! My credit card company could only refund me for 5 months x $15.89. Note that I NEVER do “FREE” Trials with any company — period! I have long been wary of internet companies lying, cheating & stealing! How could Amazon, one of the wealthiest companies in the world, stoop so low!

  8. Tara U says:

    I would like to be included in this lawsuit. Amazon fraudulently debited my credit card for Amazon prime without ever informing me that I had prime. Therefore, i never was able to access prime goods and services. Because of this, my credit score dropped 80 points because they were debiting my credit card seven days before the due date of my credit card. I incurred Late fees as a result of their shady business practices. Amazon assessed prime membership charges on September 5, 2022, late charges assessed on the 12th, and was reported to the credit bureau on October 15 with Barclays credit card. Amazon has agreed to refund $340.00 but I feel this is theft of services.

    1. Derek Newman says:

      I am still getting charged from Amazon after I have called and changed with them three separate times spending hours trying to fix this.

    2. Paul H Willmer PE says:

      Please! I need to be included on this lawsuit against Amazon. I’ve had an Amazon “Account” since 2014, BUT without my authorization Amazon added “Prime Membership” to my account in Dec2018. I NEVER do free trials and would NEVER willingly add Prime Membership. My wife in my household has long had Prime Membership. Over past four years I have not benefited one dime from the Prime Membership that Amazon added to my account, BUT I have paid close to $700 for this service that I did not authorize and did not use! I have information that would be useful in this litigation. My credit card would only refund 5monthsx$15.89 to me. Amazon is one of the most profitable companies in the world! I have come to expect lying, cheating & stealing from small internet companies, but not the immensely wealthy Amazon ! How could Amazon stoop so low?!?

  9. Marie Knoos says:

    this is the third round of charges that I’ve gotten from Audible charging me 1495 a month… When I go to go on say I’m not a member I never signed up… The actual app says I’m not a member so I can’t even cancel it because I’m not even a member yet they’re charging me! This is outrageous! They charge two months and skip a month and start again this is crazy and has been going on for a couple of years! And there’s no one to talk to and no one to stop it please I would love to be in a lawsuit against these jerks!

    1. Arlanda Darkwa says:

      How can I join the lawsuit?

  10. patricia says:

    How do I join this lawsuit ?

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