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Amazon owes refunds to 1,100 Iowa customers

Amazon has agreed to refund $122,000 to about 1,100 customers who unknowingly signed up for membership Amazon’s Prime service.

Amazon has agreed to refund $122,000 to about 1,100 customers who unknowingly signed up for membership Amazon's Prime service.

Amazon Prime offers free and discounted shipping, streaming video, music and electronic book downloads.  amazon charges $99 per year for membership.

When the company attached Prime memberships to an offer for free two-day shipping, it violated Iowa's Buying Club Memberships law according to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.

"Unless those customers canceled during the trial period, trial Prime memberships shifted to regular Prime memberships, with annual charges and automatic renewals," Miller said.  Iowa law requires "certain notices and disclosures designed to make the enrollment process clear to customers."

Amazon reached a voluntary agreement with Miller's office to provide refunds or credits to Iowa customers who paid for Amazon Prime memberships without using them.  The agreement called for the refunds to be made via credits to the customers' Amazon.com accounts, with cash being forwarded to the Attorney General's Office for any customers that Amazon could not reach.

Read the agreement - click here.

Amazon denies any wrongdoing or liability.

"Once we contacted Amazon, the company worked with us in fixing the problem and in reimbursing Iowans who may have been charged without their knowledge and consent," Miller said.

Amazon was to contact Iowans who qualify for the refunds or credits, Miller said.

Related:  400,000 Iowans owed refunds from buying club cases

 

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