Amazon is refunding some customers who returned items but never received payment - and some have reported receiving refunds for returns made as far back as 2018.
The e-commerce giant said it conducted "a recent internal review" and "identified a very small subset of returns where we issued a refund without the payment completing, or where we could not verify that the correct item had been sent back to us so no refund was issued."
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WATCH HERECustomers will not need to take any steps to receive their refunds as payments will be automatic, the company said.
"There is no action required from customers to receive the refunds, and we have fixed the payment issue and made process changes to more promptly contact customers about unresolved returns going forward," a spokesperson for Amazon told NBC Chicago.
One customer reported receiving a refund this week for a purchase made in 2018.
"WILD - Amazon just refunded me finally for a return in 2018!" Steven Pope wrote on LinkedIn. "$1,798.81 is being credited to me today in 2025 after 7 years. I'm probably not the only customer who has experienced this but isn't that crazy!? 7 years to payout a return???"
Pope said he received an email notifying him of the "unresolved product return," saying "we could have notified these customers more clearly (and earlier) to better understand the status and help us resolve the return."
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The refunds come amid a class-action lawsuit that accused Amazon of reversing or failing to issue refunds for certain returns. The lawsuit alleges Amazon systematically failed to issue refunds to customers, even when items were properly returned within the 30-day return window.
The lawsuit was officially filed in 2023, along with a similar lawsuit that was eventually consolidated, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. It alleged Amazon either reversed instant refunds or never issued them at all, forcing customers to catch the errors via bank or credit card statements.
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SIGN UP "Plaintiffs allege that they properly returned their items and received advanced refunds, but Amazon subsequently charged them again anyway," the complaint states.
A motion from Amazon to dismiss the lawsuit was denied by a judge in late April.
According to the company's website, a "refund will be provided if Amazon (or the third party seller) has received the item, and determined that you are eligible for a refund."
The company notes it can take up to 30 days for a refund to be received and processed.
"In certain circumstances refund timeframes may be longer. If we need additional information about your return, we will notify you with instructions to contact Customer Service," Amazon's website reads, adding that even once a refund is issued it can take more time for your bank to make the funds available.
