An Indian consumer commission has ordered Amazon to refund a Prime subscriber's annual payment after Prime Video began showing ads before his membership period ended.
After already paying 1,499 Indian rupees for the year, the subscriber was then asked to spend another 699 rupees to get ad-free viewing back.
Here's what to know
In an order dated Oct. 1, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-I in Hyderabad held that Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd committed deficient service and an unfair trade practice by adding ads during an active subscription and charging extra to remove them. The commission told the company to refund the subscriber's 1,499-rupee (roughly $15.78) Prime fee, pay 5,000 rupees ($52.64) as compensation, and cover 3,000 rupees ($31.58) in litigation costs.
The complainant, Kondhoba Rajesh, is an advocate who argued the matter himself and filed it on May 6 under Section 35 of the 2019 Consumer Protection Act, MediaNama reported.
The issue traces back to June 17, 2025, when Prime members in India started seeing ads on Prime Video even though their annual subscriptions were still running. Amazon later introduced a separate ad-free option priced at 699 rupees ($7.36) per year or 129 rupees ($1.36) per month.
Even so, the ruling covers only this one subscriber, though it stems from a change that affected Prime users across India while their memberships were still active.
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More background
Amazon neither contested the complaint nor appeared before the commission despite being notified.
With Amazon absent, the company lost the opportunity to file a written response. The commission therefore decided the case using Rajesh's affidavit and seven exhibits, without any defense from Amazon.
The exhibits included the Prime subscription invoice, promotional material for ad-free viewing, a screenshot showing the 699-rupee ($7.36) amount, email exchanges, and records of viewing activity.
The consumer commission president, B. Uma Venkata Subba Lakshmi, and members C. Lakshmi Prasanna and B. Raji Reddy said Amazon made the change during the membership term instead of waiting until renewal. The bench also found that Rajesh was not told at the time of purchase that Amazon might withdraw ad-free viewing before his paid subscription ended.
Amazon was told to comply within 45 days.
Where can I learn more?
The Hyderabad order is part of a broader backlash over ads, pricing, and feature changes.
• Amazon's new Prime Video feature sparked debate over how much artificial intelligence belongs in streaming.
• Hulu subscribers say the platform's meaning of "ad-free" service still leaves them watching commercials.
• Amazon shoppers blasted Kindle's absurd marketing tactic after discovering ads tied to paid devices.
• Shoppers recoiled when some Amazon e-readers arrived with ads tied to the lock screen.
• Amazon now faces a class-action lawsuit over Prime Day discounts that allegedly misled shoppers.
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