Parents to Receive $70 Million in Refunds from Amazon

Tens of thousands of Americans are about to get refunds from Amazon.

In January, NBC 5 spoke to the family of a 6-year-old Dallas girl who asked Amazon's voice-activated Alexa assistant for a special delivery.

"I said to her, 'Alexa, can you please order me a dollhouse and some cookies?'" said Brooke Neitzel.

Now, Amazon is refunding $70 million to parents whose kids who also made purchases without the consent of their parents.

The refunds aren't from purchases made through Alexa, however. Instead, they're from purchases through the app store on the Amazon Kindle.

While children played certain games, options popped-up to buy upgrades that cost anywhere from 99 cents to $99.

The children, of course, agreed.

Now, Amazon has agreed to pay back tens of thousands of customers.

"It's probably needed because it is so easy for these kids to order these things, and this technology just does it for you, which, I know it's supposed to make it easier, but it's easy for kids to do it," said mother Megan Neitzel.

Neitzel admits she didn't have parental controls set on the device when her daughter placed the order without permission.

But now she does.

"It's been smooth sailing since we put that on there," she said.

Customers who racked up charges on through the app store from November 2011 to May 2016 may be eligible for refunds.

Amazon hasn't said yet when it will begin issuing refunds.