- Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb accused Amazon of “secretly” excluding two ZIP codes in the capital city from expedited delivery.
- The lawsuit says that in 2022, Amazon stopped using its own delivery trucks in two D.C. ZIP codes due to safety concerns.
- The decision caused more than 48,000 Prime members to see slower delivery speeds than the rest of the district, despite paying the same subscription fee.
Washington, D.C.’s attorney general sued Amazon
on Wednesday, accusing the company of covertly depriving residents in certain ZIP codes in the nation’s capital from access to Prime’s high-speed delivery.
The lawsuit from AG Brian Schwalb alleges that, since 2022, Amazon has “secretly excluded” two “historically underserved” D.C. ZIP codes from its expedited delivery service while charging Prime members living there the full subscription price. Amazon’s Prime membership program costs $139 a year and includes perks like two-day shipping and access to streaming content.
“Amazon is charging tens of thousands of hard-working Ward 7 and 8 residents for an expedited delivery service it promises but does not provide,” Schwalb said in a statement. “While Amazon has every right to make operational changes, it cannot covertly decide that a dollar in one zip code is worth less than a dollar in another.”
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement it’s “categorically false” that its business practices are “discriminatory or deceptive.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/04/amazon-sued-by-dc-ag-over-excluding-areas-from-prime-delivery.html