AG Brian L. Schwalb Of US District Of Columbia Sues Amazon Over Slow deliveries In Certain Areas

AG Brian L. Schwalb of US District of Columbia sues Amazon over slow deliveries in certain areas

In one of the first complaints of its kind, Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb of the US District of Columbia has sued Amazon, accusing it of violating consumer protection laws by making slower deliveries to Amazon Prime members in lower-income neighborhoods.

Schwalb stated that Amazon deliberately and secretly stopped its fastest delivery service to the nearly 50,000 Prime subscribers incertain ZIP codes. He added that Amazon used third-parties United Parcel Service and the Postal Service to make Prime deliveries in those areas for the past two years.

This resulted in slower deliveries than those made by Amazon's own delivery drivers, serving other Washington residents. The attorney- general said Amazon "cannot covertly decide that a dollar in one ZIP code is worth less than a dollar in another. We're suing to stop this deceptive conduct and will ensure that district residents get what they're paying for.”

The District of Columbia sued the company in 2021 over price-fixing allegations, a case that an appeals court revived in August. Besides, in a suit filed last year, the Federal Trade Commission accused Amazon of illegally protecting a monopoly over online retail by squeezing merchants and favoring its own services.