Amazon is facing a lawsuit involving two predominantly Black neighborhoods, according to WTOP.
The lawsuit was filed in the Washington, DC, Superior Court. It points to the Amazon Prime membership, which costs its customers $14.99 monthly or a flat rate of $139 annually. Zip codes 20019 and 20020, with 50,000 Prime members who have contributed to 4.5 million orders since 2020, claim Amazon began to rely on UPS and the U.S. Postal Service in 2022 in replacement of their own services.
“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,” Washington, DC, Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in a statement, according to the outlet.
Amazon admits the changes were a result of safety concerns.
“There have been specific and targeted acts against drivers delivering Amazon packages” in the two ZIP codes, and the company made the change to “put the safety of delivery drivers first,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a prepared statement.
She added, “We made the deliberate choice to adjust our operations, including delivery routes and times, for the sole reason of protecting the safety of drivers. The claims made by the attorney general, that our business practices are somehow discriminatory or deceptive, are categorically false.”
Washington, DC, argues that Amazon’s adjustments had not been shared with its customers in the aforementioned zip codes, and they were not informed when they subscribed to Prime membership.
Furthermore, in 2023, 24% of residents in the two zip codes received their packages within a 48-hour period, compared to 72% in 2021. Compared to surrounding areas, 75% of residents reportedly received their packages within that same window.
Amazon states 1.5 million Prime-eligible products have been sent to customers within the two-day window since 2022.
Residents had directly been in contact with Amazon, and they stated that the company “deceptively implied” that the reason for the delayed shipment was “natural fluctuations in shipping circumstances, rather than an affirmative decision by Amazon,” the lawsuit mentioned.
“What we’d like to do, and have offered, is to work together with the attorney general and their office in an effort toreduce crime and improve safety in these areas,” Nantel explained. “Nevertheless, we will proceed in the process and demonstrate that providing fast and accurate delivery times and prioritizing the safety of customers and delivery partners are not mutually exclusive.”
