He was sued by the Washington DC attorney general Amazon on Wednesday accused the company of secretly removing access to Prime’s high-speed delivery from residents in certain ZIP codes in the nation’s capital.
AG Brian Schwalb’s lawsuit alleges that since 2022, Amazon has “secretly excluded” two “historically underserved” DC ZIP codes from the express delivery service while charging full subscription price to Prime members who live there. 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 a fast delivery service that it promises but doesn’t deliver,” Schwalb said in a statement. “While Amazon has every right to make operational changes, it cannot secretly decide that a dollar is worth less in one zip code than another.”
Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in a statement that it is “categorically false” that its business practices are “discriminatory or deceptive.”
“We want to be able to deliver as quickly as possible to every zip code across the country, but at the same time, we must prioritize the safety of our delivery drivers,” Nantel said in a statement. “In these zip codes, there have been specific and targeted actions against drivers who deliver Amazon packages. We have deliberately adjusted our operations, including delivery routes and times, for the sole reason of protecting driver safety.”
Nantel said Amazon has offered to work with the AG’s office “to reduce crime and improve security in these areas.”
In June 2022, Amazon reportedly stopped using its delivery trucks to transport packages in the 20019 and 20020 ZIP codes, based on concerns about driver safety. The zip code includes neighborhoods in Southeast and Northeast DC instead of its own internal delivery network, the company relied on outside carriers. UPS and the US Postal Service to make the deliveries, according to the complaint, filed in D.C. Superior Court.
The decision affected the residents in those areas, viz the second and the fourth D.C.’s most populous ZIP codes, “experience significantly longer delivery times than their neighbors in other ZIP codes in the District, despite paying the same price for a Prime membership,” the lawsuit says.
AG data shows that before Amazon implemented the change, more than 72% of Prime packages in both ZIP codes were delivered within two days of payment. That number dropped to 24% after the move, and two-day delivery rates across the district rose to 74%.
Amazon has faced complaints about disparities in its Prime program. In 2016, the company he said it would be expanded Access to same-day shipping in cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Washington, D.C. later A Bloomberg investigation found that black residents were “half as likely” as white residents to be eligible for same-day delivery.
The zip codes in Schwalb’s complaint are in areas with large black populations, according to 2022 census data from his American Community Survey.
Federal Trade Commission He also sued Amazon in June 2023that the company misleads consumers into signing up for Prime and “sabotages” their attempts to cancel by using dark patterns or deceptive design tactics to direct users to a specific option. Amazon said the complaint was “false in fact and in law.” The case will be tried in June 2025.
According to Scwalb’s complaint, Amazon never communicated the delivery exclusion to Prime members in the area. When consumers in affected ZIP codes complained to Amazon about slower shipping speeds, the company said it was due to circumstances beyond its control, the suit says.
The lawsuit accuses Amazon of violating the district’s consumer protection laws. Additionally, the court is asking for an “end to Amazon’s deceptive conduct,” as well as damages and punitive damages.
To get packages to customers’ doorsteps, Amazon uses a combination of its contracted delivery companies, typically distinguished by their Amazon-branded cargo vans, as well as USPS, UPS, and carriers. FedExand a network of gig workers who make deliveries from their own vehicles as part of its Flex program.
Amazon has rapidly expanded its in-house logistics arm in recent years as it seeks to speed up deliveries from two days to a day or a few hours. In July, the company he said recorded its “fastest Prime delivery speed” in the first half of the year, delivering more than 5 billion items in one day.
By relying on its workforce, Amazon has taken greater control of its delivery operations.
In his complaint, Schwalb cites the company’s internal policy, which states that Amazon may restrict certain areas from being served by its internal delivery network if a driver experiences “violence, intimidation or harassment.” The company relies on UPS or USPS to deliver packages to excluded areas.
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