US prosecutor accuses Amazon of classism: charging customers in poor neighborhoods but not providing services | The economy

Washington DC Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb sued e-commerce giant Amazon for “classism” for secretly banning its fastest delivery service, Prime, in some low-income neighborhoods in the US capital.

According to the prosecutor, over the past two and a half years the company has “deliberately” stopped providing this service to neighborhoods in two ZIP codes located east of the Anacostia River, where almost 50,000 Premier members live.

“Unbeknownst to these residents, Amazon has collectively charged them millions of dollars for a service they do not receive.”he points out.

The prosecutor informs that the exclusion of these neighborhoods, where mostly black people liveviolates consumer protection laws and therefore requires compensation for damages, as well as sanctions against the company.

According to the request, in 2023, The rest of the Prime users residing in the city received their packages in the two days specified by the company 75% of the time, while residents of the affected zip codes received their products within this timeframe only 24% of the time.

For excluded neighborhoods, Amazon relied exclusively on delivery services from other companies such as United Parcel Service (UPS) or the United States Postal Service (USPS), which “has led to a significant decrease in speed and quality of the Prime service”. ” in these areas.

It was to “protect the delivery people”

In a statement, an Amazon spokeswoman called the allegation that its business practices are deceptive “categorically false,” explaining that the company excluded some neighborhoods “to protect the safety of delivery people.”

“In these zip codes there have been specific acts directed against drivers who deliver Amazon packages,” he said.

For his part, Schwalb acknowledges that “companies operating in the district have the right to take measures to protect their employees,” but emphasizes that “they have an obligation to be transparent so that consumers can make informed decisions about purchases”.

This is not the first time that Amazon has faced such an accusation: In 2016, a Bloomberg investigation found that the company excluded from its same-day delivery services those ZIP codes where mostly people of color lived.

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