Amazon Sued for Excluding Low-Income Neighborhoods From Prime Delivery

Amazon is being accused of deceptive behavior by DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, with Schwalb alleging that the retail giant was misleading Amazon Prime customers in certain DC neighborhoods as to the delivery of benefits they were paying for.

According to The Verge, Amazon is alleged to have outsourced delivery service for two ZIP codes east of the Anacostia River to UPS and the United States Postal Service instead of utilizing its own branded trucks, per the lawsuit. These ZIP codes, as the outlet detailed, are home to many Black and low-income Prime customers who were reportedly intentionally misled as to why delivery times offered under the terms of their membership were not being honored.

“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. 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,” said Attorney General Schwalb in a news release. “We’re suing to stop this deceptive conduct and make sure District residents get what they’re paying for.”

Amazon Responds to Allegations, Stating Delivery Driver Safety Concerns

Defending the company from these allegations, spokesperson Kelly Nantel told The Verge that it had indeed changed the service delivery methods in the above ZIP codes due to “specific and targeted acts against drivers delivering Amazon packages” in the area.

“We made the deliberate choice to adjust our operations, including delivery routes and times, for the sole reason of protecting the safety of drivers,” Nantel added.

Nantel continued to suggest that the AG’s claims were “categorically false,” and that the company was completely transparent with customers regarding when, and how, their orders would be delivered at the time of checkout.

As CBS MoneyWatch reported, citing lawsuit data, those Prime members living within ZIP codes 20019 and 20020 received their orders within two days just 24% of the time. Other Prime customers, district-wide, received their packages within two days of ordering 75% of the time.

Amazon Previously Discriminated Against One of the Same Neighborhoods

CBS MoneyWatch went on to underscore the fact that Amazon had previously excluded at least one of the aforementioned ZIP codes (20019) from its now-abandoned Amazon Restaurants delivery service.

The company, at the time, told DCist that time constraints related to delivery standards were partly to blame for the omission.