If you’ve shopped at Amazon you may be entitled to compensation
Two multi-million-pound lawsuits against Amazon allege it does not always offer customers the best deals.
Two separate claims have been launched against Amazon after evidence shows it is not always offering customers the best deals. If you shopped at Amazon in recent years you could be eligible for compensation. A decision about which claim will be given the go-ahead hasn’t been made. Sign up to stay updated.
Amazon favouring its own products
More than 80% of Amazon purchases in the UK are made by customers using the ‘Add to basket’ or ‘Buy now’ buttons in what is known as its ‘Buy Box’.
Amazon is accused of using bespoke algorithms for its Buy Box that favour its own products or products sold by a seller that uses Amazon’s order fulfilment services, despite better deals on the same product being available. These are less prominently displayed, further down the page.
Are you one of Amazon’s eligible customers?
Your eligibility to claim will be different depending on which claim proceeds. For both, you must live in the UK and have made purchases from Amazon’s UK-based e-commerce marketplace.
For one claim, you could be eligible for compensation if you shopped at Amazon since October 2016. For the other, purchases must have been made between 1 October 2015 and 1 June 2020.
The two claims against Amazon
Consumer advocates Julie Hunter and Robert Hammond have filed competing claims to seek compensation for affected customers.
Hunter launched a £875.8 million claim on behalf of 53.1 million UK consumers accusing Amazon of abusing its dominant market position and breaching UK competition law. Hunter has instructed the law firm Hausfeld & Co. LLP to represent her. The claim is being funded by LCM Finance.
Hammond has launched a claim for over £1 billion on behalf of 49.4 million UK consumers accusing Amazon of manipulating how it presents products to customers and suppressing competition in its marketplace. Hammond has instructed law firms Hagens Berman EMEA LLP and Charles Lyndon Limited to represent him. The claim is being funded by Four World Capital.
How to claim compensation
A decision first needs to be made by the specialist competition court about whether the claim will proceed and who will be given the go-ahead to represent UK consumers against Amazon. Sign up to Consumer Voice to stay updated.
We will keep you updated on the latest developments in the Amazon claim and other group consumer claims.
What’s happening with this claim?
Hunter filed an application to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in November 2022 to commence collective proceedings. Hammond filed his application to the Tribunal in June 2023. The two claims will be reviewed by the Tribunal and a decision about which will proceed is likely to be made in the Autumn.
In April 2023, Amazon lost its appeal against the European Union’s decision to allow parallel Buy Box investigations in the EU and Italy. The decision from the EU Court of Justice is final and comes after the European Commission reached a settlement with Amazon last year regarding concerns over its Buy Box business practices.
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