UK lawsuit accuses Amazon of over-charging consumers by GBP 1 billion+

Amazon stands accused of over-charging UK consumers in a lawsuit brought by a UK consumer champion. Robert Hammond is seeking up to GBP 1.3 billion in compensation for 49.4m UK consumers in a claim that argued that Amazon overcharged consumers by more than GBP 1 billion for products bought on its Marketplace between October 1, 2015 and June 1, 2020. The lawsuit also claimed that consumers accepted Amazon's recommendation and purchased through the "Buy Box" without viewing other offers over 80 percent of the time, and that the company's p roprietary algorithm manipulate d product offer results and steer ed consumers towards more profitable offerings for Amazon while obscuring potentially more affordable options. It also said that Amazon commanded about two-thirds of the UK online marketplace market, with its platform being the first search destination for 70 percent of UK shoppers. The Competition Appeal Tribunal allowed Hammond's claim to go ahead over a competing claim on the basis that it's methodology for proving Amazon's wrongdoing was stronger. This evidence collectively formed the basis of Hammond's argument that Amazon's Buy Box practices violated UK competition law by artificially inflating product prices and illegally stifling competition. System 🤖 Amazon Buy Box Operator: Amazon Developer: Amazon Country: UK Sector: Retail Purpose: Determine seller Technology: Pricing algorithm; Machine learning Issue: Business model; Competition/price fixing; Tr ansparency Legal, regulatory 👩🏼‍⚖️ ClaimAgainstAmazon.com Hammond v Amazon (Publicity Notice) (pdf)

Date it happened

2015-10-01

Organisation involved

Amazon

Product, system or model

Buy Box

This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.