Amazon Prime Shipping Halted During COVID-19, Lawsuit Claims

Amazon Prime shipping was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, according to an Amazon lawsuit filed by a recent subscriber suing Amazon for unfair and deceptive trade practices.

From mid-March until mid-May, with health precautions deterring people from leaving home to shop, Amazon focused most of its resources on the delivery of groceries and pharmaceuticals, the Amazon Prime shipping class action lawsuit maintains.

This created delays for those shopping online for electronics and other “non-essential” items most often ordered via Amazon Prime shipping, according to plaintiff Jeremy Shepherd. In essence, he claims, Prime members lost two months of benefits with no compensation.

An Amazon Prime membership costs $12.99 per month, or $119 annually. For that price, Amazon Prime members are supposed to get free, expedited shipping of certain products that are immediately available from Amazon’s distribution centers. They also get streaming music and video, along with other benefits. The service currently has about 118 million subscribers, Shepherd states in his proposed class action.

In 2017 and 2018, respectively, Amazon purchased Whole Foods – a grocer – and PillPack – an online pharmacy. With those acquisitions, the company started offering grocery and prescription delivery to compete with other large retailers such as Walmart, Costco and Walgreens.

According to a 2020 poll cited in the lawsuit, about 68 percent of Prime members said they use their subscription to take advantage of fast and free Amazon Prime shipping — not for grocery or pharmacy delivery.

And yet, when “stay at home” orders began across the country, Shepard claims that the company essentially shut down that service to focus on that much smaller percentage of customers during the widespread lockdown.

Across the United States, most retailers had to be shuttered for weeks in the effort to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Even the grocers and pharmacies that were allowed to remain open were required not to sell electronics or other products deemed “non-essential” during that time.

“To seize upon the lack of competition from retailers other than grocery stores and pharmacies, and to concentrate on satisfying a surge of new grocery and pharmaceutical customers, on March 17, 2020, Amazon announced to sellers that it was halting its Prime Delivery service and was ‘temporarily prioritizing household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so that we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers,’” the Amazon Prime shipping class action lawsuit reports.

According to Jungle Scout, which conducts market research for Amazon, sellers were allowed to send only six product categories to Amazon fulfillment centers for Amazon Prime shipping during that two-month period: baby, health & household, beauty & personal care, grocery, and industrial & scientific.

And so, rather than uphold its contracts with millions of loyal Amazon Prime members, the class action lawsuit argues, “Amazon chose to satisfy new grocery and pharmacy customers so as to compete against other major grocery store and pharmacy chains.”

On May 12, as other retailers across the country began to reopen, Amazon resumed normal operations, with its sellers being allowed once again to ship through its warehouse for expedited Amazon Prime shipping.

The class action lawsuit points out that, although Amazon Prime shipping was suspended for most products, the company still profited from sales of those items — even though the sellers had to ship from their own facilities. This allegedly increased costs and shipping time for many Prime sellers that had been relying on Amazon for those services and did not have the facilities to handle them in-house.

The slowdown did not go unnoticed by Amazon Prime members. Some requested refunds or credits, but were rebuffed. The class action lawsuit cites several media reports of such incidents.

Shepherd is claiming breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment, as well as violations of the New York Deceptive Acts and Practices Act.

He is proposing certification of a New York Class and a national Class. On behalf of all of these Class Members, he is seeking monetary damages, injunctive relief “requiring Amazon to stop selling Amazon Prime membership until corrective disclosures are made,” other damages as the court deems fit, and court costs.

If you were charged for any kind of service that was changed because of the coronavirus, click here to participate in an investigation. 

Plaintiff is represented by James C. Kelly of the Law Office of James C. Kelly.

The Amazon Prime Class Action Lawsuit is Jeremy Shepherd, et al. v. Amazon.com, Case No. 706075/2020, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

Join a Free Coronavirus Failure to Refund Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you are still being charged for a flight, event or service even though it was canceled due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus public health emergency, you may be entitled to compensation.

Join Here

Read More Class Action Lawsuit & Settlement News:

U by Kotex Tampons Class Action Settlement

Rideshare Sexual Assaults Cause Increasing Legal Trouble for Uber & Lyft

$550M Santander Car Loan Class Action Website Is Active

Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Class Action Settlement