Amazon Forced to Refund D.C. Residents for Secretly Excluding Them from Expedited Delivery
Amazon has agreed to pay $7.25 million in refunds to residents of two DC ZIP codes after an investigation by the Office of D.C. Attorney General found that the company had secretly excluded these areas from its expedited delivery service, despite charging Prime customers the full subscription price.
The exclusions affected around 69,000 Amazon Prime members living in the ZIP codes 20019 and 20020, who experienced slower delivery times starting in June 2022. According to Schwalb's office, this practice was in place for four years.
Amazon admitted no fault in the settlement but stated that it made delivery decisions based on safety concerns at the time. The company will also pay $1 million in penalties and must notify customers of any expedited delivery exclusions in the future.