Amazon to Pay $8.25 Million After Secretly Excluding DC Residents from Prime Delivery

Amazon has agreed to pay $8.25 million in refunds and penalties after being sued by Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb for secretly excluding two Washington D.C. ZIP codes from its Prime delivery services. The exclusions, which lasted four years, affected tens of thousands of Prime members living in the 20019 and 20020 areas.

The company will refund $7.25 million to impacted residents who paid full Prime membership fees despite receiving slower deliveries through third-party services like UPS and the US Postal Service. Amazon also agreed to pay $1 million in penalties to the District.

In a statement, Attorney General Schwalb said, 'Amazon deceived thousands of its customers who live East of the River, collecting their Prime membership fees while secretly excluding them from full Prime membership benefits.' He added that no company is above the law and his office will continue to fight for fair treatment of consumers.