Bashon Mann has been an Amazon Prime member for more than a decade, but noticed in recent years that shipping speeds to his Northeast D.C. home have slowed down.
While he said friends nearby would get offers for same-day or next-day delivery, he would not receive those same offers from the online retailer.
“I’d be like, ‘Wait a second, you just ordered that, and you got it the same day?’” he said.
That’s why he was happy to hear that D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb is taking action against Amazon.
“I’m validated because my friends get annoyed with the amount of sort of ‘old man shouting on the lawn.’ This is wrong,” Mann said.
On Wednesday, Schwalb filed the suit against Amazon, saying it excluded two ZIP codes east of the Anacostia River, in Wards 7 and 8, from receiving products from drivers in identifiable Amazon trucks. Instead, residents who live in the predominantly Black ZIP codes of 20019 and 20020 could only get deliveries from third party shippers, such as UPS, FedEx or the Postal Service, resulting in much slower shipping speeds, according to Schwalb and Mann.
“It’s kind of pathetic that Amazon would work clandestinely to make sure that these particular areas don’t get the same service, and we’re still going to charge people the same amount for their annual membership,” Mann said.
Amazon disputes the claims in the lawsuit, saying it made the change to third-party drivers in the area based on concerns about driver safety.
“The claims made by the Attorney General, that our business practices are somehow discriminatory or deceptive, are categorically false,” said Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, in a statement.
Nantel said there have been “specific and targeted acts against drivers delivering Amazon packages” in those ZIP codes.
“I’m not going to buy that. What you did was wrong. Hold yourself accountable,” Mann said after hearing the company’s statement.
The lawsuit calls on the court to require Amazon to no longer exclude the ZIP codes from its shipping services. The suit also seeks damages.
Mann said the company should refund the Prime membership costs for the more than 50,000 impacted residents.
“Give those people their money back, and just try and do better,” Mann said. “Let’s move forward.”
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