Amazon: Opt-out claim
The Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO) is looking to sue Amazon on behalf of more than 45m consumers who bought products on its website from third-party sellers.
The body that represents 86 claimant law firms and related businesses mainly in the personal injury market has applied to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) for a collective proceedings order.
As the proposed class representative, ACSO said it has secured backing from a “reputable” litigation funder that is a member of the Association of Litigation Funders, but did not name them.
It also did not put a figure on the action’s potential value.
If certified by the CAT, the case will be brought on an opt-out basis for UK buyers of products from third-party sellers in the six years to 14 August 2025. Buyers outside the UK would be able to opt in.
ACSO argues that UK consumers paid higher prices for products from third-party sellers on Amazon’s UK marketplace as a result of pricing policies which prevented third-party sellers from offering lower prices elsewhere on the internet, including via their own sales channels.
These pricing policies, it says, limited the ability of other platforms to compete and allowed Amazon to charge third-party sellers higher fees, knowing that Amazon would not be undercut on price.
This meant that UK consumers paid higher prices, as third-party sellers passed on their higher fees by charging higher prices for products sold on Amazon.
ACSO has instructed City law firm Stephenson Harwood, along with Ben Lask KC, Luke Kelly and Jenn Lawrence of Monckton Chambers, and economic consultancy Brattle Group.
ACSO said Amazon’s pricing policies were currently under scrutiny by the German Federal Cartel Office, the Japan Fair Trade Commission, the Canadian Competition Bureau and the US Federal Trade Commission.
Matthew Maxwell-Scott, founder and executive director of ACSO, said: “Millions of people in the UK make purchases on Amazon every day. Despite the company’s assurances that it is above all else ‘customer-obsessed’, we consider there are strong grounds to argue that UK consumers have paid higher prices because of Amazon’s pricing policies.
“ACSO is therefore bringing collective proceedings against Amazon to ensure that consumers can obtain redress for the considerable losses they have suffered.
“Collective actions such as these are an excellent way for consumers to exercise their rights and for anti-competitive corporate behaviour to be challenged.”
Genevieve Quierin, partner at Stephenson Harwood, added: “Amazon appears to have circumvented previous regulatory interventions targeting its pricing policies and is now implementing policies which we contend are anti-competitive, to the detriment of UK consumers.”
An Amazon spokesman said: “This claim is without merit and we’re confident that will become clear through the legal process.
“Amazon features offers that provide customers with low prices and fast delivery. In fact, according to independent analysis by Profitero, Amazon has maintained its position as the lowest-priced online retailer in the UK for the fifth consecutive year.
We remain committed to supporting the 100,000 independent businesses that sell their products on our UK store, which generate billions of pounds in export sales every year.”
Amazon already faces a £2.6bn group action brought by more than 200,000 third-party sellers in the UK complaining of anti-competitive conduct, which was certified earlier this year.
Andreas Stephan, a professor of competition law at the University of East Anglia, is acting as class representative. Among the arguments by class members are that Amazon unlawfully uses their data and prevents them from offering products at lower prices elsewhere.
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