D.C. Sues Amazon For Secretly Halting Fast Deliveries In Predominantly Black Neighborhoods

The District of Columbia has sued Amazon, accusing the company of secretly halting its fastest delivery service for Prime members in two predominantly Black neighborhoods, while still charging for the service.

The lawsuit claims Amazon imposed a delivery “exclusion” in 2022 for residents in the 20019 and 20020 ZIP codes, relying on third-party services instead of its own delivery systems. Amazon asserts the change was due to safety concerns for drivers in those areas.

The District argues that Amazon did not inform customers about the slower delivery times or disclose the exclusion when people signed up for Prime, despite the service promising fast deliveries. The lawsuit claims that nearly 50,000 Prime members in these neighborhoods, who have limited access to other retailers, experienced significant delays—only 24% of packages were delivered within two days in 2023, compared to 72% in 2021. Meanwhile, Prime members in other parts of the city received faster deliveries.

D.C. residents, have y’all experienced this?