- Amazon faces £2.7 billion UK lawsuit from 200,000 sellers.
- Claims allege abuse of market position and unfair Prime practices.
- Lawsuit joins global trend of antitrust actions against the e-commerce giant.
Amazon faces a fresh £2.7 billion ($3.4 billion) class action-style lawsuit in the UK. Filed by Andreas Stephan, a competition law professor, the case represents over 200,000 UK third-party sellers.
The lawsuit alleges Amazon abused its dominant position, favoring its own retail and logistics services over those of third parties.
The Prime-ary suspect
The claim accuses Amazon of unfairly conditioning Prime access on the use of Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) services.
It also argues that Amazon’s practices have resulted in lost sales, increased costs, and higher fees for third-party sellers.
This lawsuit follows similar antitrust charges in the US and scrutiny from UK and European competition authorities.
Ka-ching or ka-boom?
Funded by Innsworth Capital Limited, the lawsuit is an opt-out collective action.
Eligible sellers (UK-based individuals or companies selling on Amazon between June 2018 and June 2024) are automatically included unless they opt out.
Amazon maintains the claims are baseless, emphasizing its support for small and medium-sized businesses.
However, this case joins a growing wave of competition litigation targeting the e-commerce giant globally.
