Amazon hit with £1bn damages claim in landmark collective action by UK retailers
A £1 billion damages claim has been filed against Amazon on behalf of retailers selling on Amazon’s UK marketplace.
The move has been made over an allegation that the online retail giant has illegally misused the retailers’ data and manipulated the Amazon Buy Box.
In the “biggest collective action” ever launched by UK retailers, the claim is being brought by the British Independent Retailers Association on behalf of retailers at the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London.
According to a statement from BIRA, the claim alleges that between October 2015 and the present date, Amazon used data belonging to UK retailers on the company’s marketplace and manipulated the Amazon Buy Box to benefit its own commercial operation and overall revenues and profit.
BIRA has filed over 1,150 pages of documents that set out the claim against Amazon. This includes a statement from chief executive Andrew Goodacre which explains why the organisation is bringing the action and how it will manage the claim on behalf of the proposed class of retailers.
Goodacre said: “The British public has a strong relationship with its local, independent retailers and ensuring they are not put out of business by Amazon’s illegal actions is a key driving force behind this collective action.
“The filing of the claim today is the first step towards retailers obtaining compensation for what Amazon has done.
“I am confident that the CAT will authorise the claim to go forward, and I look forward to the opportunity to present the case on behalf of UK retailers. This is a watershed moment for UK retailers, but especially for small independent retailers in this country.”
