Recover part of the tips from the bellboys to pay the sums owed to these same bellboys. A nice sleight of hand that is worth a legal action to Amazon. The Washington city attorney has filed charges against the e-commerce giant, which it accuses of embezzling money intended for independent deliverymen, according to a press release from the magistrate published Wednesday. Amazon is accused of using these tips to pay off part of what it owes these couriers.
The company has already agreed in 2021 to repay $62 million to delivery drivers to end US Consumer Protection Agency (FTC) lawsuits over these same facts. But Washington Attorney Karl Racine wants a fine and a court ruling on the group that permanently bans the company from resorting to the practice.
A lie to customers?
Amazon introduced a program called “Amazon Flex” in 2015, which encouraged customers to tip the carriers as soon as they placed their order. However, in 2016 the company changed the payment system for these couriers, resulting in a large part of the tips not being paid directly to the couriers, but instead funding part of the amount owed by Amazon.
At the same time, he continued to assure customers that 100% of the tips went into the pockets of the delivery people. “And instead of notifying drivers of changes to its tipping system, Amazon changed the way tips were displayed in the app so that delivery drivers could no longer see how much each customer paid,” he added in the release.
Even if Amazon has reimbursed the sums wrongly deducted, the group “has so far escaped any responsibility, including possible fines, for the damages caused to consumers”, underlines the Washington prosecutor’s office in justification of the complaint filed Tuesday. This complaint “concerns a practice that we changed three years ago”, reacted an Amazon spokeswoman in a message to AFP, deeming that the procedure was “unfounded”. The settlement with the FTC in 2021 also required the group to seek permission from carriers before making changes to its handling of tips, an obligation that will last through 2041.
