Amazon Sued Over Returns Fees as California Warehouse Eyes Union Vote

Glenn Taylor
·4 min read

Ahead of a potential antitrust tussle with the Federal Trade Commission, Amazon is now in hot water for allegedly violating the terms of its own refund and exchange policies by charging consumers for returning items on time.

A class action lawsuit says Amazon routinely, knowingly “fails to deliver on its promise of free, no-hassle returns,” re-charging customers who have returned items within the return window, despite Amazon’s own records establishing that it has received such items.

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Amazon’s returns policies promise that a customer can return most items sold or fulfilled by Amazon within 30 days for a full refund.

In some circumstances, the e-commerce giant gives customers the option to receive an “instant refund,” by which Amazon will refund the cost of the item when the customer drops off the product to be returned, but before Amazon physically receives the returned item.

If Amazon does not receive the returned item within the return window, Amazon re-charges the customer the total sale price of the item.

Sourcing Journal reached out to Amazon, as well as the plaintiffs’ legal team, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.

The four plaintiffs called the practices a breach of contract with consumers and “unfair and deceptive” in a filing in a Washington State federal district court.

Additionally, the complaint said the practices “result in substantial unjustified monetary losses by those who either do not notice these re-charges, are deterred by the inconvenience of having to figure out what happened and how to fix it.”

In the 41-page complaint, the plaintiffs asked for contract damages equal to the purchase price and applicable taxes for the returned items and interest. The plaintiffs also are seeking treble damages under Washington State’s Consumer Protection Act, which would award a prevailing plaintiff up to three times actual or compensatory damages, in addition to other relief.

As Amazon contends with the lawsuit, it may have another potential unionization on its hands at a warehouse in the Southern California’s Inland Empire region. According to Christian Smalls, president of Amazon Labor Union (ALU), the company’s “ONT8” fulfillment center in Moreno Valley, Calif. will begin the process to host a union election Thursday. The former Amazon employee and whistleblower announced the news on Twitter.

“I’m super proud of the Leader Nannette Plascencia and her team who’ve been battling this trillion dollar company daily for the last year,” Smalls told Sourcing Journal. “I’m excited to see the fight for unionization continue to grow and looking forward to making history especially for California. Can’t wait to get out there for the election!”

The push revives the demand for labor organization efforts at the California facility that started in 2022. Last October, a group of 800 Amazon workers at the fulfillment center who sought to organize with the ALU filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), but called off the vote just two weeks later.

The unionization momentum seems to have stalled after the inaugural win Amazon employees secured in Staten Island, N.Y. last year. Two other Amazon facilities, a second Staten Island warehouse and the Bessemer, Ala. location that started the push, have seen their unionization votes fall short.

A third election failed to win enough union votes at a warehouse near Albany, N.Y. last year, but the NLRB recently filed a complaint accusing the e-commerce giant of union-busting tactics that violate federal law.

Amazon extends low-carbon shipping deal with Maersk

Aside from litigation and unionization news, Amazon has made progress in adhering to its Climate Pledge goals.

The company finalized a 2023-2024 agreement with A.P. Moller-Maersk to transport shipments using the logistics giant’s “Eco Delivery” low-carbon shipping. This marks the fourth consecutive year that both parties have arranged container shipping using low greenhouse gas (GHG) fuel options.

As part of the agreement, 20,000 40-foot equivalent containers using green biofuel will be incorporated in the alternative shipping offering. Maersk estimates this purchase will contribute to a reduction in 44,600 metric tons of CO2e versus standard bunker fuel—or roughly equivalent to 50 million pounds of coal burned.

“Amazon’s record of securing sustainable shipping over the years, no matter the business climate, is testament to its contributions to building a better future,” said Narin Phol, president North America, A.P. Moller-Maersk, in a statement. “We share a common goal with Amazon to reduce our total GHG emissions to net zero by 2040. As cosigners of the Climate Pledge, we must constantly create new opportunities to make this a decade of action. Decarbonizing shipping is one significant step that is to be combined with many others to protect our future.”

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