Amazon is facing a class action lawsuit accusing the company of misleading pricing practices. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon misled consumers by showing list prices for Fire TVs, thereby making the discounts appear more significant than they actually were.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and says the company routinely engages in this practice, calling it a “continuous and uniform program.” The lawsuit alleges that Amazon created “fake list prices” for its Fire TVs, making the apparent “discounts” fake.
It goes on to accuse the company of tricking its customers into buying Fire TVs by omitting “important information” about the length of the auction and when the list price was actually applied. This allegedly led to Amazon customers spending “more money than they would have if it weren’t for the limited-time deals.” The lawsuit states that “many Fire TVs have been nowhere near advertised list prices for a year or more.”
The lawsuit alleges violations of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits “unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce.” Plaintiff David Ramirez is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, in addition to an injunction to stop Amazon from continuing the alleged practices. The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages “in amounts determined by the court and/or jury” and prejudgment interest on all awards.
The case refers to a similar case in California from 2021 in which Amazon was prohibited from using false or misleading list prices in its advertising. The company also agreed to pay nearly $2 million in penalties and restitution as part of that settlement. In this case, it is still early days.
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Seattle-based news organization KIRO 7. We’ve reached out to the company for comment and will report back when we hear back.
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