Consumer champion Robert Hammond brings together ‘best in class’ legal team for £1 billion case against Amazon in the Competition Appeal Tribunal

Consumer advocate Robert Hammond has instructed two leading competition law firms to file an application for a collective proceedings order (“CPO”) with the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“Tribunal”) against Amazon for abuse of market dominance. Hammond alleges that Amazon used its algorithm in its online Marketplace to manipulate search results in favour of products that were more profitable for the company, causing millions of UK consumers to pay artificially inflated prices. 

Hammond, the proposed class representative in this action, is being advised by two notable competition law firms. Hagens Berman EMEA through its affiliate firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP has an unrivalled history of antitrust litigation against Amazon, with eight active cases currently against the tech giant in the U.S. Charles Lyndon is experienced in advising on collective actions and competition law in the UK, including bringing the first collective standalone opt-out case before the Tribunal against London train operators and acting on behalf of Justin Gutmann in his case against Apple.

The firms taking on Amazon say the company’s abuse of market dominance affected approximately 49.4 million UK consumers, causing them to overpay in excess of £1 billion for the products they bought.

Robert Hammond is a former solicitor with extensive experience championing consumer rights, including leading research and policy development teams at Citizens Advice. 

Robert Hammond said: “I am delighted to have a best in class legal team to help me represent as many as 49 million UK consumers who have been negatively impacted by Amazon’s abuse of market dominance. It is only because of the Italian Competition Authority’s investigation into Amazon’s Buy-Box practices that we know about how Amazon manipulated its Marketplace results for years. My economic experts have evidenced the real harm that consumers have suffered as a result of Amazon’s abuse of market dominance and I hope this case can help consumers receive redress for the corporation’s behaviour.” 

Amazon Consumers Boxed In

According to Robert Hammond’s application, filed on 7 June 2023, Amazon used a proprietary algorithm to manipulate product offer results when consumers searched for products in its Marketplace. Amazon’s algorithm determined the first-ranked item that appeared in the “Buy Box,” allowing consumers to purchase the product with one click without choosing between competing sellers or retail offerings. Other offers on Amazon’s Marketplace were less accessible and displayed on secondary webpages. 

According to Hammond’s expert analysis, more than 80% of the time consumers accepted Amazon’s recommendation and purchased through the “Buy Box” without viewing other offers due to its intentional design. The claim alleges that the algorithm steered consumers towards product offerings that were more profitable for Amazon while obscuring other, often more affordable options. This behaviour reduced price and quality competition among sellers and caused consumers to pay more for items than similar items on Amazon’s Marketplace.