Amazon UK Merchants Claim
BIRA v Amazon

This website was established following an application by the British Independent Retailers Association (“BIRA”) (the proposed class representative) for a Collective Proceedings Order (the “Application”). This Application asks the Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) to (i) approve the proposed claim as eligible to proceed as a collective claim on behalf of UK eligible merchants; and (ii) approve BIRA to act as the class representative. To read the Application or a summary of the Application, click here.

This website contains information about the claim.

BIRA’s proposed claim is on behalf of UK merchants – both individuals and businesses – who sold new products on Amazon’s UK online marketplace (i.e. on www.amazon.co.uk or the iOS and Android versions of the Amazon app where the UK is set as the region in which to sell).

BIRA alleges that Amazon has breached competition law by abusing its dominant position. BIRA says that engaging in an unlawful product entry strategy whereby it uses non-public data acquired from third party-merchants, derived from their use of Amazon’s marketplace services, in order to inform its business decisions with respect to offering and selling Amazon products (via ‘Amazon Retail’) on the Amazon UK Online Marketplace, when competing against those third-party merchants on the Amazon UK Online Marketplace (the “Data Abuse Conduct”). BIRA alleges that Amazon then favoured these Amazon Retail products via the ‘Buy Box’ feature, a function on Amazon’s website which prominently features a single offer on a given page (the “Other Anti-Competitive Behaviour”). As a result, the Class Representative alleges that Class Members have suffered loss.

“Amazon Retail” is the name used by Amazon when it is the seller of record.

The proposed claim is against Amazon.com, Inc, Amazon Europe Core SARL, Amazon EU SARL, Amazon Service Europe SARL, Amazon UK Services Ltd and Amazon Payments UK Limited. Together, these entities are called “Amazon”.

BIRA considers Amazon broke competition law by using non-public data acquired from third-party merchants selling new goods on Amazon’s online marketplace to inform Amazon Retail’s business decisions, including with respect to offering and selling Amazon Retail’s products on Amazon’s UK online marketplace, and also favoured Amazon Retail’s products via the Buy Box feature.

BIRA is a not-for-profit membership association in the UK that advocates for British retailers. It assists its members, mostly comprising independent retailers, with legal, political and commercial issues they face while running their businesses. BIRA’s advocacy work seeks to advance the interests of the independent retail sector as a whole, without regard to whether the retailer is a member of BIRA or not.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher (UK) LLP (“Willkie”) is the law firm providing legal advice and support to BIRA in relation to the claim.

Whilst BIRA is the proposed class representative and runs the claim for merchants, it is not able to fund a claim of this size and importance. Therefore, BIRA is working with third-party litigation funder LCM Funding UK Limited (also known as Litigation Capital Management) (“LCM”) to bring the claim. The funding arrangements in place mean that the class members will not need to pay anything to be part of the claim and have no financial risk in relation to the claim.

Willkie is one of the world’s leading international law firms. Its Competition Litigation team in London has experience representing claimants in complex cases before the Tribunal, including acting for the class members in collective proceedings.

A collective claim (also known as a ‘collective proceeding’) is brought by a class representative on behalf of a group of claimants who have suffered loss as a result of a breach of competition law. The group of claimants is referred to as a ‘class’ and each claimant in the group is referred to as a ‘class member’.

The Tribunal is a specialist court based in London that covers the whole of the UK and hears disputes such as these. Information about what it does is available on its website www.catribunal.org.uk

The proposed collective claim is brought on an opt-out basis on behalf of all individuals and businesses based (known as ‘domiciled’) in the UK that fall within the definition of the ‘class’. If the Tribunal approves the proposed claim as eligible to proceed against Amazon, it will set a domicile date. Merchants that are domiciled in the UK on that date and fall within the ‘class’ will automatically be included in the claim and be bound by any judgment or settlement unless they opt out of the proceedings. Further information about how to opt out of the proceedings and the deadline for doing so will be provided in due course.

Merchants who do not reside in the UK, but who fall within the ‘class’ will need to opt in if they want to be included in the claim. ‘Opting in’ means electing to join the claim and being bound by the final judgment or earlier settlement. This includes merchants who were formerly domiciled in the UK. An Opt-In Form will be available for download on the ‘Opt In’ webpage with instructions on how to submit it. Further information about how to opt in and the deadline for doing so will be provided in due course.

To find out if you fall within the definition of the ‘class’, please see FAQ15 below.

To find out if you are based or ‘domiciled’ in the UK, please see FAQ16 below.

BIRA is applying to be authorised by the Tribunal to act as the class representative.

If BIRA is authorised as the class representative, it will conduct the collective claim against Amazon on behalf of all class members, except for merchants who chose to opt out of the proceedings. BIRA would be responsible for instructing the lawyers and expert witnesses (such as economists), making decisions with respect to the conduct of the claim, and communicating with the class members about the progress of the claim (such as through updates to this website, email correspondence, the issuing of formal notices and media announcements and advertisements).

Andrew Goodacre, Chief Executive of BIRA, will be chiefly responsible for the management of the claim within BIRA. He will be supported by a case committee comprised of Mr Jeff Moody, commercial director at BIRA and John Jones, member director. Mr Goodacre and the case committee will draw on the retail sector expertise of other BIRA directors and employees where necessary.

The proposed collective claim was filed on 6 June 2024 alongside an application for a Collective Proceedings Order to approve the proposed claim as eligible to proceed as a collective claim in the UK and to authorise BIRA to act as the class representative.

The website will be updated once a hearing date is set for the Tribunal to hear arguments and decide whether the Collective Proceedings Order should be granted.

Please register your interest in the proposed collective claim to be notified of developments directly.

Any settlement reached between BIRA and Amazon must be approved by the Tribunal and must be just and reasonable. If BIRA settles the claim in exchange for a sum of money from Amazon, that sum of money will be distributed to eligible class members.

The United Kingdom includes England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland for the purposes of this claim, and does not include any Crown Dependencies (Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey, and the Isle of Man). Merchants which are located in a Crown Dependency but sell on the UK Marketplace will therefore need to opt in to the collective action.

Once the proposed collective proceedings are certified, if you fit in the criteria of the class and are based in the UK on the date to be set by the Tribunal as the ‘domicile date’, you are automatically included in the collective claim (unless you choose to opt out of the claim). If you fit the criteria of the class and are not based in the UK as at the ‘domicile date’, you may opt in to the collective claim.

The proposed ‘class’ consists of all third-party merchants (i.e. merchants that are not Amazon) that, between 1 October 2015 and 6 June 2024, sold new products on Amazon’s UK online marketplace at its website www.amazon.co.uk or the iOS and Android versions of the Amazon app where the UK is set as the region in which to sell.

A ‘third-party merchant’ is any natural or legal person who has made a sale of a new product on Amazon’s UK online marketplace including any personal or authorised representative of the estate of any natural person (including sole trader) who meets that description and who was alive on 6 June 2024 but subsequently died, trustees in bankruptcy where the bankrupt meets that description, and any natural or legal person in which the right of action of a legal person which meets that description vests and was solvent on 6 June 2024 but subsequently became insolvent.

To be a member of the proposed class, you or your business needs to:

1. Be a third-party merchant. You or your business is a third-party merchant if you are a seller on the marketplace.
2. Have made at least one sale of a new product between 1 October 2015 and 6 June 2024. You or your business must have made at least one sale of a new product (not used or second-hand) in competition with Amazon.
3. Have made that sale on Amazon’s UK online marketplace. Sales have to have been made on Amazon’s UK online marketplace, either through its website www.amazon.co.uk or the iOS and Android versions of the Amazon app where the UK is set as the region in which to sell.
4. Not fall within one of the following excluded categories:
   1. Officers, directors or employees of the Proposed Defendants, their subsidiaries and any entity in which they have a controlling interest;
   2. All members of the Proposed Class Representative’s and Proposed Defendants’ respective legal teams and all experts and professional advisers instructed and retained by them and all funders or insurers involved, in connection with these collective proceedings;
   3. All members and staff of the Tribunal assigned at any point to these collective proceedings;
   4. Any judge or Court staff involved in any appeal and/or judicial review in these collective proceedings (whether in respect of the grant of permission to appeal/judicial review or the hearing of any substantive appeal/judicial review); and
   5. Any registered corporate entity or other registered entity with legal personality which was struck off or dissolved pursuant to the Companies Act 2006 or equivalent legislation applying outside the United Kingdom before 6 June 2024.

Your business is domiciled in the UK if (i) it was incorporated or formed under the law of a part of the UK and has its registered office or other official address in the UK, or (ii) its central management or control is exercised in the UK.

If you are an individual or sole trader, you are domiciled in the UK if you are a resident of the UK and the nature and circumstances of your residence indicate that you have a substantial connection with the UK.

If you are a class member and are (i) domiciled in the UK and have not opted out of the claim, or (ii) not domiciled in the UK and have opted in to the claim, you do not have to do anything. You are not exposed to any risks by being a member of the class. BIRA and its legal team are continuing to pursue this claim against Amazon and it will take some time before there is a final outcome.

This website will be updated periodically, so it is a good idea to check back for new information.

If you would like to register to keep up to date with the progress of the proposed claim, click here.

The proposed claim seeks compensation of up to £1.14 billion, inclusive of interest. If the claim is successful, an aggregate award of damages will then need to be distributed to eligible class members that come forward to claim their share of compensation.

No money is available now and there is no guarantee that money will be available in the future. The proposed claim will need to be won in the Tribunal, or a settlement reached with Amazon. If the proposed claim is successful or a settlement is reached, any aggregate award will be distributed amongst the eligible class members.

No, as a member of the class, you will not incur any costs for taking part in the proposed claim and you will not be liable to Amazon for its costs should the proposed claim be unsuccessful.

You are free to openly discuss the case with your friends and family, as well as share updates about the case on social media.