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| Amazon allows customers to sue them |
Amazon recently changed its terms of service to allow its customers to file claims against the company without resorting to arbitration.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the company made changes after organizing more than 75,000 Echo users to introduce individual arbitration that would force Amazon to pay millions in fees.
Unlike legal procedures, arbitrations are handled by a third party rather than a judge or jury.
Under American Arbitration Association rules (Amazon respects legacy terms of service), consumers who sue the company must pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars in costs.
If law firms could coordinate large numbers of consumers to file complaints at the same time, those numbers would grow rapidly.
Class arbitration procedures have been applied to pressure tech companies.
As consumers use arbitration clauses to their own advantage, it appears that changing Amazon's terms of use may be more beneficial to their own interests and class action is likely to be cheaper for the consumer.
Amazon allows lawsuits:
The Amazon Terms of Service page states that it will be last updated on May 3, 2021.
The Disputes section describes the process users must follow to file a complaint with the Company.
It also eliminated Amazon's liability to pay exam fees for claims under $10,000.
Litigation part means: Any dispute or claim relating to your use of the Amazon Service must be resolved in either the King County or Federal courts.
He added: They accept the exclusive jurisdiction and the exclusive seat of these courts. Each of us waives the right to be judged by a jury.
The updated Terms of Use also supersede users' obligation to agree to the Federal Arbitration Act in order to use the Amazon Services.
It should also be noted that some consumer complaints can circumvent arbitration before the change.
Amazon is currently being sued for accusing some Alexa devices of making recordings of minors.
The judge ruled not to refer the case to arbitration because the minor did not agree to the terms of service.
Amazon's transfer also opened the door to more lawsuits. It can help companies avoid costly class arbitration proceedings in the future.