Amazon facing proposed class-action lawsuit over delays with two-day Prime deliveries in Quebec

After Amazon closed its Quebec warehouses, some Prime subscribers say delivery times have worsened, leading to complaints and a proposed class-action lawsuit.

It’s been a little over a month since Amazon shuttered its Quebec warehouses and switched to shipping from facilities outside of the province.

Now, some Quebecers who subscribe to Amazon Prime say it’s taking too long to receive their packages and they’re trying to do something about it.

Earlier this month, Amazon Prime customer Michael Koutsoufis ordered a jacket, hat and gloves.

His orders used to arrive in one or two days, but not this time.

“Then I check on the 14th and it’s changed to estimated delivery on the 28th or somewhere between, you know, next spring, basically,” Koutsoufis told CTV News.

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Koutsoufis says it took a lot of back and forth with Amazon to cancel his order and get a refund.

“I ended up going to Simon’s and spending less money and less time,” he said.

Since the online retail giant closed its Quebec warehouses, orders are now shipped from outside of the province and delivered by third party couriers.

The company has claimed it’s about delivering services in an efficient and cost-effective way.

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But Jason Stadtlander, who works in IT, says lately his deliveries have been anything but efficient.

“I have a client who’s in her 90s, and she’s waiting for a little piece to plug in her monitor so she could use her computer. Didn’t come in. And it got lost because, you know, the further it’s coming from, the more chance there’s something going to be lost along the way,” he said.

An Amazon Prime membership in Canada is $99 per year or $10 a month plus tax. Its website still advertises free two-day shipping as a perk.

But of the dozens of items CTV News searched on Amazon, estimated delivery times were consistently between four and six days.

In an email to CTV News, a company spokesperson says delivery speeds can vary for numerous reasons, including weather and supply chain issues.

“We know Prime customers value fast delivery and great service. Our decision to return to a third-party delivery model supported by local small businesses doesn’t change our commitment to this. Regardless of delivery carrier, delivery speeds can vary for numerous reasons, including weather like the winter storms that have impacted Montreal recently, traffic, supply chain factors, and more. This is why we’re transparent with customers throughout the shopping journey and checkout process about when, exactly, they can expect their orders to arrive.”

“If you paid your $10 a month, you didn’t get your service. You should get some form of compensation,” said Saro Turner, a lawyer for the Slater Vecchio LLP law firm that is seeking the court’s approval to launch a class-action lawsuit against Amazon. The firm alleges the company did not respect the two-day delivery times promised to its Prime subscribers.

“We’re talking about a lot of complaints and a lot of delay, and so it just doesn’t make sense that if you close all your warehouses, that service is going to be better for cheaper,” Turner said.

Meanwhile, Koutsoufis is thinking about cancelling his Prime membership.

“I could have gone to Italy, had a jacket made by a very old man named Giuseppe, made to measure, come back, and the order I made with Amazon still would be on its way,” he said.

Even though he got a refund, he says a package arrived from Amazon just the other day and it contained the wrong jacket.