In the United Kingdom, Amazon promises Amazon Prime members a next day delivery, but the Advertising Standards Authority now deems this claim misleading after a large number of complaints by dissatisfied customers.
Too late for the Christmas tree
In the build-up to last Christmas, a large number of orders arrived too late: due to the extraordinarily bad weather according to the Americans, but the ASA does not see that explanation as sufficient. According to The Times, the ASA would therefore ask Amazon to stop displaying the next day guarantee.
Amazon however claims that the delivery date has been displayed before ordering and during the complete process of ordering, so it was in no way misleading. Moreover, according to the company just a small part of the packages was delivered too late and every logistical company suffered the same fate. It is not sure that Amazon will indeed stop publishing its guarantee, as there is as of yet no official decision that would enforce the American e-tailer to do so.
Amazon and the ASA have fought a battle before, on the claim that deliveries were free (in 2016) – it turned out that only the orders Amazon itself delivered were free. The watchdog found it ‘unclear’ which items were available for free delivery. Amazon claimed however that “any charges are clearly visible so our customers can make an informed choice before they decide to make a purchase.”
