The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has rejected Amazon’s attempt to strike out a new collective consumer claim alleging anti-competitive conduct on its marketplace, allowing the case to proceed alongside other ongoing actions against the company.
In a judgment issued on 24 March 2026, the Tribunal dismissed an application by Amazon seeking to block proceedings brought by the Association of Consumer Support Organisations Ltd (ACSO). Amazon had argued that the claim constituted an abuse of process because similar collective proceedings were already underway on behalf of consumers and merchants.
The ACSO case centres on allegations that Amazon’s “price parity policies” prevented or discouraged third-party sellers from offering lower prices for their products on rival platforms. According to ACSO, these practices reduced competition between online marketplaces and enabled Amazon to charge higher marketplace fees, costs that were ultimately passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Amazon argued that allowing a second consumer representative to pursue overlapping claims would be unfair and would create unnecessary duplication of litigation. Counsel for the company warned that the situation could lead to “two ‘competing’ class representatives making decisions about what to say and how to run their case for the same represented class.”
The Tribunal rejected that argument, concluding that the new proceedings did not amount to an abuse of process. It noted that the alleged conduct had not yet been fully litigated and that preventing the claim could deny consumers the opportunity to recover losses if anti-competitive behaviour were ultimately proven.
The judges emphasized that striking out a claim is a severe remedy that should only be used in exceptional circumstances. As the judgment states, “striking out a claim is a draconian remedy,” and alternative procedural tools such as case management should be preferred where possible.
The Tribunal also highlighted that the ACSO claim covers a broader group of consumers than an earlier case brought by Robert Hammond, including individuals who began purchasing from Amazon after mid-2023. If the new proceedings were dismissed, those consumers could be left without any possibility of compensation.
While acknowledging that parallel collective proceedings could increase costs and complexity, the Tribunal concluded that these concerns could be addressed through coordinated case management, including the use of shared experts and cooperation between the different class representatives.
