Amazon sellers hit by ‘massive delays'
Amazon sellers are warning of 'massive delays' at one of the online retailer's flagship UK warehouses ahead of its Prime Day sales event next month.
Some small businesses have complained that deliveries to the online giant's warehouse have not been accepted for weeks – with claims that trucks have been turned away from one of Amazon's vast fulfilment centres in Nottingham because staff say they are 'full'.
Third-party Amazon sellers typically send their products to the online giant's fulfilment centres before they are shipped to customers.
Laura Crawford, the founder of baby products business Mama Bamboo, claimed bungled deliveries and delays of more than a month had cost her business £20,000.
Ms Crawford said she had threatened legal action against Amazon over the delays. On Amazon's seller forums, multiple small sellers have complained of 'massive delays' at the warehouse, with packages going missing for weeks.
One seller complained: 'We've had thousands of pounds of stock being turned away for weeks.'
A source close to Amazon insisted its delivery network was operating normally and that there were no unexpected delays at the warehouse. The company is currently preparing for Amazon Prime Day, its annual sale, a particularly busy time for the online retailer.
Ms Crawford said her business was 'at the mercy' of giants such as Amazon and despite corresponding with John Boumphrey, Amazon's UK chief, the issue had not been resolved.
She said her deliveries had been handled by Swiss transport company Kuehne + Nagel.
In an email seen by the Telegraph, Kuehne + Nagel representatives said Amazon staff have been 'telling drivers they are full' and that it was 'causing issues with our relationships with the vendors'.
Ms Crawford said she was 'wholly accountable for every delivery to our customers', but that Amazon 'do not take any such accountability for failures to their sellers'.
An Amazon spokesman said: 'The build up to Prime Day is always a busy period for our operation. If any of our sellers should experience any issues, we will do all we can to support.'
When contacted by The Telegraph, Amazon said Ms Crawford's delivery had been accepted as of Friday.
Late payments
The delay claims come a week after Amazon was rapped by Britain's groceries regulator over alleged late payments to suppliers.
The Groceries Code Adjudicator, which has the power to fine Britain's biggest retailers up to 1pc of turnover for breaches under an industry code of conduct, said it was investigating Amazon's supplier practices after multiple complaints.
In a report from the regulator, Amazon came bottom in a survey detailing complaints by suppliers against retailers. It found 13pc of grocery suppliers said they had raised a complaint with Amazon in the past year, compared to 3pc at the next-worst retailer.
Of the investigation, an Amazon spokesman said: 'While we are disappointed with this decision, we welcome the opportunity to further demonstrate our ongoing compliance.
'We have already made significant improvements to our grocery supplier experience, including to payment practices, with supplier contacts on this reducing year-on-year.'
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