The Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) announced on October 2 a ruling by the Kammergericht Berlin in a lawsuit against Amazon. According to the organisation, the court prohibited the company from providing an email address in its Impressum through which communication with the company is impossible.
- The decision was issued on August 11, 2026; vzbv states that it is legally binding.
- Customers occasionally received automated replies stating that incoming messages were not accepted.
- According to vzbv, the availability of alternative communication channels does not replace an accessible email address.
What the Consumer Federation Investigated
According to vzbv, following consumer complaints, the organisation sent a test email in November 2025 to [email protected], the address listed in the site’s Impressum. In response, an automated reply stated that the address does not accept incoming emails and that users must log in to their Amazon account to contact customer support.
The federation considered this practice a violation of the German Digital Services Act (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz). According to vzbv, the legal action was initiated after Amazon failed to issue a requested cease-and-desist declaration.
Details of the Court Ruling
As reported by vzbv, the court held that providers of commercial digital services must provide an email address that enables rapid contact as well as direct and efficient communication. This obligation applies even if other communication channels are available. According to the same announcement, automatically refusing incoming messages is incompatible with the statutory purpose of this contact detail.
Rosemarie Rodden of vzbv’s enforcement team noted that providing an email address must allow consumers a quick and simple way to contact the provider, such as when submitting a complaint. In her assessment, automatically rejected emails fail to meet this requirement.
The organisation noted that the ruling in case 5 UKl 1/26 was a default judgment: Amazon did not submit a defence, and no company representative attended the court hearing. In vzbv’s announcement, the ruling of August 11 is described as final.