AMAZON and Apple are being sued for £500m on behalf of UK customers for allegedly colluding to keep the iPhone-maker’s prices high.
The collective action claims the tech giant’s made a secret pact in October 2018 which saw Amazon restrict sales of Apple products by independent merchants.
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In exchange, Apple is said to have offered preferential wholesale prices on all Apple and Beats products.
This allegedly helped pitch Amazon as the best place to shop for Apple products, outside of its own brick and mortar stores and website.
The claim says that in doing so, the pair have breached competition law and left British consumers out of pocket.
By January 2019, almost all independent merchants of Apple and Beats products disappeared from the digital mega-market as a result of the collusion, the lawsuit claims.
There was also, allegedly, a significant drop in discounts.
“Apple and Amazon have worked together to exclude competitors on the Amazon platform and to reduce the availability of discounted products, at their customers’ expense,” Wessen Jazrawi, partner at legal firm Hausfeld & Co and leader of the litigation, said.
The competition appeal seeks “to return money to those who have lost out and to making these companies accountable for their unlawful conduct,” Jazwari explained.
The legal action has been filed on behalf of all UK consumers by Professor Christine Riefa, a consumer law expert and professor at the University of Reading, represented by Hausfeld & Co.
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Riefa said big businesses like Apple and Amazon should “not by using underhand tactics” to win their earnings.
“Millions of consumers in the UK enjoy the services and products of Apple and Amazon,” she continued.
“They do not suspect that those companies collude to make them pay more for their electronics and reduce their choice.
“Each company has an effective stranglehold over its market, and they are misusing that advantage to shut out competition from independent merchants – unlawfully lining their wallets at the expense of consumers.”
The Sun has contacted Amazon and Apple for comment.
Are you eligible to claim?
Any consumer in the UK who purchased new Apple or Beats products since October 2018 is eligible to claim.
These products include:
- iPhones
- iPads
- iMacs
- MacBooks
- Apple TVs
- HomePods
- Apple Watches
- iPods
- AirPods
- EarPods
- Beats wired and wireless headphones and earphones
- Ancillary devices such as chargers, keyboards, mouses
Purchases of Apple and Beats products as part of mobile network operator contracts are not included.
The lawsuit suggests more than seven million Brits have paid higher prices for Apple and Beats products when shopping via Amazon.
The claim also alleges that a nearly 30million UK customers have paid higher prices for Apple and Beats products when purchasing them from other retailers, such as Apple and Curry’s.
In accordance with Competition Appeal Tribunal Rules, the collective action is being filed on behalf of all potential claimants.
The claim is brought on an opt-out basis.
This means all Brits who are eligible to claim will be included, unless they decide to opt-out.
To read more on the claim, visit the official website.
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