Apple is being sued for overcharging customers by millions, according to a new report on Monday. The potentially multimillion-dollar lawsuit alleges that Apple’s App Store is taking too much money from iPhones and iPads in the UK. The competition authority in the UK is leading a class action against Apple for creating App Store prices with a margin of 70% that are higher than the value they actually provide.Apple is facing a lawsuit over charges they overcharged nearly 20 million UK customers for App Store purchases. The problem was recently exposed by a consumer rights expert who discovered that several apps were charging Apple customers prices in US dollars, which were being converted to pounds at an unfavorable exchange rate and then being charged again on top by Apple.
The tech giant has faced a bad news storm over the past year. However, it’s not over yet as Apple faces another lawsuit in London.Apple’s standard 30% commission on App Store purchases is exploitative and should be deemed unlawful, an ongoing class action lawsuit claims.Claims against Apple in the UK could get a boost, thanks to the relatively lenient approach of Judge Colin Birss (executive officer at the Competition Appeal Tribunal) and the 11 million+ affected users.To many, the idea of a class action — filed in the UK — against Apple for antitrust violations will seem like an action movie, far removed from daily life.
Apple has been accused of giving itself an unfair advantage in the app market, which directly impacted UK consumers. Rachael Kent, the chief plaintiff in the case and a professor at King’s College London, is speaking out against Apple’s practices.Apple is exploiting its control of the app store, which negatively affects UK consumers,” Rachael Kent stated in a claim.They’re continuing to abuse their ‘market dominance,” putting UK consumers at risk, says Professor Rachael Kent.
In earlier times Apple was also accused by software giant Epic Games of running a monopoly after it locked down the iOS app store to stop customers from getting an alternative to its own Fortnite title. This became a big and shocking news for all the users of it and surely made a huge loss for the company. Last month, Apple announced to its developer base that changes will be made to the App Store. For those developers who make $1 Million or more in annual revenue, fees would be dropped to 15%.
With billions on the line, the question is whether Apple will win in court — or even if it can. Some say Apple must finally bend to the will of regulators around the world who are unhappy about the company’s fees and other policies.Apple might be in trouble, the European Commission said in a statement of objections. In fact, it’s accused the technology firm of abusing its power as the “gatekeeper” for music-streaming apps on its store.
Apple strongly rejects the accusations put forward by the European Commission. We are confident that Apple’s innovative design principles have fostered a vibrant and competitive ecosystem for apps and helped deliver 869,000 jobs to the UK economy along with $14.9 billion in multinational investment.
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