Claim is launched over tech giant’s charging

Apple is facing a billion-pound legal claim after being accused of breaking UK competition law by “overcharging” millions of people for apps on its App Store.

The tech giant has been accused of deliberately shutting out the competition in the store and forcing people to use its own payment processing system, generating “excessive” profits for itself in the process.

The claim, which is being brought on behalf of potentially millions of UK Apple users, has been filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal and calls for Apple to repay UK customers it says have been overcharged because of the company’s practices, with damages of up to £1.5 billion being sought.

It says as many as 19.6 million UK users could be eligible for compensation.

The claim argues that Apple’s policy of forcing developers to use Apple’s payment systems for in-app purchases and taking up to 30% commission on those transactions is unfair.

Apple is currently the subject of a court case in the US brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games, which has accused the iphone maker of using the App Store and the 15% to 30% commission it takes on in-app purchases in that store as a way of stifling competition.

The UK collective action has been brought by Dr Rachael Kent, an expert in the digital economy and a lecturer at King’s College, London, who claims that because the App Store is the only way to get apps on to an iphone or ipad, it is acting like a monopoly.

“It is a clear abuse by Apple of the law and its own customers,” she said of the firm’s “anticompetitive practices”.