Phone users may be due millions
Around 29 million people could be entitled to a payout after being overcharged for their smartphones, if a landmark claim is successful.
People could be owed a collective £482.5 million in damages from tech giant Qualcomm, according to consumer watchdog Which?
Which? believes Qualcomm has breached UK competition law by taking advantage of its dominance in the patent-licensing and chipset markets.
The result is that it is able to charge manufacturers inflated fees for technology licences, which have then been passed on to consumers in the form of higher smartphone prices.
Which? is seeking damages for all affected Apple and Samsung smartphones purchased since October 2015. It estimates individual consumers could be due up to £30 depending on the number and type of smartphones purchased during that period.
Anabel Hoult, chief executive of Which?, said: “We believe Qualcomm’s practices are anticompetitive and have so far taken around £480 million from UK consumers’ pockets – this needs to stop. We are sending a clear warning that if companies like Qualcomm indulge in manipulative practices which harm consumers, we are prepared to act.
“If Qualcomm has abused its market power it must be held to account.”
Qualcomm said: “There is no basis for this lawsuit. As the plaintiffs are well aware, their claims were effectively put to rest last summer by a unanimous panel of judges at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the US.”