Apple Inc. & Samsung Customers Might Be Due for a Piece of a £480m Compensation in the United Kingdom

Close to thirty million people in the Britain who bought an Apple and/or Samsung Electronics smartphone between 2015 and the year 2024 could be entitled to approximately seventeen pounds per claimant if a buyer advocacy organization is successful in its case against the US corporation Qualcomm Inc..

Trial Begins Today

The consumer group is bringing the firm to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London this week.

The legal proceedings involving the advocacy organization and Qualcomm is anticipated to continue for five weeks.

The group is claiming the chip company of restrictive behavior.

It claims that the firm forced Apple and Samsung to pay inflated prices and royalty payments for necessary handset components, which then increased the price of those mobile phones for users.

The Details the Case Will Examine

The legal proceedings commencing on Monday will look into whether the chipmaker had dominance and, if proven, whether it misused a leading role.

Should the watchdog is successful, there will be a follow-up phase requesting 480 million pounds from Qualcomm, to be distributed among an approximate twenty-nine million British phone owners impacted.

The consumer group is claiming compensation for all affected Apple & Samsung Electronics handsets bought between the start of October 2015 and early January 2024.

The organization says this would probably work out at approximately 17 pounds per individual.

Previous Allegations and Qualcomm's Statement

The chipmaker has previously stated the case has "little merit".

A parallel case against the tech giant is currently underway in Canada, and the company has also previously been penalized by the European Union for antitrust breaches.

The FTC in the United States filed a case against the firm for anti-competitive behavior in the way it licensed its innovations in 2017, but had its case dismissed in 2020.

Significance of the Legal Action

The head of the consumer group commented: "This case is a major milestone. It demonstrates how the influence of consumers - represented by the group - can be used to require the largest corporations to account should they abuse their leading role."

The chipmaker is one of the world's biggest manufacturers of mobile processors and has been subject to allegations about unfair practices before.

• Eligible handsets include Apple & Samsung Electronics phones purchased between the end of 2015 and January 2024.
• The claimed amount demanded is £480 million.
• Each payout is projected to be around seventeen pounds.
• The trial is taking place at the specialist court in London.