Amazon and Apple face fresh £900 million UK legal action alleging they unlawfully colluded, resulting in increased prices of Apple (including Beats) products

London – 16 December 2025: Apple and Amazon again face allegations of collusion in a UK tribunal, with fresh proceedings filed on behalf of millions of UK consumers allegedly forced to overpay for Apple products. The claim is brought as a collective action in the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and was filed yesterday.

The action seeks over £900m in compensation for the millions of UK consumers it says were impacted by a secret deal between the global corporations, which saw Amazon restricting sales of Apple products by independent retailers on its marketplace. In return, Apple offered Amazon preferential wholesale prices on all its products sold directly to customers via Amazon’s own retail business.

The claim alleges that, as a result of a deal struck by Apple and Amazon in October 2018, by January 2019 almost all independent retailers of Apple products were forced off the Amazon marketplace. This led to a decrease in the discounts offered to customers by the limited number of independent merchants remaining, and a significant increase in the sales of Apple products at undiscounted prices. 

The continuing effect of this deal is to keep the prices of Apple products, including iPhones, iPads and MacBooks, artificially high for the benefit of Apple, and at the expense of millions of UK consumers. Amazon also benefits, as it can now sell more Apple products at higher margins directly to consumers. 

The claim alleges that as a result of the market power enjoyed by the two Tech giants, and the drastic reduction of discounted offerings on Amazon’s platform, the compensation owed to the 10m customers who bought Apple products from Amazon is up to £900 million. Further compensation is owed to those bought from other retailers (e.g. Apple, Curry’s, etc.) either online or in-store.

The action is led by Justin Le Patourel, a former Ofcom consumer policy lead, and the certified class representative in the BT landline overcharging case. Mr Le Patourel is acting through JLP A&A Class Representative Limited, with the support of competition litigation firm Hausfeld & Co. LLP. 

A similar claim was brought in 2023 by Professor Christine Riefa, a consumer law expert. While the Tribunal declined to permit that claim to proceed to trial, it found no issue with the underlying merits of consumers’ claims. 

Who is eligible

Any consumer in the UK who purchased new Apple products, whether from Amazon or elsewhere, since October 2018 is an eligible member of the claimant class. 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 whereby all UK class members are included by default unless they decide to opt out. To find out more information on this claim please visit www.ukappleamazonclaim.co.uk.

The case against Apple and Amazon

The claim alleges that Apple and Amazon breached competition law by entering into and implementing unlawful anticompetitive agreements on 31 October 2018, which restricted third parties from reselling Apple products on Amazon’s marketplace. As a result of these agreements, customers paid (and continue to pay) higher prices for Apple products when purchasing them from Apple, Amazon or other retailers.

All Apple electronic products are included within the claim, including: iPhones; iPads; iMacs; MacBooks; Apple TVs; HomePods; Apple Watches; iPods; AirPods; EarPods; Beats wired and wireless headphones and earphones; and ancillary devices such as chargers, keyboards, mouses etc. Purchases of Apple products as part of mobile service provider operator contracts are not included.

The Italian and Spanish competition authorities have concluded that Apple and Amazon had entered into and implemented the unlawful agreements in Italy and in Spain in breach of EU competition law.[1] Preliminary analysis by Mr Le Patourel’s team of economists has identified similar effects in the UK as in those countries. 

About the proposed class representative

The proposed class representative is Mr Justin Le Patourel, a consultant in telecoms, broadcast and internet regulation, with a focus on competition and consumer protection issues. He previously held senior roles at Ofcom and has significant hands-on experience of the UK’s collective proceedings regime, having acted as the class representative in Justin Le Patourel v BT Group PLC. 

Statements

Justin Le Patourel, the proposed class representative in the action, said:

“Millions of UK consumers rely on Apple and Amazon for their tech products, unaware that the two companies may have been secretly colluding to make them pay more and reduce their choice. Big businesses should compete fairly, not strike secret deals that leave customers out of pocket.

Apple and Amazon are two of the five largest companies in the world by market value. These gigantic businesses have misused their power to shut out competition from independent merchants – unlawfully lining their wallets at the expense of UK consumers. It’s a betrayal of their customers’ trust.

I’m delighted to be leading this new claim on behalf of UK consumers. The merits of the case have always been strong. The Tribunal’s earlier refusal to certify the previous claim had nothing to do with the core allegations, which remain compelling and unanswered”. 

Scott Campbell, Head of Competition Disputes and Partner at law firm Hausfeld & Co LLP, who is leading the litigation, said:

“We are very pleased to be taking this case forward with Justin Le Patourel, whose experience navigating the Competition Appeal Tribunal will be invaluable. We look forward to holding Apple and Amazon to account and securing compensation for the millions of UK customers who have lost out as a result of Apple and Amazon’s unlawful conduct.”