If you owned an older model iPhone you could be entitled to compensation
Apple accused in £853m legal claim of selling iPhones with defective batteries and hiding this with software updates that caused performance problems.
Apple faces a £853 million consumer legal claim after being accused of selling iPhones with defective batteries that weren’t able to deliver peak power and pushing automatic iOS software updates that included a power management tool that impacted performance.
If you owned one of the seven defective models – including iPhone 6, SE and 7 models – then you could be eligible to claim money back. Sign up to Consumer Voice to stay updated.
Apple in battery ‘throttling’ claim
Apple is accused of selling iPhones with defective batteries that weren’t able to cope with the demands being placed on them – including delivering peak power and pushing automatic iOS updates to the phone. This increased the likelihood of unexpected shutdowns.
The claim alleges that instead of doing a battery recall, Apple secretly released iOS updates that contained a ‘throttling’ function to manage battery performance. This slowed down the performance of older iPhones to stop them shutting down without warning.
Apple customers were not told about the reasons for the unexpected shutdowns or that their phones were being ‘throttled’ deliberately.
Are you one of 23.8m Apple customers who could be owed money?
It is estimated that around 23.8 million people in the UK may be eligible for compensation. You are likely to be one of these people if you you bought one of these affected iPhone models after 12 December 2016:
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone 6S
- iPhone 6S Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
The claim against Apple
Justin Gutmann, a consumer rights campaigner, launched a £853 million claim on behalf of 23.8m UK consumers accusing Apple of breaching UK competition law by abusing its dominant market position.
The claim states that Apple applied exploitative and unfair practices that weren’t in the interests of its customers. Gutmann has instructed the law firm Charles Lyndon to represent him in the claim. The claim is being funded by Balance Legal Capital LLP.
How to claim compensation
The specialist competition court has given the go-ahead for the claim to go to trial – ‘What’s happening with this claim’. If the claim is won then owners of these iPhone models will be eligible for compensation – Sign up to Consumer Voice to stay updated.
We will keep you updated on the latest developments in the Apple iPhone claim and other group consumer claims.
What’s happening with this claim?
Gutmann filed the claim with the Competition Appeal Tribunal in June 2022. A certification hearing was held in September 2023 to decide whether the claim will be permitted to proceed. In November 2023, the tribunal gave the go-ahead for the claim to go to trial. This was subject to new funding arrangements, which were signed off by the Tribunal in March 2023. Apple was refused permission to appeal the decision.
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