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Sony loses bid to shut down £5 billion class action claim
UK appeals court has denied Sony’s second bid to dismiss a competition claim that accuses it of overcharging 8.9 million UK customers.
Latest news
New laws to protect consumers from cyber attacks take effect
New laws protecting consumers from hacking and cyber attacks require all smart devices to meet minimum-security standards.
Grindr faces UK class action lawsuit for selling HIV data to advertisers
Grindr is accused of a major data protection breach involving the sale of thousands of users’ highly sensitive medical records.
Scottish Power to pay £1.5 million for overcharging 1,700 customers
Scottish Power’s direct debit customers to get £300 in refunds and compensation after being overcharged during the energy crisis.
Car finance companies must hold back funds to cover impact of regulator’s investigation
The UK’s financial regulator has warned companies to hold back cash to cover the costs of its regulatory probe into car finance loans.
Stagecoach agrees £25m settlement in train compensation lawsuit
A settlement agreement that could compensate millions of rail passengers awaits final approval from competition court.
Complaints about financial firms expected to increase
Financial Ombudsman Service has increased its complaint level predictions and is anticipating more complaints about car finance commission.
Vodafone and Three merger could lead to higher prices
The £15 billion merger of Vodafone and Three faces an in-depth investigation by competition watchdog amid price hike concerns.
Epic joins multi-million-pound compensation trial against Google Play Store
The competition court this week agreed to hear the evidence together from two major trials against Google’s app store over anti-competitive claims.
£1.3 billion BT compensation trial ends and billions more could be owed to UK consumers
BT compensation trial ends but it is just one of 12 major consumer lawsuits that could leave UK consumers owed £22.5 billion in compensation payouts.
First court appearance for five UK water companies
Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, Severn Trent Water, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water are accused of underreporting sewage incidents and overcharging customers.
Pet owners may be overpaying for medicines and prescriptions
The competition watchdog is launching a formal investigation after finding serious concerns that may reduce choice for consumers.
Consumer harm from subscription traps worsening
Citizens Advice finds consumer harm from subscription traps is worsening and warns the Government’s current plans to fix the problem will fail.
Apple making big App Store changes as EU Digital Markets Act kicks in
European Commission’s sweeping new powers to rein in big tech will give European consumers more choice. Find out where this leaves UK consumers.
Apple fined £1.5 billion by EU over music streaming competition
Tech giant Apple fined for not allowing music streaming apps like Spotify to tell customers they can subscribe for cheaper if they do not use Apple’s App Store.
Law makes it easier for people to take on powerful rule-breaking companies
People who have been wronged by big companies will now find it easier to secure funding to hold them accountable.
Homeowners face high and unclear estate management charges
The UK competition watchdog has raised concerns about poor quality new housing and high estate management charges. It has also opened an investigation into eight housebuilders over sharing of pricing information.
Lloyds sets aside £450m for car finance costs and compensation payouts
Lloyds Banking Group has set aside hundreds of millions to cover the potential costs of a regulatory probe into motor finance commission. Drivers could be owed up to £1,100 for car finance deals taken out before 2021.
Baby formula milk prices to be investigated
The UK competition watchdog is investigating the infant formula market after finding parents could be saving £500 in their baby’s first year.
New research estimates over 800,000 car finance compensation claims
Drivers could be owed up to £1,100 for car finance deals taken out before 2021. Get the latest information on how to claim compensation.
Facebook £2.1bn compensation claim to go to trial
Competition court has given the go-ahead to a consumer legal action against Facebook owner Meta. The case is expected to go to trial in early 2026.
Water companies face ‘significant fines’ for poor customer service
Ofwat has new powers to impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s turnover for poor customer service but can’t tell companies to compensate customers.
Competition watchdog finds funeral costs have increased slower than inflation
Latest investigation follows warning to funeral directors and crematorium directors to make prices clear for customers or risk court action.
Competition court settles dispute over competing Amazon class actions
Tribunal decides between two competing multi-million-pound consumer lawsuits against Amazon for overcharging UK consumers.
Energy regulator confirms new compensation rules for customers
Energy firms must pay customers £30 if new five-day switch deadline is missed.
Competition trial seeking compensation of up to £400 each for 3.7m BT customers continues
BT accused of ‘abusive’ pricing practices after a fiery first week of the £1.3 billion compensation trial. Sign up to stay updated.
Competition watchdog is reviewing supermarket loyalty pricing
The Competition and Markets Authority begins a review of whether supermarket loyalty pricing is misleading or disadvantaging shoppers.
BT trial: consumer group takes on telecoms giant in £1.3 billion compensation case
BT is accused of overcharging 3m landline customers as the first of its kind collective action trial begins.
Hidden fees to be banned as part of online shopping reforms
Crackdown on ‘drip pricing’ – where the price paid at the checkout is higher than originally advertised due to unavoidable fees – follows a government consultation.
Wizz Air pays out £1.2 million to passengers after after regulator steps in
Budget airline Wizz Air has been forced to pay back £1.2 million to thousands of customers who had their refund claims rejected.
First international guideline on AI safety published by UK standards body
New guidelines aim to help companies from big tech firms like Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft to small businesses use AI in a safe and responsible way.
Financial regulator to review whether consumers with car finance loans are owed compensation
The regulator is using its powers to decide whether firms owe compensation to millions of customers mis-sold car finance loans.
Advertising watchdog rules Eurostar’s £39 fare promotion was misleading
Data provided by Eurostar showed that the £39 fares ‘had made up a very small percentage’ of available tickets.
Four new legal claims against UK water companies accused of overcharging millions of customers
Lawsuits against Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water follow an earlier claim against Severn Water.
Google to pay £553m in Play Store settlement
Tech giant agrees to pay settlement and offer greater competition in its Play Store for US consumers.
Financial ombudsman concerned about the rise in vehicle-related complaints
Complaints from people worried about whether they can pay their finance deals has reached a five-year high as vehicle problems now account for a quarter of all financial complaints.
Google loses US monopoly lawsuit against Fortnite maker over its app store fees
Epic Games has won a court case against Google for stifling competition and abusing its dominance to charge unfair fees.
Car manufacturers face more than a million new ‘dieselgate’ claims
Judges have been told 1.2 million consumers are seeking compensation against car manufacturers for fitting defeat devices to cheat diesel emissions tests.
Cif, Dove and Comfort maker to be investigated over green claims
The competition watchdog has opened a ‘greenwashing’ investigation into Unilever over concerns about environmental claims on some cleaning products and toiletries.
Mobile phone and broadband companies face ban on ‘confusing’ price rises
Ofcom plans to ban inflation-linked price rises on mobile, broadband and pay-TV contracts.
Big four mobile phone companies face £3.3 billion ‘loyalty penalty’ lawsuit
Vodafone, EE, Three and O2 are accused of using their market dominance to overcharge consumers on up to 28.2 million mobile phone contracts.
Financial Ombudsman plans to charge claims management companies
The ombudsman considers charging claims management companies following a surge in cases brought by CMCs and no-win, no-fee law firms.
Drivers mis-sold car finance loans could be losing out on compensation
Consumer Voice has joined forces with leading consumer rights campaigner Martyn James to talk car finance mis-selling.
Food prices at all-time high but own label items are key to keeping costs down
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has just released its latest findings about the grocery sector, part of its ongoing review of the prices we pay for our food and drink.
Consumers win the first battle against Sony Playstation as £5bn competition claim given go-ahead by UK court
Consumer rights expert Alex Neill, who claims the games console giant overcharged 8.9 million UK customers, is now set to go to trial.
Google on trial: the biggest challenge to tech power in decades comes to a close
As the US trial against Google for illegally abusing its dominance in online search to throttle competition draws to a close, we reflect on the problem of big tech dominance in the UK and why competition claims are so important for UK consumers.
Drivers continue to pay the price for a lack of competition at petrol pumps
Competition watchdog has found drivers were hit by ‘significant increases’ in fuel retailers’ margins during the past two months
MPs warn banks not to block new wave of PPI claims
New £18 billion group legal claim accuses banks and credit card companies of secretly charging up to 95% commission on PPI
Amazon and Meta agree to improve the way they treat competitors
Competition regulator launches investigation into £7.5 billion cloud services market following competition concerns from media watchdog
Apple faces court battle after consumer champion’s claim is given the go-ahead
£853 million legal claim accusing Apple of selling iPhones with defective batteries gets the green light to go to trial from the UK competition court.
Consumers face a ‘postcode lottery’ securing compensation from big business
Connected Consumers founder Liz Coll explores how global brands found guilty of treating consumers unfairly in one country are often reluctant to give up the fight on the same issue in another country.
BT data shows more than 500 potential cyber attacks logged every second
Telecoms giant has said IT, defence, banking and insurance sectors are the most targeted by cyber criminals
Young consumers are more likely to exercise data rights
New survey finds consumers aged 18-24 are most likely to take deliberate action to protect their privacy
Video gaming platform Steam faces significant lawsuit from UK consumers
A leading consumer advocacy law firm has secured substantial funding for a group action against online gaming giant Valve Corporation.
Capita may be forced to compensate people exposed to cybersecurity risk after hack
Pressure mounts against outsourcing firm as legal firms rally affected pension holders and people on benefits to seek justice.
Passengers suffer severe disruption as car park fire closes Luton airport
Around 25,000 airline passengers are suffering disruption as Luton Airport remains closed because a vehicle fire caused a car park to collapse
Almost half of consumers have noticed ‘surge pricing’ at busy times
Survey finds few consumers support the growing trend of retailers adjusting their pricing in response to supply and demand
Amazon and Microsoft under spotlight for dominating cloud competition
Competition regulator launches investigation into £7.5 billion cloud services market following competition concerns from media watchdog
Amazon customers ‘bribed’ to leave good reviews
Which? survey finds one in ten Amazon shoppers were offered an incentive for a five-star review the same week the US government sues Amazon for inflating prices
Crackdown on tech firms as Online Safety Bill is set to become law
Parliament has finally approved new laws aimed at making social media platforms more responsible for user safety
Insurers criticised for delaying claims pay-outs as complaints soar
Latest quarterly data from the Ombudsman shows complaints about car, motorcycle and buildings insurance have reached the highest levels in five years.
Google faces a £7 billion lawsuit for blocking search engine competition at the expense of consumers
Google accused of anti-competitive practices that have led to 65 million UK consumers paying more for goods and services
Hidden online charges costing UK consumers £1.6bn each year
So-called ‘drip pricing’ on products ranging from train fares to food deliveries to be targeted in a Government crackdown.
Planes, trains and auto refunds
As summer holiday travel hit its peak this month, train strikes and air traffic control issues left thousands of stranded travellers seeking compensation
US court upholds claim against Apple, forcing huge cash payout
iPhone customers in the US could receive up to $90 each after court upholds compensation settlement.
Airline regulator forces Wizz Air into policy changes
The UK’s airline regulator has instructed Wizz Air to change its policies and procedures for passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled.
Supreme Court ruling sets out new parameters for litigation funding – but it won’t kill the future of collective proceedings
Susan Dunn, Chair of the Association of Litigation Funders, tells Consumer Voice in an exclusive interview what the ruling means for the litigation funding sector and consumers
Six water companies face £800m lawsuit for unreported sewage pollution and overcharging customers
The first environmental collective action claim has today been launched against Severn Trent Water: five more are due to follow.
Car finance giants face legal claims of over £1bn for ripping off consumers
Around a million UK consumers could have unwittingly overpaid for car finance over a six year period from three car finance giants.
Amazon agrees to change its marketplace rules to address competition regulators’ concerns
Amazon will give independent sellers’ equal chance of appearing in the ‘Buy Box’ when they compete with Amazon’s own products.
Consumer duty: the biggest shake-up of financial services in two decades comes into force today
Fairer Finance founder and award-winning blogger, James Daley, joins us to tell us what to expect from the financial regulator’s new rules for financial services.
Amazon and Apple accused of striking a secret deal to increase the cost of Apple products
A new £500 million consumer lawsuit is demanding compensation for the millions of UK consumers who bought Apple products on Amazon.
Victims of EasyJet data breach could get hundreds in compensation
Legal firms will this week file a claim on behalf of 9m EasyJet customers who had sensitive data stolen by cyber criminals in January 2020.
Barclays wins legal case to avoid liability for a £700,000 authorised push payment scam
The Supreme Court has dealt a blow for consumers following its decision that banks are not liable to reimburse victims of authorised push payment fraud.
Weak competition has led to supermarkets ripping off consumers at petrol pumps
The Competition and Markets Authority this week exposed a shocking truth – weak competition in the supermarket industry has led to consumers paying nearly £1bn more for fuel.
£36 billion potentially owed to UK consumers who have been ripped off by big business
Twelve consumer lawsuits that have been filed with the specialist competition court could leave every adult in the UK owed money, and eligible for compensation from multiple claims.
Amazon now faces two competing multi-million-pound consumer lawsuits for favouring its own products
A second legal claim has been launched against Amazon accusing the tech giant of not offering customers the best deals.
Amazon takes action to stop fake reviews as MPs begin scrutiny of new digital consumer bill
Tech giant to step up action to stop fake reviews ahead of new rules that will punish companies for allowing fake reviews on their websites
Sony faces an anxious wait as tribunal decides if a claim worth £5bn is to go ahead
After a three day hearing Sony PlayStation is waiting to find out if the tribunal will green light a claim that says 8.9m people have been overcharged
Companies accused of making ‘false’ green claims
A surge in businesses promoting green claims is leading to environmentally-conscious consumers being ripped off by some greenwashing companies
Court signals 300,000 Mercedes ‘dieselgate’ consumer claims are to accelerate
Drivers are being urged to complete client surveys in order to hold Mercedes to account and get compensation. Sign up to stay updated.
MPs back new powers to crack down on big tech’s anti-competitive behaviour
Big tech firms – like Google, Apple and Amazon – will face heavy fines for rule-breaking under the new digital consumer bill.
Jaguar Land Rover faces £3bn legal claim over faulty exhaust filters in its diesel cars
New legal claim says over 1 million Jaguar Land Rover customers could be owed £3 billion for faulty exhaust systems said to impact the cars’ reliability.
Sony Playstation is accused of ripping off 8.9m customers by up to £5bn
£5bn legal claim accuses PlayStation of ‘ripping people off’ by charging a 30% commission on digital game and in-game purchases. Sign up to stay updated.
Amazon faces £900m consumer legal claim for favouring its own products
A legal claim has been launched against Amazon after evidence shows it is not always offering customers the best deals.
Mastercard faces £14bn court case that could hand 46m shoppers £300 each
Mastercard is accused of charging shops unlawful transaction fees which resulted in more expensive goods and services for UK shoppers. Sign up to stay updated.
BT faces £600m legal claim and accusations of overcharging vulnerable customers
2.3m BT landline customers could be due £500 in compensation after a legal claim says the company ripped off customers for years. Sign up to stay updated.
Social media giant Facebook is facing legal action worth £2.2bn for unfairly profiting from its users’ data
Facebook is being sued for £2.2bn for unfairly profiting from the data it collected from its 45m UK users. If you used Facebook, even once, between 2016 and 2019 you could be in line for compensation. Sign up to stay updated.
£73m lawsuit against Govia Thameslink for millions of passengers who are paying scandalous fares
Govia Thameslink Railway is accused of making 3.2m of its customers pay twice when travelling in London. Sign up to stay updated if you use these lines.
Google sued for swindling 20 million UK customers in £920 million consumer claim
Google faces trial for overcharging 19.5 million UK customers in its Play Store. The action aims to compensate Android smartphone and tablet owners. Sign up to stay updated.
Tech giant Apple accused of ripping off 20 million UK customers in £1.5 billion legal claim
Apple is facing trial for overcharging 20m UK customers in its popular App Store. The consumer legal claims aims to compensate overcharged iPhone and iPad owners.
Southeastern and South Western in £93m lawsuit for overcharging passengers
Southeastern and South Western train companies are accused of making 3.2m customers pay double. Sign up to stay updated if you own a TfL Travelcard and use these lines.
Millions of UK motorists have been ripped off in £150m scam inflating the delivery costs of new cars
A legal claim has been launched against five major shipping companies for conspiring to fix delivery costs of new cars and vans. Sign up to stay updated.
30 million UK smartphone owners could be due £480m payout
Which? takes legal action for 30m UK consumers who could be owed money after being overcharged for their smartphones. Sign up to stay updated.