Sony is, reportedly, being sued over claims it “ripped off” nine million customers.
The lawsuit claims that Sony overcharged customers by £5 billion over the last six years.
This figure came from the prices Sony charges for games and in-game purchases on PlayStation Store – Sony has been one of the main proponents of games being priced at £70 recently.
The claimants have formed a collective action against Sony, with consumer rights champion Alex Neill helping lead the charge.
The collective is accusing Sony of breaching competition law by abusing its market powers to impose unfair terms and conditions on both developers and publishers.
This then forces up the prices for consumers.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal filed the claim last week.
This claim noted how anyone in the UK that has purchased a digital game or additional add-on content via their PlayStation Store since 19th August 2016 is included in the claim.
Furthermore, those individuals are entitled to compensation.
Sony has been “ripping people off” by charging a 30% commission.
Alex Neill stated;
“The game is up for Sony PlayStation.
With this legal action, I am standing up for the millions of UK people who have been unwittingly overcharged. We believe Sony has abused its position and ripped off its customers
Gaming is now the biggest entertainment industry in the UK, ahead of TV, video, and music, and many vulnerable people rely on gaming for community and connection. The actions of Sony are costing millions of people who can’t afford it, particularly when we’re in the midst of a cost of living crisis and the consumer purse is being squeezed like never before”.
Sky News
Natasha Pearman, a partner of Milberg London LLP, is leading the case;
“Sony dominates the digital distribution of PlayStation games and in-games content; it has deployed an anti-competitive strategy which has resulted in excessive prices to customers that are out of all proportion to the costs of Sony providing its services.
This claim is only possible because of the opt-out collective action regime that was introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015; a regime which Alex fought to introduce. We are looking forward to working with Alex and making sure that the regime achieves its aims of protecting and compensating consumers”.
Sky News
To find out more about the claim, check out the “PlayStation, You Owe Us” site
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ABG’s Senior Editor (News), YouTube content creator/streamer.