What’s the Claim?
Since 2015, millions of UK owners of Samsung and Apple 4G smartphones could have overpaid for their smartphone.
This website explains the legal claim brought by Which? against Qualcomm. Which? alleges that Qualcomm has contravened competition law. Which?’s claim is an opt-out collective claim, which means that Which? automatically represents all those who fit the class definition, who are called class members. If you purchased a new Apple or Samsung 4G smartphone between 1 October 2015 and 9 January 2024, then you are likely included as a class member represented by Which?; see the FAQs here for more details.
Who is Qualcomm?
Qualcomm is a global manufacturer of chipsets which enable smartphones to connect to 4G networks. It also holds patents essential to widely-used 4G technology.
What happened?
Qualcomm is alleged to have abused its position as a dominant company and charged smartphone manufacturers inflated fees to use its technology. This increased costs for smartphone manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, and in turn led to consumers paying higher prices for our phones.
We estimate that millions of people in the UK are affected – are you one of them?
If you are a UK consumer and purchased an Apple or Samsung smartphone (as part of a mobile phone contract) in the UK between 1 October 2015 and 9 January 2024 you could be due a payment.
Why is Which? doing this?
Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. We believe that Qualcomm breached competition law and it cost UK consumers millions of pounds, so we are taking legal action against Qualcomm to recover the overpayments made on Apple and Samsung handsets bought between 1 October 2015 and 9 January 2024.
This type of legal action means that, if you’re eligible, you will automatically be included in the claim unless you have told us that you don’t want to be.
