Sony has been hit with what appears to be a major legal action.
Per a report from Sky News, Sony is being sued for £5 billion by nine million claimants who have alleged the company of having “ripped people off” with overpriced games and in-game purchases through the PlayStation Store. The game giant charged a “30% commission on every digital game and in-game purchase” made through its storefront and made “as much as £5 billion over the last six years,” it’s claimed.
“The game is up for Sony PlayStation,” claims consumer rights champion Alex Neill, who brought the legal claim and noted the following:
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 is 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.
The partner leading the case, Natasha Pearman, added:
Sony dominates the digital distribution of PlayStation games and in-game 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.
Making the claim possible is the “opt-out collective action regime that was introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015,” something that Neill “fought to introduce.”
Class members won’t have to pay any of the costs of the action themselves thanks to Woodsford, a “specialist team of litigation and arbitration experts investing in large commercial claims” that has agreed to fund the action.
Source: Sky News