• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
UK PlayStation gamers could receive up to £562 each from £5 billion lawsuit

Home> Entertainment

Published 09:27 22 Aug 2022 GMT+1

UK PlayStation gamers could receive up to £562 each from £5 billion lawsuit

Sony PlayStation is being sued on behalf of nine million claimants

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

PlayStation owners in the UK could receive hundreds of pounds in compensation through a lawsuit which accuses Sony of having 'ripped people off'.

As many as nine million claimants are being represented in the lawsuit filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal on Friday (19 August), including anyone in the UK who has purchased digital games or add-on content either on their console or through the PlayStation Store since 19 August 2016.

Brought by consumer rights champion Alex Neill, the lawsuit accuses Sony PlayStation of overcharging customers by up to £5 billion ($5.9b) in total over the last six years by charging a 30 percent commission on every digital game and PlayStation Store in-game purchase.

As many as nine million people are included in the lawsuit.
Pixabay

Advert

The company has been accused of breaching competition law by imposing unfair terms and conditions on game developers and publishers, in turn forcing up prices for consumers.

Customers could be entitled to between £67 ($79) and £562 ($663) each, excluding interest, with Neill claiming: "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," she said. "We believe Sony has abused its position and ripped off its customers."

Neill went on to describe gaming as 'the biggest entertainment industry in the UK', ahead of TV, video and music.

She continued: "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."

Advert

PlayStation has been accused of charging a commission on in-game purchases.
Nick Lylak/Alamy Stock Photo

Natasha Pearman, the partner leading the case, commented: “Sony dominates the digital distribution of PlayStation games and in-game content; it has implemented an anti-competitive strategy that has resulted in price premiums too high for the customer to be disproportionate to the cost of Sony providing its services.

"This request is only possible because the opt-out class action regime has been introduced by the Consumer Rights Act of 2015; a mode that Alex fought to introduce. We look forward to working with Alex and ensuring that this regime achieves its goals of consumer protection and compensation."

The claimants involved in the lawsuit will not have to pay for the cost of the legal proceedings themselves thanks to its funding by Woodsford; a team of litigation and arbitration experts investing in large commercial claims.

LADbible has reached out to Sony PlayStation for comment.

Featured Image Credit: Wachiwit / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Sony, Gaming, PlayStation, Money

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is the Community Desk Lead at LADbible Group. Emily first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route. She went on to graduate with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University before contributing to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems. She joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features, and now works as Community Desk Lead to commission and write human interest stories from across the globe.

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • More than three million UK workers are set to receive pay rises of up to £2500
  • GTA 6 insider 'reveals' insane amount of money the $1.5 billion game is set to make
  • PlayStation is selling a nineties-style PS5 to celebrate 30 years of the console
  • How GTA 6 is set to make $1 billion before the game is even released

Choose your content:

12 hours ago
14 hours ago
15 hours ago
  • TikTok/Jimmy Fallon
    12 hours ago

    Jimmy Fallon reveals he went on bizarre night out drinking Buckfast in kilt after he was stopped by Royal Scottish guard

    Fallon had the 'best dinner ever' drinking Buckie from the bottle

    Entertainment
  • YouTube
    14 hours ago

    Teacher hits out at ‘6,7’ trend that is getting ‘kids kicked out of classes’

    Teachers are sick of the number

    Entertainment
  • Instagram/Freddie Brazier
    14 hours ago

    Jade Goody’s son Freddy admits he’s ‘homeless’ ahead of birth of his child

    Freddy suggested he may name his child after his late mother

    Entertainment
  • Netflix
    15 hours ago

    All the signs Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn will return for final season as creators insist he's dead

    The Netflix show is returning next month for its final season

    Entertainment