Apple is accused of trapping and ripping off and locking 40m iCloud British customers into its iCloud service and charging them outrageous prices according to consumer group Which? Who has launched a legal action that could result in a £3bn pay out if it is successful, with the average customer getting around £70.

However, Apple rejected the suggestion its practices are anti-competitive, saying users are not required to use iCloud, it said many customers relay on third-party cheaper alternatives  and insists it “ works hard to make data transfer as easy as possible.

Facebook, Google, gaming giant Steam and the UK’s leading mobile providers were among the others facing legal claims at the same court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal , “Although most of these claims are in their infancy and take a long time to resolve, there will be more decisions coming out over the next couple of years and there will be settlements- these will start to affect the tech giants’ businesses. By bringing this claim, Which? Is showing big corporations like Apple that they cannot rip off UK customers without facing repercussions”  according to Which CEO Anabel Hoult.

Users of Apple products get a small amount of digital storage for free and after that they encouraged to pay to use iCloud service to back up photos, videos, messages, contacts and all other content which lives on their devices, prices ranging from £0.99 a month  for 50GB of space to £54.99 a month for 12 TB. Apple does not allow rival storage services full access to its products saying  security reasons, Which? Says the legal action will be funded by Litigation Capital Management, and the consumer group has instructed the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher.

The absence of any infringement decision under EU or UK competition law meant it would be down to the claimant to prove the market abuse it was alleging was actually taking place. Legal actions against big tech firms can take years as they work their way through the courts. Which? has urged Apple to resolve this “ without the need for litigation, “  and want the tech giant to offer customers their money back and to open up competition further.