Amazon and Apple are at the centre of a new legal challenge that is seeking at least £500million in compensation for millions of UK customers.
The legal claim, which was filed to the Competition Appeals Tribunal on Wednesday, claims the two companies "colluded" together to keep the prices of Apple products high.
The lawsuit accuses Amazon of having restricting sales of popular Apple products by independent merchants on its marketplace.
In return, Apple is alleged to have offered Amazon preferential wholesale prices on all Apple and Beats products, which it could sell directly to customers through its own retail business.
According to the lawyers leading the lawsuit, around seven million customers who bought Apple or Apple-owned Beats products from Amazon since October 2018 have been affected.
This is believed to cover products such as iPhones, iPads, Beats headphones and MacBooks.
The claim alleges that, by January 2019, almost all independent merchants of Apple and Beats products disappeared from the Amazon marketplace as a result of the deal.
The case has been filed by Professor Christine Riefa, a consumer law professor at the University of Reading and is being led by Hausfeld & Co LLP.
Anyone who is affected is automatically included in the claim, unless they opt out.
In a statement, Professor Riefa said: "Millions of consumers in the UK enjoy the services and products of Apple and Amazon.
"They do not suspect that those companies collude to make them pay more for their electronics and reduce their choice. I believe that big businesses like Apple and Amazon should behave fairly and compete on merits, not by using underhand tactics.
"Each company has an effective stranglehold over its market, and they are misusing that advantage to shut out competition from independent merchants – unlawfully lining their wallets at the expense of consumers. It’s a betrayal of their customers’ loyalty."
“I decided to bring the claim because consumers individually would never have been able to and the two tech giants would have continued to line their pockets with their unlawful behaviours going unchecked.”
Amazon has denied the allegations made by Professor Riefa stating that the claim "was without merit".
Apple has reportedly said the aim of the agreements made with Amazon in 2018 was to reduce the sale of counterfeit products online.
In a statement to This is Money, an Amazon spokesperson said: "This claim is without merit, and we’re confident that this will become clear throughout the process.
"As a result of our agreement with Apple, customers can find the latest Apple and Beats products on our store, and they benefit from an expanded range with better deals and faster shipping."
The Mirror has contacted Amazon and Apple for comment.
To find out more information about the claim, visit www.ukappleamazonclaim.co.uk.
