A UK consumer rights group is suing Apple, claiming the company “has breached competition law” and overcharged customers for iCloud storage.

‘Which?’ is the UK’s largest consumer rights group, and estimates “that millions of people in the UK are affected” by what it sees as Apple’s abuses of anti-competitive practices.

Everything we do is about championing consumers, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. We believe that Apple breached competition law and it has cost UK consumers millions of pounds, so we are taking legal action against Apple to recover the overpayments made on iCloud services obtained on or after 1 October 2015. We want to make sure that Apple, and other big corporations stop behaving in this way.

The company is seeking monetary damages and is trying to force Apple to change its practices.

Which? alleges that Apple has breached competition law and is bringing a collective action on behalf of consumers to seek compensation and to stop Apple from treating its customers this way. It’s currently estimated that if we’re successful, average damages per consumer will be around £70.

The group outlines the crux of its case in its FAQ:

Which? believes Apple is abusing its position as a dominant company in breach of competition law.

Which? believes Apple has been:

1. favouring its own cloud storage services on its iOS devices, compared to other cloud storage providers; and
2. tying iCloud services to iOS devices, which are purchased by consumers.

Together, this unlawful conduct locks users into Apple’s iCloud storage services, prevents them from switching to alternative cloud providers and enables Apple to charge higher fees for iCloud services than would be the case if Apple behaved lawfully.

The lawsuit is opt-out and opt-in, meaning that eligible individuals living within the UK will automatically be included unless they opt-out. On the other hand, individuals abroad must explicitly opt-in.

Based on £70 per customer, the lawsuit could total £3 billion, or roughly $3.8 billion.