Campaigner launches £1.5bn legal action in UK against Apple over wallet’s ‘hidden fees’
The financial campaigner James Daley has launched a £1,5bn class action lawsuit against Apple over its mobile phone wallet, claiming the US tech company blocked competition and charged hidden fees that ultimately harmed 50 million UK consumers,The lawsuit takes aim at Apple Pay, which they say has been the only contactless payment service available for iPhone users in Britain over the past decade,Daley, who is the founder of the advocacy group Fairer Finance, claims this situation amounted to anti-competitive behaviour and allowed Apple to charge hidden fees, ultimately pushing up costs for banks that passed charges on to consumers, regardless of whether they owned an iPhone,It is the first UK legal challenge to the company’s conduct in relation to Apple Pay, and takes place months after regulators like the Competition and Markets Authority and the Payments Systems Regulator began scrutinising the tech industry’s digital wallet services.
The case has been filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which will now decide whether the class action case can move forward.Daley said: “People will have no idea they’ve been paying more for everyday banking because of the way Apple has operated Apple Pay.“By shutting out competition and charging hidden fees, Apple has pushed up costs for millions of consumers.Shockingly, this doesn’t just affect Apple Pay users or iPhone owners.Banks have passed these costs on to all customers, meaning everyone is paying the price.
”Apple said in a statement that the lawsuit was “misguided and should be dismissed”, adding: “Apple Pay is a seamless and secure way for users to make contactless payments, and one of many payment options available to consumers.Apple does not charge fees to consumers or merchants for using Apple Pay, and banks see meaningful benefits from offering Apple Pay to their customers – most notably fraud reduction.”The company said it had recently added tech capabilities, including near-field technology (NFC) and secure element (SE) application interfaces, which give third-party developers a way to enable contactless transactions from their own apps, including in the UK.“We will continue to ensure that UK customers have access to the payment options of their choice in a safe and secure environment.”Daley’s lawsuit alleges that Apple refused to give other app developers and outside businesses access to the contactless payment technology on its iPhones, which meant it could charge banks and card issuers fees on Apple Pay transactions that his lawyers say “are not in line with industry practice”.
The lawsuit notes that similar fees are not charged on equivalent payments on Android devices, which are built by Google.It says that the additional costs were borne by UK consumers, having been passed on through charges on a range of personal banking products ranging from current accounts, credit cards, to savings and mortgages.The lawsuit says that about 98% of consumers are exposed to banks that listed cards on Apple Pay, meaning the vast majority of the UK population may have been affected.While the case may only result in an average £26 payout for consumers, Daley said: “I’m bringing this claim because consumers have been treated unfairly, and I want to help them get back what they’re owed.It’s also important that big firms like Apple are held to account for this kind of anti-competitive behaviour.
“The way it has run Apple Pay has quietly increased banking costs for consumers over many years,I want to put a stop to that – and secure compensation for the millions of people who have been affected,”
Is the supreme court ready to stand up to Trump over Federal Reserve attack?
Donald Trump has tried his usual tactics when it comes to getting the US Federal Reserve to lower interest rates: bully when persuasion doesn’t work, and then fire when bullying doesn’t work.In an unprecedented assault on the central bank, the president has called the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, “stupid” and threatened to fire him for not cutting interest rates as quickly as Trump would like. Most recently, the justice department instigated a criminal investigation against Powell for testimony he gave about renovations at the Fed’s headquarters. Even so, the Fed has not budged.Tactically, Trump’s assault on the Fed appears to be no different than his overhaul of the entire federal government
Customer complaints over water bills surge by 50% in England and Wales
Complaints about water companies in England and Wales to an independent monitor surged by more than 50% last year, as customers bristled at steep bill increases.More than 16,000 complaints were lodged in 2025 with the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), a government-sponsored body that represents customers’ interests.That was up from 10,600 in 2024, with the flow of objections well above the level of the prior year in every month from March onwards.Water companies have faced huge public anger in recent years over the amount of sewage flowing into Britain’s rivers and seas. However, the extent of the outrage increased sharply last year when water companies were allowed to increase bills to pay for upgrades after decades of underinvestment
Latest ChatGPT model uses Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as source, tests reveal
The latest model of ChatGPT has begun to cite Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as a source on a wide range of queries, including on Iranian conglomerates and Holocaust deniers, raising concerns about misinformation on the platform.In tests done by the Guardian, GPT-5.2 cited Grokipedia nine times in response to more than a dozen different questions. These included queries on political structures in Iran, such as salaries of the Basij paramilitary force and the ownership of the Mostazafan Foundation, and questions on the biography of Sir Richard Evans, a British historian and expert witness against Holocaust denier David Irving in his libel trial.Grokipedia, launched in October, is an AI-generated online encyclopedia that aims to compete with Wikipedia, and which has been criticised for propagating rightwing narratives on topics including gay marriage and the 6 January insurrection in the US
Young will suffer most when AI ‘tsunami’ hits jobs, says head of IMF
Artificial intelligence will be a “tsunami hitting the labour market”, with young people worst affected, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned the World Economic Forum on Friday.Kristalina Georgieva told delegates in Davos that the IMF’s own research suggested there would be a big transformation of demand for skills, as the technology becomes increasingly widespread.“We expect over the next years, in advanced economies, 60% of jobs to be affected by AI, either enhanced or eliminated or transformed – 40% globally,” she said. “This is like a tsunami hitting the labour market.”She suggested that in advanced economies, one in 10 jobs had already been “enhanced” by AI, tending to boost these workers’ pay, with knock-on benefits for the local economy
‘I feel like I’ll never be cold again’: How tennis stars coped with Melbourne heat | Tumaini Carayol
Even before the first set and first hour of his match elapsed, Tomas Machac had asked the umpire for the tournament doctor, trainer and pickle juice, the drink du jour for tackling cramps. Those preventive measures taken in the intense early stages of his third-round tussle with Lorenzo Musetti proved to be sensible, for the pair would spend a brutal four hours, 25 minutes on court.Four hours of that took place inside an open John Cain Arena, a furnace in suffocating heat. “We knew today was going to be really, really hot,” Musetti said. “I think I managed well to finish the match without cramping
Heward earns win for Bristol against Exeter with rain stopping open play
So much rain has been falling out west this week that Bristol could almost have floated down to Devon in canoes. Add in more heavy downpours, a tricky wind and a horribly slippery ball and there was never any chance of a free-flowing, fast-paced spectacle between two of the league’s more fluent attacking sides. This was a sodden slog, pure and simple, with only a rainbow or two to add a splash of colour.Not that the Bears will care much about the trench warfare nature of a victory that consolidates them in third position and above their opponents in the playoff race going into the Prem’s two-month hiatus. On an afternoon demanding character, perseverance and effort the visitors displayed all three, a first-half try from the appropriately named Noah Heward ultimately edging an old-school wrestling match
Coca-Cola sues Vue after cinema chain switches to Pepsi
Asbestos found in children’s play sand sold in UK
‘At the table or on the menu’: a turbulent Davos week with Trump’s circus in town
Strong UK pay growth could limit interest rate cuts, Bank policymaker warns
Davos: ECB’s Lagarde plays down fears of ‘rupture’ in world order, as IMF’s Georgieva warns of AI ‘tsunami’ hitting jobs market – as it happened
Poundland shuts 149 stores, cuts 2,200 jobs and focuses on £1 items