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ITunes Overcharging in the UK

Posted by michael on from the rip-mix-burned dept.

KennyMillar writes "The BBC is reporting that the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) has ruled that Apple is overcharging for iTunes downloads in the UK. They have referred the case to the European Commission for a ruling. One important note is that UK iTunes customers cannot buy from the French or German iTunes Stores, and this goes against European Freedom of Trade rules. A spokesman from OD2 agreed that people in the UK should not be charged more than customers in the Eurozone. I've emailed Apple asking for 20% refund on all my downloads, but I won't hold my breath!"

1 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. The European Union is Like a Schizophrenic Lawyer by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Seriously, if the European Union would get off it's butt and actually make the various European versions of the RIAA offer the same licensing across all of Europe, like they have already ordered them too, then this would not be an issue. Apple charges different prices because they are charged different prices. Now the UK has ruled that Apple is violating a EU law, but obeying it would break the law in any given member of the European Union. This is largely a matter of considering intellectual property to be a good or service, when sold by Apple, but not otherwise considered a good or service across the EU as a whole.

    Mostly this is just the UK pissing and moaning because they are getting ripped off more by their RIAA clone than other countries are and they want Apple to do something about it. Apple doesn't really care how much the songs cost, they just want them as cheap as possible. They don't even make any money on the issue, it is just a way to get people to buy computers and mp3 players.

    I'm sure this will result in the EU ordering each country to license IP across the EU under the same terms as locally, and in another 10 years most of the countries will actually get around to doing so. In the mean time, Apple will fight things out in the courts, stop selling in the UK, raise prices across all of the EU, or take a loss selling into the UK for the sake of good will. None of which seems like a good deal for anyone involved.