Breaking down Rip-off Britain one bit at a time

Anyone who has ever lived in the UK, but comes from another country very quickly realises that everything is more expensive here. The 'Net era has really made that clear, and has done a huge amount to bring some rationality into the UK market. Sad therefore that iTunes, a Web poster child, as always been more expensive than the rest of the EU.

No longer - the EC has strong armed Apple into bringing its prices into line, though Apple warns the "Rip Off Britain" pricing policy of the labels that:

Apple currently must pay some record labels more to distribute their music in the UK than it pays them to distribute the same music elsewhere in Europe. Apple will reconsider its continuing relationship in the UK with any record label that does not lower its wholesale prices in the UK to the pan-European level within six months.

The Grauniad thinks its a ransom note, I disagree - I think its just another indication that companies rip off British consumers because they can, and kudos to the EC for taking them on.

Exactly what makes the UK consumer such a sucker has confounded me for a decade.....