The long running case has been running for the last 10 years, with Walter Merricks, a former financial ombudsman, having first launched the legal claim back in 2016
Mastercard is set to pay out £200million in compensation after a major new legal ruling from the Competition Appeal Tribunal today. The payouts come as consumers financially lost out because of Mastercard’s “unlawfully high” card fees.
The long running case has been running for the last 10 years, with Walter Merricks, a former financial ombudsman, having first launched the legal claim back in 2016.
Merricks alleged that 46 million shoppers in the UK were “ripped off” after fees were wrongly levied on transactions made between 1992 and 2008. The fees were paid by the retailers accepting Mastercard, which were then passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
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According to Merricks, consumers are set to receive payments worth up to £70 each out of the overall £200million settlement.
British consumers will shortly be able to register to receive a payment by completing an online form, regardless of whether they have ever held a Mastercard card. Merricks says it is expected that payments will be made to consumers who register before the end of the year.
However, it is not yet clear how the money will be distributed to those affected. The settlement makes the case one of the largest settlement of a group litigation for the benefit of UK consumers. But the final figure is significently lower than the £10billion to £15billon that Merricks claimed shoppers were originally owed.
Commenting on the outcome of the case, Walter Merricks said: “I started this case because I believed that Mastercard’s fees paid by retailers for processing card transactions had been unlawfully high and virtually all UK consumers had lost out for long by periods paying higher prices than they should have done as retailers passed on those costs.
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“As the evidence came to be known through the litigation process, this was the position only in a relatively small proportion of transactions and the settlement reflects that. The settlement that has today been finally approved represents a fair and just outcome for UK consumers. On any view, recovering £200million by way of a settlement for UK consumers is a huge sum, and that will translate into a meaningful impact in the pockets of UK consumers.”
“During the long course of the case which involved winning a key Supreme Court decision, I have established important precedents to ensure that other collective actions that have followed mine, will have a greater prospect of succeeding.
“And I am pleased to have forged this new path towards a UK regime that allows consumers to get meaningful access to justice, and that will act as a deterrent to companies from acting unlawfully. I am proud to have achieved a substantial settlement sum, indeed the largest settlement for a group of UK consumers through the English courts.”
The Mirror has approached Mastercard for comment.
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