Website set up to advise consumers on MasterCard class action

A website with information on the £14bn collective consumer claim against MasterCard has been set up on the direction of the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Anyone who was a UK consumer aged 16 or over between 22 May 1992 and 21 June 2008 could have an interest in the claim, which follows a decision in December 2007 by the European Commission that MasterCard imposed unlawful fees on transactions processed through its network. These fees were paid by more than half a million businesses, including major supermarkets, that accepted MasterCard cards as payment for goods or services, and in the Commission's view, consumers were likely to have paid higher prices as businesses raised their prices to compensate. MasterCard lost its appeals against this decision in 2014.

An application before the tribunal asks that Walter Merricks, a solicitor with a record in defending consumer interests and formerly chief ombudsman of the Financial Ombudsman Service, be authorised to act as the class representative for the proposed claim. The tribunal is inviting submissions from any person with an interest and has set a deadline of 22 December. A hearing on the application has been set for 18-20 January 2017.

The claim is being funded by third party litigation funders, Gerchen Keller Capital, to an amount upto £43m, including £10m which will be available to cover MasterCard’s costs in the event that the claim is ultimately unsuccessful. The arrangements mean that class members will not need to pay anything to be part of the claim, and have no financial risk in relation to the claim.

Consumers are advised to check the website, which can be found at www.mastercardconsumerclaim.co.uk, for updates on the progress of the claim.