300 Pounds For All in 14 Billion Mastercard Class Action Lawsuit

Mastercard is yet again facing a lawsuit in the UK for £14 billion.  

In September 2016, Walter Merricks started a ‘class action’ lawsuit against Mastercard, alleging that a potential 46 million people paid higher prices in shops due to higher than the ‘market norm’ card processing fees levied on retailers.  Retailers that had suffered higher merchant account card charges had in most cases passed these on to the customers in the form of higher prices. 

This case is now back for reconsideration with the Competition Commission Tribunal after a court ruled that they must reconsider when originally they had ‘kicked out’ this case in 2016.

The higher processing charges were between 1992 and 2008 and it is claimed they were anti-competitive and broke EU Law.  This lawsuit comes after the European Commission’s 2007 decision that Mastercard’s interchange fees where in breach of competition law.

More recently, Mastercard was fined £502m by the Competition Commission in January for breaching anti-trust legislation for not giving consumers access to cheaper card payment services.

Comment

No doubt Mastercard will defend their position again to the hilt but if they lose and Derricks wins the case, it is estimated that 46 million people in the UK will receive around £300 compensation on average.