About the Claim
This website has been created to provide information about a proposed collective consumer claim against MasterCard that has been filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal by Walter Merricks CBE (the proposed class representative) on behalf of a proposed “class” of individuals.
The proposed claim relies on a legal finding of the European Commission that MasterCard imposed unlawful fees on transactions processed through its network. These fees were paid by businesses for accepting payments made with a MasterCard credit or debit card in the period 1992 to 2008. More than half a million businesses in the UK, including major supermarkets, that accepted MasterCard cards in the relevant period, paid these unlawful fees, and it is alleged passed these on to consumers in higher retail prices.
The proposed claim says that if between 22 May 1992 and 21 June 2008 you purchased goods and/or services from businesses selling in the UK that accepted MasterCard cards, at a time at which you were both (1) a resident in the UK for a continuous period of at least three months, and (2) aged 16 years or over, you paid higher prices as a result of MasterCard’s unlawful conduct. It is proposed that the claim will be brought on behalf of a class of individuals who meet these conditions with the exception of the categories of persons described in FAQ 6.
You can click on the link below to see the full Collective Proceedings Application Notice, which includes detailed information about the claim and the proposed class representative. Other key documents related to the claim can be found on the “Documents” tab at the top of this page.
The CPO Application hearing took place on 18-20 January 2017 at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Place, London WC1A 2EB. The purpose was to hear the application for the claim to proceed as an opt-out collective consumer action and the transcripts of the hearing will be available on the Tribunal's website in early February. The Tribunal may take several months to deliver its judgment, so please be patient. This website will be updated when the date is set for the judgment to be given, and when the judgment itself is publicly available.
Any third party with a legitimate interest (who is not a member of the proposed class) who seeks permission to make written and/or oral observations at the CPO Application hearing is to make such application, supported by reasons, to the Tribunal by 4pm on 12 December 2016.
