After nearly nine years of legal battles, millions of Mastercard users are set to receive a payout.
Huge collective action over Mastercard interchange fees eventually led to the credit card company proposing a landmark £200 million settlement.
But even with claimants potentially able to receive £70 each, the former financial ombudsman who first launched the claim, Walter Merricks, had originally claimed shoppers were owed £10 to £15 billion.
Back in 2016, he alleged that 46 million in Britain had been ripped off after fees were wrongly levied on transactions between 1992 and 2008.
Merricks claimed retailers had passed on the Mastercard fees in the form of higher prices.
Following the hearing in February, an 80-page judgement today (20 May), acting president Mr Justice Roth approved the provisional settlement.
Merricks v Mastercard Settlement
While this £200 million settlement is a fraction of the sum originally claimed, Merricks said in the statement that it represents ‘a fair and just outcome’ for 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,” the former ombudsman said.
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“I am proud to have achieved a substantial settlement sum, indeed the largest settlement for a group of UK consumers through the English courts.”
Who will get a payout?
So, people will reportedly have six months to claim from claims administrator Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions and it’s expected that five percent of beneficiaries (roughly 2.5 million people) will come forward. In that case, it’s said they would each receive £45.
If there’s less than that, the payment would be capped at £70 per person.
People will automatically be a part of the claim if all of the following points apply (unless you opted out in the past):
- Lived in England, Wales or Northern Ireland for a minimum of three months between June 1997 and June 2008, or in Scotland between May 1992 and June 2010
- Paid for something from a business that accepted Mastercard credit cards during that period
- Aged over 18 and living in the UK on 6 September 2016
You don’t necessarily have had to of owned a Mastercard at any point ,but must have bought something from a place that accepted the credit cards in that time period.
With this case pretty much being the first ruling of its kind, it’s not quite clear yet how the payments will be made.
And as far unclaimed cash, the Access to Justice Foundation's chief executive Clare Carter said: “We have already begun working with partners to ensure any unclaimed money gets distributed to charities that will improve access to justice for those that need it the most.”