Update:
- Mastercard agreed to settle claims the company charged merchants excessively high credit card fees.
- The settlement ends claims brought against Mastercard by more than 1,900 businesses against Mastercard and Visa in the wake of a U.K. Supreme Court and European Commission ruling that the companies charged unlawful fees.
- Mastercard and Visa have been accused of charging unlawful multilateral interchange fees, which businesses pay to their banks to accept a payment charge made with a debit or credit card.
- The settlement does not affect the parallel proceedings against Visa.
Mastercard interchange fee class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Walter Merricks is pursuing a class action lawsuit against Mastercard.
- Why: The lawsuit alleges Mastercard charged unlawful transaction fees.
- Where: The Mastercard class action lawsuit was certified by the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
(March 15, 2022)
The Mastercard interchange fee class action lawsuit will move forward with an extra £2.7 billion added to the claim, Finextra reports.
The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled that Walter Merricks, former head of the UK Financial Ombudsman Service, can represent class members who have died since 6 September 2016 while the litigation was ongoing.
In August, the CAT allowed Merricks to represent 46 million claimants in the Mastercard class action lawsuit. With their latest decision to include class members who are now deceased, CAT estimates that more than 3 million claims will be allowed to proceed over Mastercard’s objections.
In addition, the CAT allowed Merricks to plead for an interest rate that is higher than the prevailing Bank of England rate. Current estimates suggest that the 5% interest rate could add £2.7 billion to the £14 billion claim.
“This brings to a conclusion the one final outstanding issue that needed to be resolved, and we now expect the Collective Proceedings Order (CPO) to be made in the course of the next week,” said Boris Bronfentrinker, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher. “As for the ruling itself, it is satisfying to see that Mastercard’s attempts to try and limit the ability of UK consumers to recover have once again been rejected.”
Brofentrinker also said he was pleased that the CAT allowed the legal team to amend its claim to increase the interest rate “based on a higher percentage that more accurately reflects real borrowing costs.”
According to Merricks, the next hearing regarding the Mastercard class action lawsuit will be held in the CAT in July.
Mastercard fee class action lawsuit alleges fee overcharging
The interchange fee class action lawsuit alleges Mastercard overcharged UK consumers for merchant swipe fees from 1992 to 2008. In 2007, the European commission reportedly found that Mastercard imposed unlawful transaction fees on businesses that accepted Mastercard payments. In response to these higher transaction fees, many businesses raised their prices, causing consumers to pay more for goods and services.
Class members of the Mastercard interchange fee lawsuit include anyone who purchased goods or services from UK businesses that accepted Mastercard at any time between 22 May 1992, and 21 June 2008. To qualify, the consumer must have been 16 or older and a UK resident for a continuous period of at least three months.
The Mastercard fee class action lawsuit was certified in August 2021.
No action is needed to join the Mastercard fee class action lawsuit for those who qualify. If the case is successful, eligible class members could each receive a payment of £300.
What do you think about the allegations Mastercard imposed unlawful transaction fees, potentially causing consumers to pay more for goods and services? Join the discussion in the comments below!
The plaintiff is represented by Marie Demetriou QC and Victoria Wakefield QC of Brick Court Chambers, instructed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.
The Mastercard fee class action ;awsuit is Walter Hugh Merricks v. Mastercard Inc., et al., Case No. 1266/7/7/16, in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
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