Update:
- The Competition Appeal Tribunal approved a £25 million settlement between passenger rail operator Stagecoach and a class of passengers who claimed they were charged double for their tickets.
- The settlement relieves Stagecoach from a £93 million collective class action lawsuit brought against itself and First MTR South Western Trains Ltd. and London and South Eastern Railway Ltd.
- The complaint was filed on behalf of millions of United Kingdom railway commuters and granted class action status by the competition tribunal in 2021.
- The Court of Appeal declined to dismiss the complaint in 2022, rejecting an argument that it was a mistake for the competition tribunal to allow it to go forward.
Train ticket overcharge class action lawsuit overview:
- Why: The tribunal determined the appeal had no prospect of success.
- Who: The Competition Appeal Tribunal denied train operators’ appeal of a ticket overcharge class action lawsuit.
- Where: The train ticket overcharge class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of millions of U.K. railway commuters.
(Dec. 10, 2021)
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has denied an appeal by three train operators of a £93 million class action lawsuit that alleges they charged passengers double for their tickets.
The tribunal determined that the appeal had no prospect of succeeding due to a U.K. Supreme Court decision in Merricks v. Mastercard that established guidelines for class certification.
The train operators argued that their appeal should be granted because the issue of double payments is a new issue.
“We recognize that the issue considered … is of wide significance,” the tribunal said. “With a wholly novel regime there will inevitably be novel issues of wider significance decided in the early cases, and if permission to appeal is given on that basis – even when the appeal is not considered to have a real prospect of success – all of these cases will be delayed.”
Class action will allow millions of passengers to pursue compensation
In October, the tribunal allowed plaintiff Justin Gutmann to proceed with the train ticket overcharge class action lawsuit, which will allow millions of rail passengers who purchased tickets for travel outside the subway zones included on their Travelcards to seek compensation for the alleged overcharges.
According to the rail ticket overcharge class action lawsuit, the companies that run the South Western and Southeastern railways abused their dominant market position and overcharged millions of passengers.
Travelers were allegedly required to pay a higher fare than necessary because their Travelcards entitled them to travel for a portion of the trip, which the class action lawsuit alleges constitutes a breach of U.K. competition law.
The train companies had argued that there is insufficient commonality among the millions of passengers who purchased tickets to travel outside of the subway zones covered by their Travelcard, and that the class action lawsuit should therefore not be allowed to move forward.
Are you a Travelcard holder who was potentially overcharged? Tell us your story in the comments below!
Gutmann is represented by Philip Moser QC, Stefan Kuppen and Alexandra Littlewood of Monckton Chambers, instructed by Hausfeld LLP.
The Train Ticket Overcharge Class Action Lawsuits are Justin Gutmann v. First MTR South Western Trains Ltd., Case No. 1304/7/719 and Justin Gutmann v. London & South Eastern Railway Ltd., Case No. 1305/7/7/19, in the United Kingdom Competition Appeal Tribunal.
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