Nearly every adult in the UK could be owed £300 by Mastercard - here's why

Mastercard may have to pay back millions if a class action goes ahead (Photo: Shutterstock)Mastercard may have to pay back millions if a class action goes ahead (Photo: Shutterstock)
Mastercard may have to pay back millions if a class action goes ahead (Photo: Shutterstock)

Almost every adult in the UK could be in line for a £300 payout from Mastercard if legal action against the company is successful.

A £14 billion damages claim is being brought against the company on behalf of millions of consumers, having been revived by the Court of Appeal in a surprise court ruling.

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Former financial ombudsman Walter Merricks is trying to bring the legal action against the credit card giant on behalf of 46.2 million people.

46.2 million people

Merricks alleges that Mastercard’s breaches of competition law (which were found by the European Commission in 2007) meant that UK customers paid more on transactions using the card.

He first attempted to bring the company to justice in 2017, but his class action was thrown out by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

However, senior judges at the court of appeal found yesterday that the CAT had used the wrong test to check if Merricks’ action could go ahead, and have revived the case.

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Now the CAT will have to reassess the action and consider whether to allow it to proceed.

Mastercard disagrees with the claim

Mastercard said it continues to "disagree fundamentally with the basis of the claim".

"This decision is not a final ruling and the proposed claim is not approved to move forward; rather, the court has simply said a rehearing on certain issues should happen," it added.

The proposed claim follows the European Commission's 2007 decision that Mastercard's interchange fees were in breach of competition law.

This article originally appeared on our sister site, The Peterborough Telegraph