Major credit card company to pay 46 million customers £200m after huge | Personal Finance | Finance

Millions of Brits will be eligible for £70. A Competition Appeal Tribunal has given its final approval on how Mastercard cash should be distributed following a nine-year class action legal battle. Walter Merricks, the former financial ombudsman, brought the action against Mastercard after the European Commission ruled the credit card giant’s “multilateral interchange fees” infringed competition law.

Merricks claimed 46 million shoppers in Britain were ripped off after fees were wrongly levied on transactions made over a 15-year period between 1992, when the competition law came into force, and 2008.

The fees were paid by retailers who accepted Mastercard payments, but Merricks claimed shoppers lost out as retailers passed on these fees in the form of higher prices.

Merricks brought the action after the Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force, the act allowed for US-style class actions in UK competition claims.

A statement from Mr Merricks said millions of UK consumers who are part of the class action could now come forward and claim their share of the £200 million, with individuals potentially getting between £45 and £70 each.

He said UK consumers would soon be able to register to receive a payment by completing a simple online form, regardless of whether they ever held a Mastercard card. It is not yet clear how the money will be distributed but it expected that payments would be made to consumers who register before the end of the year

Mr Merricks said: “I started this case because I believed that Mastercard’s fees paid by retailers for processing card transactions had been unlawfully high and virtually all UK consumers had lost out for long periods by paying higher prices than they should have done as retailers passed on those costs.

“As the evidence came to be known through the litigation process, this was the position only in a relatively small proportion of transactions and the settlement reflects that.

“The settlement that has today been finally approved represents a fair and just outcome for UK consumers.

“On any view, recovering £200 million by way of a settlement for UK consumers is a huge sum, and that will translate into a meaningful impact in the pockets of UK consumers.”

But it was not clear how the money would be distributed to those affected.

The final figure is significantly lower than the £10 to £15billon Merricks claimed shoppers were originally owed.