Millions of UK consumers born before 1992 could receive compensation payouts of up to £70 each as part of a landmark group legal case against Mastercard. The payouts will come next year after the company settled outside court for £200 million.
Mastercard settlement details
Mastercard agreed at the end of last year to pay £200 million to settle a legal case launched on behalf of UK consumers a decade ago. Claims in the case argued that Mastercard's fees were "unlawful". The claims also suggested that Mastercard made it more expensive for retailers to accept card payments and that those extra costs were then passed on to consumers through higher prices.
The settlement was approved by the Competition Appeals Tribunal in May last year. Walter Merricks, the former financial ombudsman and class representative who brought the decade-long case, said he had successfully defeated a judicial review brought by litigation funder Innsworth. The funder had sought to overturn the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (CAT) decision on how the £200 million settlement should be divided between consumers and the funder.
Legal dispute resolution
Separately, Innsworth had also been pursuing arbitration proceedings against Merricks over the same dispute, but has now agreed to drop them as part of the settlement between the two sides. Following this, the CAT has ordered that just over £63 million be paid to Innsworth from the settlement.
Eligibility criteria for compensation
Consumers will be able to claim if they meet all of the following criteria: they resided in England, Wales or Northern Ireland for a minimum of three months between June 1997 and June 2008, and purchased goods or services from UK businesses that accepted Mastercard credit cards. For those living in Scotland, the qualifying period begins in May 1992.
Claimants must have been aged 16 or over for the entirety of those three months. This age requirement was put in place because those aged 16 or over were considered "more likely to have suffered loss on their own account" given the working age in the UK. During the same period, they must have bought goods or services from a firm selling in the UK, meaning they can claim even if they have never had a Mastercard. No proof of this purchase is required.
Claimants must have lived in the UK on September 6, 2016, and must not have previously opted out of the legal case. Everyone who meets the other criteria was opted in automatically and would have had to fill in a form or contact the law firm to opt out. This means that anyone born on or after March 22, 1992 is not eligible and cannot claim.
