Mastercard may face £14bn class action if UK court gives green light

may face £14bn class action, the first of its kind in the UK, if a specialist London court allows it to go ahead.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal’s decision is expected this week, Reuters reported, with a two-day court hearing beginning on Thursday.

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The case was launched in 2016 by former Financial Ombudsman Service chief Walter Merricks, who claimed that the payment firm overcharged consumers between 1992 and 2008.

More than 46mln people would have paid unlawful fees, Merricks says, as shoppers ended up paying higher prices even if they didn’t use Mastercard for the transactions.

This is because the credit and debit card group would have imposes levies on purchases that were too high and led to people paying higher prices than necessary.

If successful, the case could see consumers getting refunds of about £300 each.

Mastercard said in December that it ‘fundamentally disagreed’ with the basis of the claim adding that no UK consumer has asked for the claim rather it was being driven by ‘hit and hope US lawyers’ and others ‘focused on making money for themselves’.

A class action would be welcome by litigation funding specialists, a fast-growing type of investment, as a flood of new collective claims is expected if this one goes ahead.