The original claim was thrown out by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in 2017. But now the Court of Appeal said the CAT had applied the wrong legal test in making its decision, according to BBC. The claim alleges 46 million people paid higher prices in shops than they should have due to high card fees.
Former financial ombudsman behind the claim is trying to bring the class action on behalf of all individuals over 16 who were resident in the UK for at least three months between 1992 and 2008 and who bought an item or service from a UK business which accepted Mastercard.
He alleges that fees which Mastercard charged businesses for accepting payments from consumers, known as interchange fees, led to UK consumers paying higher prices on purchases from businesses that accepted Mastercard. If the GBP 14 billion was awarded and divided between the 46 million eligible people the payout would amount to GBP 300 each.
However, Mastercard said it continued to “disagree fundamentally with the basis of the claim”, BBC added.
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