Mastercard is set to pay out £200million in compensation after a major new legal ruling from the Competition Appeal Tribunal last week – here is everything you need to know
Mastercard is set to pay out £200million in compensation to customers – but what does this mean? and who is set for the payout?
Last week, the Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled that consumers had “lost out” because of Mastercard’s “unlawfully high” card fees. According to the announcement, millions of Brits could be eligible for a compensation payment worth up to £70.
However, at the moment things are a bit up in the air as Mastercard works to implement how it will pay the compensation. Here we explain exactly what happened, who is eligible for the compensation, and how you can get the cash.
What was the Mastercard claim about?
The case was first brought forward nearly 10 years ago in 2016 by former financial ombudsman Walter Merricks. He argued that millions of shoppers were “ripped off” after fees were wrongly levied on card transactions.
Companies such as Mastercard provide the services and technology for companies to take card payments from the public. Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert (MSE) website describes them as the “middle man” between banks, businesses, and consumers.
Because of this, Mastercard charges a fee on each transaction. These fees, known as “interchange fees,” were at the centre of this legal case.
Merricks claimed Mastercard raised these fees too high between 1992 and 2008. Businesses and retailers passed these extra costs onto the consumer in the form of higher prices. These hiked prices were passed on to all consumers, not just Mastercard customers.
The case was finally settled last week after a year-long negotiation process on the overall settlement amount. The tribunal’s decision was based on this settlement and not Mastercard’s fee. Mastercard has not admitted any liability in the case and declined to comment when approached last week.
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Who is eligible to claim?
As the price hikes were placed on a wide range of goods and services – it means all card users were affected and could be eligible for a payout from Mastercard. However, there are – of course – some caveats and not everyone will be able to claim.
Firstly, you can only claim if you lived in the UK for at least three months between 1997 and 2008. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the exact period is between June 20, 1997, and June 21, 2008.
For Scotland, the period stems from May 22, 1992 and June 21, 2008. MSE says the period is longer in Scotland as it has different legal rules around time limits for claims.
You can only be eligible if you were over the age of 16 years during the three months of living here. This age requirement was put in place as it was decided that those of working age were considered “more likely to have suffered loss on their own account”. This age limit means anyone born on or after March 22, 1992 is not eligible to put in a claim.
During this same period, you will have needed to have bought goods or services for personal use from a firm selling in the UK. No proof of purchase will be needed for this payment – so you do not need to provide an old receipt – and you did not need to have paid with a card. This means you can claim even if you didn’t have a Mastercard card.
Finally, you will need to have been living in the UK on September 6, 2016 – the date when the legal claim was filed in the courts.
It’s important to note that you can’t claim if you have already opted out of the claim. Everyone who has met the criteria was automatically “opted in”. To opt out, you needed to fill out a form or contacted the law firm in this case directly.
How much will the compensation be from Mastercard?
The headline compensation figure for this case is £70, however, Martin’s MSE team warned that the payout is expected to be a lot less. As mentioned before, the overall settlement sits at £200million, although not all of this will go to consumer compensation. Mastercard will use some of the money to pay legal and court fees.
Finally, the exact amount you will get will depend on how many people put forward a claim. The more people that do, the less you will get. It is expected that around 2.2million people will put forward a claim for compensation. If this estimate is correct, the payment will sit at £45 per person.
If fewer people put forward a claim, then £70 will be paid to each individual. Any remaining funds will go to the Access to Justice Foundation charity. This is due to a cap being put in place to avoid “disproportionate payouts” compared to the alleged loss people actually suffered.
How to put in a claim?
The compensation process is still in its very early days, and things have not been entirely ironed out yet. According to the MastercardConsumerClaim.co.uk website, an online claims portal is set to launch in the “coming weeks”.
The claims process is being administered by the legal service firm Epiq. The group is not the same as the solicitors – Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP – who worked on the case.
Based on similar settlement cases, you will need to provide a range of personal information, including your name, date of birth, home address, email address, telephone number, and banking details. This final detail is needed so the money can be paid to you.
As mentioned before, you will not need to submit any proof to make a claim, but you will need to self-certify that you meet the criteria. The claims administrator may do random anti-fraud spot checks on claims being put forward.
Once the online claims form is live, it is likely to stay up for a few months, with the compensation payments set to be paid out by the end of the year. With these types of claims, it’s important to be cautious and wary of scammers.
Be Scam Aware
You cannot yet claim the money, and any advertisements, online posts, texts, or emails suggesting otherwise are likely scams.
If you’re unsure about anything you see or hear regarding the claim or want to know all updates regarding it – always check the official website. This is as follows: MastercardConsumerClaim.co.uk
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