Mastercard to pay out £100,000,000 to customers - who can claim?

The decision comes after a long-running legal case brought by Walter Merricks (Picture: Shutterstock)

Shoppers will be able to claim a share of £100,000,000 in compensation over historic Mastercard fees.

Of this, half has been earmarked for UK claimants, who can receive up to £70 each – and they don’t even need to have used Mastercard themselves.

The decision comes after a long-running legal case brought by Walter Merricks, a former financial ombudsman, who first took action almost a decade ago.

The £200,000,000 figure was agreed in principle in February, and it has now been divvied up to show how much is available for consumers.

Who can claim compensation from Mastercard?

Anyone who made purchases from businesses selling in the UK between 1992 and 2008 could be affected by the class action claim.

This is because the case centred on fees charged to businesses who accepted their credit cards or debit cards.

Major supermarkets were among those accepting Mastercard for payment in the relevant time period (Picture: Shutterstock)

The European Commission found the transaction fees were unlawful in 2007, saying the ‘multilateral interchange fees’ had infringed competition law.

Around half a million businesses in the UK paid the fees, including major supermarkets, and it is alleged that they passed the costs onto customers in the form of higher prices.

Mastercard has not admitted liability in the case brought by Mr Merrick.

How much is compensation?

It depends on how many people apply. The more people who apply, the less it will be.

Based on estimates heard in court, the amount given to each claimant is expected to be about £45 each.

It will be capped at £70 even if fewer people come forward, but there is no minimum.

Who is eligible?

You don’t have to have been part of the legal action before now to be able to claim.

The claims website advises that to be eligible, people must have satisfied certain criteria.

In most cases, they must have been resident in the UK on September 6, 2016, as well as living in the UK for a continuous period of at least three months between 1997 and 2008.

They must also have bought goods or services from businesses that accepted Mastercard, and been aged 16 or over during this time.

They cannot have opted-out of the Collective Proceedings between December 2022 and March 2023 (you would have needed to actively fill in a form to do this, so if this is the first you’ve heard of the legal action, it doesn’t apply).

For those who died before being able to claim, representatives of their estate may still bring a claim.

How can I claim compensation?

Now the decision is public, it will be updated with details of how to give your details and claim.

The claims will be administered by Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions.

An exact timeframe for when the claims can be made has not been given, but information is expected soon.

Any money which is left unclaimed will be given to the Access to Justice Foundation.

Clare Carter, its CEO, said: ‘We welcome today’s ruling by the Tribunal, which has designated the Foundation as the recipient of unclaimed funds.

‘We have already begun working with partners to ensure any unclaimed money gets distributed to charities that will improve access to justice for those that need it the most.’

Earlier this year, a Mastercard spokesperson welcomed the decision, saying in a statement: ‘We will continue to focus on providing consumers and businesses with what they expect from Mastercard – a great payments experience, strong value and peace of mind.’

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