Mastercard and Visa could be on the hook for a massive £4 billion over ‘illegal processing fees
The Competition Appeal Tribunal recently ordered that the claims be certified.
This paves the way for the Class Representatives to seek compensation for businesses across the UK which were forced to pay the fees.
The Tribunal rejected Mastercard’s and VISA’s opposition to the claims being certified, ruling that the cases can proceed with class action status.
A deadline for involvement in these claims has been set by the Tribunal and businesses are encouraged to register their interest now.
Jeremy Robinson, a partner at Harcus Parker Ltd, representing Class Representatives said: “We welcome the opportunity to hold Mastercard and VISA to account for imposing multilateral interchange fees at an unlawfully high level.”
It caused substantial loss to UK businesses”.
“This important claim will now proceed despite Mastercard and Visa’s attempts over the last two years to deny thousands of UK businesses a straightforward and effective route to justice.”
Stephen Allen, the director of the Class Representatives said: “We are fighting to ensure businesses and organisations across the UK economy are properly compensated by Mastercard and Visa.”
It includes businesses of all kinds including those in the travel sector.
“In fact, UK businesses in the travel, hospitality, and retail sectors have been particularly hurt by Mastercard’s and Visa’s multilateral interchange fees.”
“We are delighted that this claim has been endorsed by leading trade bodies including UK Hospitality and the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).”
The interchange fees are paid by businesses through fees paid to their banks upon the acceptance of a commercial card transaction.
The losses suffered by businesses in the UK are estimated to be at least $4 billion.
