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MasterCard is facing a multi-billion pound damages claim, that could reach £19 billion, for imposing illegal card charges that were ultimately borne by UK consumers. The claim, the biggest in UK legal history, will be one of the first to be filed under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which allows a collective damages claim to be brought on behalf of a class of people who have suffered loss.
This ‘follow-on’ claim comes after a long-running legal battle with the European Commission that ended in 2014 and which found MasterCard to have infringed EU law by imposing charges (known as ‘interchange’ fees) on the use of its debit and credit cards.
Quinn Emanuel is leading the claim and the class representative is former Chief Financial Services ombudsman Walter Merricks. Quinn Emanuel partners Boris Bronfentrinker and Kate Vernon have instructed Monckton Chambers’ Paul Harris QC to lead the Counsel team.