Mastercard Faces £19bn UK Class Action Claim

Mastercard is facing a £19bn damages claim - the biggest in UK legal history - for allegedly imposing "anti-competitive" charges on consumers.

As many as 40 million people could be in line for compensation from the firm, according to lawyers, with some payouts in the hundreds of pounds.

The class action case suggests MasterCard infringed EU law by imposing charges, known as "interchange" fees, on the use of MasterCard debit and credit cards.

It claims Mastercard's fees were "illegal" and set at an "anti-competitive, high level".

In a statement, MasterCard said it "firmly disagrees with the basis of this legal claim".

The company added: "MasterCard is committed to providing ever more convenient, safe and secure payments to all our customers, including consumers, retailers, governments and banks."

Walter Merricks, the consumer representative fronting the case, believed UK consumers, including cash purchasers - not just MasterCard holders - have lost money as a result.

He said these fees were a significant cost for retailers, a cost that was then passed on through increased prices of goods and services.

He told Sky News: "I want consumers to know that it is possible to take on a large organisation that has behaved badly.

"The prices of everything we all bought from 1992 to 2008 were higher than they should have been as a result of the unlawful conduct of MasterCard.

"This case should send a signal to companies that break competition laws at the expense of UK consumers that they do so at their financial peril."

The case will be heard before the Competition Appeal Tribunal, a specialist court that hears competition law disputes, and is likely to begin in September.

It is one of the first big tests of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

The Act enables a collective damages claim to be brought on behalf of a class of people who have suffered loss.

Under the new rules, all UK consumers who have lost out automatically become part of the group of claimants unless they explicitly opt-out.