MasterCard Consumer Claim
Merricks v Mastercard

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has directed that this website be established and this notice be issued following an application by Walter Merricks CBE (the class representative) for a Collective Proceedings Order. The Collective Proceedings Order Application (granted on 18 May 2022) asked the Tribunal to (i) approve the claim as eligible to proceed as a collective claim on behalf of eligible UK consumers; and (ii) approve Walter Merricks CBE to act as the class representative. To read the Application or a summary of the Application, click here.

This website contains information about the claim.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal is a specialist court based in London that covers the whole of the UK and hears disputes such as these. The Tribunal publishes its Rules and Guidance, together with information about what it does, on its website.

The proposed claim is against Mastercard Incorporated, Mastercard International Incorporated, and Mastercard Europe S.P.R.L. Together, these entities are called "Mastercard".

On 19 December 2007, the European Commission decided that Mastercard imposed unlawful fees on transactions processed through its network. These unlawful fees were paid by businesses that accepted Mastercard cards as payment for goods and/or services. The Commission also stated that consumers are likely to have paid higher prices for goods and services because businesses raised retail prices as a result of Mastercard’s unlawful fees. Mastercard lost its appeals against this decision in 2014.

According to the Claim Form, it does not matter what form of payment you used to buy goods or services from businesses selling in the UK (i.e., you do not need to have paid with a Mastercard, or any other form of credit or debit card). The claim says you paid higher prices and lost out as a result of Mastercard’s unlawful conduct. The claim seeks to include purchases (for non-business purchases) made by individuals from businesses selling within the UK between 22 May 1992 and 21 June 2008 and certain remote purchases. If you were resident in the UK at any time between 22 May 1992 and 21 June 2008 you are eligible to claim (the claim also says there was a “run-off period”, where prices remained elevated until 21 June 2010). Purchases made by individuals whilst they were outside the UK are not included in the claim.

The Collective Proceedings Order authorised Walter Merricks CBE to act as the class representative.

As the class representative, Mr Merricks conducts the claim against Mastercard on behalf of all class members, except for those who opt out of the class. Mr Merricks instructs the lawyers and experts, makes decisions on the conduct of the claim, and, in particular, decides whether to present any offer of settlement that Mastercard may make to the Tribunal for its approval.

During the case, Mr Merricks is responsible for communicating with the class and for issuing formal notices. Mr Merricks updates the class about the claim on this website, through the media and on social media.

Mr Merricks has had a long and distinguished career defending consumer interests and holding large financial firms to account for their conduct. Mr Merricks is a qualified lawyer and the former Chief Ombudsman of the Financial Ombudsman Service, a position he held for 10 years.

As the Chief Ombudsman, Mr Merricks ensured that consumers received billions of pounds in compensation from banks, building societies, mortgage lenders, consumer credit card providers, investment firms, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.

No, Innsworth Capital, which is funding the dispute, has provided the Tribunal with an undertaking that, if Mr Merricks is legally liable to do so pursuant to an order or judgment, it will pay Mastercard its costs of defending the claim up to £15 million in aggregate. No class member will be liable to pay Mastercard’s costs if the claim is not successful.

The United Kingdom includes England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland for the purposes of this claim, and does not include any Crown Dependencies (Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey, and the Isle of Man). So being resident in or buying goods or services in one of these dependencies does not count.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (the “2015 Act”) allows for a collective claim to be brought on behalf of a group of individuals who are alleged to have suffered a common loss. The group is the “class” and all individuals within the group are “class members”. As a result of the 2015 Act, groups of consumers who have suffered losses do not need to each bring an individual claim to obtain compensation for their loss. Instead, these consumers may all receive compensation through a single collective claim brought on their behalf by a representative.

The Collective Proceedings Order allowed the claim to proceed on an “opt-out” basis on behalf of all individuals who between 22 May 1992 and 21 June 2008 purchased goods and/or services from businesses selling in the UK that accepted Mastercard cards, at a time at which those individuals were both (1) resident in the UK for a continuous period of at least three months, and (2) aged 16 years or over, with the exception of the following categories of persons (as constituted from time to time):

1. officers, directors and employees of Mastercard or any company controlled by Mastercard;
2. all members of Mastercard’s legal team and experts instructed by Mastercard for the collective proceedings;
3. all members of the Class Representative’s legal team, professional advisors, and experts instructed by the Class Representative for the collective proceedings; and
4. all members of the Competition Appeal Tribunal panel assigned to the collective proceedings.

The personal/authorised representatives of the estates of individuals who meet the above criteria, and were alive on 6 September 2016, but subsequently died, are also included in the class.

Businesses are not included in the proposed class. It is called an opt-out class because anyone who meets the class definition will be included in the claim automatically and bound by the result, unless they ask to opt out.

The claim seeks compensation of approximately £10 billion. The claim seeks this amount to compensate class members for paying more than they should have paid for goods and services because of Mastercard’s unlawful conduct between 22 May 1992 and 21 June 2008, as well as the run-off period to 21 June 2010.

You don’t have to do anything, and you aren’t exposed to any risks by being a member of the class. Walter Merricks and his legal team are continuing to pursue this claim against Mastercard and it will take some time before there is a final outcome. If you would like to stay up to date, you can register for updates by clicking here.

For more information, if you are the personal representative of an estate, you may view an eligibility flowchart here.

Mr Merricks and Mastercard entered into a settlement agreement on 3 December 2024, subject to the approval of the Tribunal. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, Mastercard will pay £200 million (the “Settlement Sum”) to Mr Merricks in full and final settlement of the Collective Proceedings in their entirety, without any admission of liability by Mastercard.

A class representative and a defendant may decide to settle a collective proceeding, which must be approved by the Tribunal pursuant to Rule 94 of the Competition Appeal Tribunal Rules 2015. A Tribunal can only make an order approving a collective settlement (a “Collective Settlement Approval Order”) if it is satisfied that the terms of the proposed collective settlement are “just and reasonable” on the evidence before it.

The settlement has been approved by the Tribunal at a hearing that was held on 19 to 21 February 2025. At this hearing, the Tribunal concluded that it had “no doubt that the settlement at £200 million was just and reasonable”.

The Tribunal is expected to make the Collective Settlement Approval Order in the course of March 2025, which will (a) direct how much of the Settlement Sum is to be distributed to “Represented Persons” (as defined below), what amount is to be paid to the litigation funder and whether any amount is to be made available to a charity should it not be taken up by Represented Persons; and (b) discontinue the Collective Proceedings against Mastercard. A written judgment will be handed down at the same time setting out the Tribunal’s reasons for its decision.

If you are a Represented Person, as defined below, you will be able to make a claim for a share of the Settlement Sum on this website beginning on the date as will be set out in the Collective Settlement Approval Order. This website will be updated with details as to how to make a claim, and the deadline by which to do so.

You are a Represented Person and are eligible to make a claim from the Settlement Sum if you satisfy one of the following:

you were resident in the UK on 6 September 2016 and:

1. you were resident in the UK on 6 September 2016 and:
   1. resided in:
      1. Scotland for a continuous period of at least 3 months between 22 May 1992 and 21 June 2008; or
      2. England, Wales or Northern Ireland for a continuous period of at least 3 months between 20 June 1997 and 21 June 2008; and
   2. purchased goods and/or services from businesses in the UK that accepted Mastercard credit cards during the period between 22 May 1992 and 21 June 2010 (if resident in Scotland) or 20 June 1997 and 21 June 2010 (if resident elsewhere in the UK);
   3. were aged 16 years or over; and
   4. previously did not opt-out of the Collective Proceedings between December 2022 and March 2023;
OR


2. individuals who were not resident in the UK on 6 September 2016 and:
   1. otherwise satisfy the criteria set out at (i) to (iii) above; and
   2. previously opted-in to the Collective Proceedings between December 2022 to March 2023;
OR


3. persons that are a personal / authorised representative of the estate of any individual that satisfies either of the criteria set out at (1) or (2) above and was alive on 6 September 2016, but subsequently died (individuals who died prior to 6 September 2016 are not included within the claim).

Individuals who were excluded from the being a member of the class are not a Represented Person. Please see the FAQ ‘Who is in the class?’ to see who is excluded from the class.

Mr Merricks has proposed that £100 million of the £200 million Settlement Sum be guaranteed as available for distribution to Represented Persons who submit a claim for payment. Based on the number of Represented Persons who are anticipated to submit a claim, each Represented Person could receive £45, with this number potentially increasing or decreasing depending on how may persons actually do come forward and make a claim, subject to a maximum cap of £70 that has been proposed by Mr Merricks. The Tribunal is considering Mr Merricks’ proposal and it will ultimately decide on how much each Represented Person may receive, with that being set out in the Collective Settlement Approval Order to be made in the course of March 2025.

A claim can be made on behalf of a deceased or incapacitated person who satisfies the definition of a Represented Person as set out above. If you are claiming on behalf of a deceased person, you must self-certify that you are the personal or authorised representative of the deceased person’s estate (e.g. you are the executor or administrator of the estate) or would be entitled to be (e.g. you are the next of kin of a person who died intestate). If you are claiming on behalf an incapacitated person, you must self-certify that you are their authorised representative (e.g. you have power of attorney).

You will not need to submit any proof to make a claim, but you will need to self-certify that you are entitled to make a claim and provide your name, date of birth, postal and email addresses, telephone number and banking details into which your share of the settlement sum is to be paid.

If you are an authorised or personal representative of a Represented Person, you will have the option to upload proof that you are the authorised or personal representative.

Once the Collective Settlement Approval Order is made, a settlement notice will be published on this website and emailed to users who have registered here to stay up-to-date with the Collective Proceedings. This settlement notice will contain instructions as to how and by when to make a claim.

When it is time to make a claim, the settlement will also be widely advertised in print and online media to remind you to claim your share of the Settlement Sum.

You will have 90 days to make your claim.

Following the claim filing deadline, a verification process will be conducted over all claims filed for a period of approximately 45 days, after which payment will be made to all Represented Persons that made a valid claim. The specific date by which payments will made will be indicated on this website in due course, but payments will be made in the course of 2025.

The settlement binds all Represented Persons and who lived in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2016 unless they choose to opt out of the Settlement by a date that will be specified in the Collective Settlement Approval Order. If you opt out of the settlement, you will not be bound by its terms and will not be eligible to submit a claim for your share of the Settlement Sum.

Detailed instructions on how to opt out will be set out on this website once the Collective Settlement Approval Order is made.

If you did not live in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2016, but had opted in to the Collective Proceedings back in the period between December 2022 to March 2023, you need to now opt in again to the settlement to be eligible to make a claim. You can opt in to the settlement at the same time as submitting a claim for your share of the Settlement Sum.

Detailed instructions on how to opt in will be provided in due course.

There will be no cost to you to make a claim. The costs of the litigation have been covered by the litigation funder.

If you are a Represented Person and do not submit a claim/do nothing, you will not receive a payment from this settlement.

You will also not be able to obtain any money by commencing an individual claim at a later point in time against Mastercard for the same or similar conduct as the time for doing so has expired.

If you are a Represented Person and do not opt out of the settlement, or you opt in to the settlement, you will be bound by the settlement. This means that in return for receiving a share of the Settlement Sum, you will release any claim you had against Mastercard based on the allegations made in the Collective Proceedings. You will not be able to pursue a claim in relation to the matters covered by the Settlement (although any such individual claims are in any event now out of time).

If you have questions about making a claim, opting in or out, or the settlement more generally, you can contact the Class Representative by email at info@MastercardConsumerClaim.co.uk or post at Mastercard Consumer Claim, P.O. Box 1435, Sunderland, SR5 9UD.

This website will periodically be updated, so it is a good idea to check back for new information.

If you would like to register to keep up to date with the progress of the claim, click here.

Whilst Mr Merricks is the class representative and runs this claim for consumers, he is not able to fund a claim of this size and public importance on his own. Therefore, Mr Merricks is working with third-party litigation funders Innsworth Capital Limited to bring the claim. The amount of funding available is up to £60.1 million to pursue this claim through to the end, including a sum of up to £15 million in aggregate that will be available to cover Mastercard’s costs in the event that the claim is ultimately unsuccessful. The funding arrangements in place mean that the class members will not need to pay anything to be part of the claim and have no financial risk in relation to the claim.