The money saving expert has announced that people could be owed £70 by Mastercard – even if you’ve never had a card by them – after the firm breached competition lawIt comes following a lawsuit against the company(Image: inyourArea)

Martin Lewis has issued an alert today, saying that anyone with a Mastercard – and even people who have never had one – could be entitled to a £70 payout. The financial expert has shared that Mastercard has settled a court case which could see millions compensated.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal recently approved the distribution method for the payout – ending a class action litigation tracing back to 2016.

Former financial ombudsman Walter Merricks spearheaded the lawsuit after the European Commission’s 2007 decision that Mastercard had been charging “multilateral interchange fees” that breached competition law since 1992, the Mirror reports.

Today, June 2, Mr Lewis took to social media to share a new guide from Money Saving Expert explaining how to check for the compensation. “Check now if you’re due up to £70 from Mastercard – even if you’ve NEVER had one,” he urged, adding: “Millions are in line for compensation after the card firm settled a landmark legal case against it out of court.”

MoneySavingExpert.com has created a detailed guide outlining the implications of the legal ruling, following the news that countless UK consumers could get up to £70 each as a result of the hefty £200 million settlement approved against Mastercard.

Mr Merricks claimed that approximately 46 million UK shoppers were overcharged due to improperly imposed fees spanning 15 years from 1992 to 2008. The fees were applied to stores accepting Mastercard payments and not directly to the shoppers.

He has accused retailers of hiking prices due to fee surcharges, following the Consumer Rights Act 2015 which ushered in American-style class action lawsuits for UK competition cases.

A press release from Mr Merricks announced that millions in the class action could now apply for compensation from the £200 million pot, with individual payouts estimated between £45 and £70.

He disclosed that UK shoppers will soon be able to sign up for a payout via an easy online form, even if they never had a Mastercard.

Mr Merricks said it was anticipated that registered consumers will receive payments by year’s end. He said: “I started this case because I believed that Mastercard’s fees paid by retailers for processing card transactions had been unlawfully high and virtually all UK consumers had lost out for long periods by paying higher prices than they should have done as retailers passed on those costs.

“As the evidence came to be known through the litigation process, this was the position only in a relatively small proportion of transactions and the settlement reflects that.”

Who is eligible?

  • Consumers are eligible if they lived in England, Wales or Northern Ireland for at least three months between June 1997 and June 2008, and who bought goods or services from UK businesses that accepted Mastercard credit cards
  • The starting point is May 1992 for people who live in Scotland
  • It is not necessary to have owned a Mastercard at any point
  • The judgment ringfences £100 million for consumers, who will have until the end of 2025 to claim
  • If the expected 5% of claimants – 2.5 million people – come forward, then they will receive £45 each
  • Should fewer claimants come forward, payments will be capped at £70 per claimant