A significant lawsuit against the payment company Mastercard in the United Kingdom may proceed. The former head of the British financial ombudsman has been allowed to sue the American company by a tribunal for excessive costs charged by the company.
On behalf of 46 million Britons, Walter Merricks claims 14 billion pounds from Mastercard.
The case stems from a 2018 investigation by the European Commission, which ultimately ruled that Mastercard overcharged for payments with its credit cards. As a result, Mastercard was fined £ 550 million in early 2019. Visa was also penalized at the time.
The case has been going on for some time, and Mastercard strongly opposes it. In December, the company lost a case in the highest British court in which it sought to have the claim for damages banned. Mastercard claims that the case was not started by consumers but by “lawyers who are out for profit”.
Merricks, in turn, also wanted to represent the now deceased British. With that, he would be trading in the name of almost 60 million Britons, and the claim could also be much higher. Again, however, the tribunal forbade it.