Call for travel firms to join card fee class action lawsuit
A class action lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard on behalf of a large number of claimants is being launched.
Harcus Parker, a UK commercial litigation law firm specialising in group litigation, competition litigation and class action lawsuits, will bring a corporate card claim at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), the UK’s specialist judicial body for hearing competition cases.
The class action seeks compensation for UK businesses, which were charged Multilateral Interchange Fees (MIFs) for accepting payments using UK corporate credit cards, and credit and debit cards from overseas visitors.
Harcus Parker says Visa and Mastercard have forced banks to agree to a level of MIFs set by the two giants, which are ‘anti-competitive and unlawful.’
“This case is about putting pounds back into the pockets of businesses across the economy, and making a stand against unlawful interchange fees,” said Jeremy Robinson, competition litigation partner at Harcus Parker.
Since 2015, UK law capped Multilateral Interchange Fees at 0.3 percent on consumer credit card transactions, and 0.2 percent for consumer debit cards.
However, this cap did not apply to corporate credit and debit cards, or for inter-regional transactions.
Travel companies have been encouraged to join the lawsuit.
The class action is open to all business, including large international companies and local businesses, as well as some non-UK companies.
Many businesses, particularly in the travel and hospitality sectors, have been particularly hard hit by Brexit and Covid-19.
UK businesses with an annual pre-Covid turnover of £100 million or more are invited to opt-in to the claim. Businesses with a turnover under this threshold will be automatically included unless they choose to opt out.
The CAT is expected to hear the first round of the case in 2022, when it will decide whether the case can be certified to go forwards to trial.
Ray Monty
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