Appeal court revives £14 billion Mastercard class action

In 2017, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) refused former financial services ombudsman Walter Merricks' application to lodge a £14 billion class action against the card firm over claims it broke competition law.

But now the Court of Appeal has granted permission to appeal, meaning the CAT ruling will now be set aside.

The case centres around the claim that Mastercard broke competition law for 15 years, between 1992 and 2007, by charging excessive 'interchange fees' – the fees a retailer pays to your credit or debit card company when you use your card.

The claim has been brought on behalf of ALL affected UK shoppers – unless they chose to opt out of it – and will likely affect anyone living in the UK, who was of working age between 1992 and 2008, regardless of whether they had a Mastercard.

What happens next? 

Mr Merricks said he was very pleased with the decision, but Mastercard said it would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

A Mastercard spokesperson said: "This decision is not a final ruling and the proposed claim is not approved to move forward, rather the court has simply said a re-hearing on certain issues should happen.

"Mastercard continues to disagree fundamentally with the basis of the claim and we believe UK consumers receive real value from the security, convenience and consumer protection of our payment services."