Thread: MasterCard are proppa fukked

'WORSE THAN PPI' MasterCard face £14billion claim for ‘fixing excessive charges on cards used between 1992 and 2008’… and EVERYONE would get £300

THE personal finance guru leading a £14BILLION legal bid against MasterCard reckons the case could prove even worse than the PPI scandal.

Walter Merricks, the UK’s former chief financial ombudsman, says Brits could be set for a windfall of up to £300 each in the new year if his case against the payment giant is successful.

MasterCard applied a charge to every transaction made between 1992 and 2008 using one of its cards.

These were often passed onto shoppers through the price of everyday store items.

Now, Merricks – awarded a CBE in 2007 – wants to take the payment company to task over a decade and a half of what he labelled “excessive” charges.

He said: “This is potentially worse than PPI.

“Financial institutions are spotting ways to make more money from consumers. This was an invisible way of doing it.

“With PPI, people realised they had it.”

Britain’s biggest mis-selling scandal saw millions of Brits receive thousands of pounds in payment protection insurance premiums they were mis-sold by banks.

Financial regulators judged in 2011 that many had paid thousands for the insurance they never needed.

Merricks’ case against MasterCard today moved one step closer with the announcement of a tribunal early next year to decide whether the case can proceed to court.

If that is successful, it could pave the way for a titanic tussle in the courtroom to decide whether MasterCard owes 46 million Brits a share of the £14bn claim.

Divided equally, it would equate to £300 per person.

And it is not just MasterCard users who were hit – the claim covers any Brit who could have been hit by the price hikes in stores.

The former head of the Financial Ombudsman Service explains that anyone living in the UK at the time of the claim, and who was 16 before 2008, could be eligible.

And he reckons there is a good chance of success.

The European Commission has already ruled against charges levied by MasterCard.

“We think we have a good chance of success because they’ve already been found guilty of fixing these fees at an excessive level,” Merricks, 71, added.

“They had a long battle with the European Commission. Visa put their hands up.”

So when could Brits see some of the money Merricks claims is rightfully theirs?

“It depends on how long MasterCard keep opposing it,” he says.

“It could be as long as two years. But if they put their hands up and admit they’ve done something wrong, it could be a lot sooner.”

When asked for comment, a spokesman for MasterCard said: “[We] continue to disagree with the basis of the proposed collective action and we will strongly oppose this claim in the event the court decides to hear the case.

“Our payments network delivers choice to consumers and real value through the benefits of security, convenience and consumer protection, and we are committed to investing in our services in order to continue to meet the rapidly evolving needs of all our customers.”

Merricks’ case today announced the launch of an information site website dedicated to the claim.

An explainer reads: “The proposed claim relies on a legal finding of the European Commission that MasterCard imposed unlawful fees on transactions processed through its network.

“These fees were paid by businesses for accepting payments made with a MasterCard credit or debit card in the period 1992 to 2008.

“More than half a million businesses in the UK, including major supermarkets, that accepted MasterCard cards in the relevant period, paid these unlawful fees, and it is alleged passed these on to consumers in higher retail prices.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/2255...1992-and-2008/

Here in Thailand isn't it universally understood that we pay 5% more if we pay by credit card? As that is what the credit card company charges the seller for the "privilege"

We had a credit card machine but no one ever paid by card so we got rid of it.