A class action lawsuit is gaining steam across the Pond, where Mastercard has been used in the United Kingdom due to its questionable – and reportedly illegal by UK laws – swipe fees. The plaintiff class is demanding £14 billion, which is equivalent to nearly $19 billion. A Supreme Court in the UK approved a class size of roughly 46 million consumers who have claimed to be negatively or financially impacted by the swipe fees used by the credit card company.
The case has been organized and filed by the UK Financial Ombudsman Service. A spokesperson with the group has labeled Mastercard as a “sustained competition law breaker.” Allegedly, the corporation has failed to admit any wrongdoing or accept any responsibility for the basis of the class action lawsuit. Earlier, a European Union (EU) court had ruled that the swipe fees used by Mastercard broke competition laws in the country, giving the company an unfair advantage in the market.
Mastercard has been steadfast in its defense against the allegations and the consumer class action case. It has stated that the lawsuit is not representative of what consumers actually want or think, but rather it is an elaborate scheme by attorneys in the United States who could stand to gain some legal ground if the lawsuit in the UK is successful.
UK Case Could Set U.S. Precedent
The defensive comments from Mastercard are certainly interesting, to say the least, as they are not entirely misled. Although the court systems in the UK are obviously separate from those in the U.S., the legal groundwork being created there could be interpreted in some fashion for American courts and fair market laws. In other words, if the $19 billion class action case in the United Kingdom is successful against Mastercard, the credit card company and others like it could soon be facing similar class action lawsuits elsewhere. By implementing the same legal strategies and arguments but with a mind for domestic laws, attorneys and the consumers they represent in the U.S. could start to chip away at overbearing and arguably monopolistic business models with more efficiency than ever before.
At Golomb Legal, P.C., our attorneys are considered some of the nation’s leaders in class action lawsuits with more than $2 billion in settlements and verdicts secured for our past clients. We pay close attention to news stories about consumer class actions, whether they are based here in the U.S. or internationally. For important updates about this developing case against Mastercard, be sure to visit our blog frequently for more posts. Or, if you think you need help forming or joining a class action case against a major corporation, please do not hesitate to call (215) 278-4449">(215) 278-4449 or contact our firm online. We are capable of assisting clients throughout America from our Pennsylvania-based law office.