LONDON: A 14 billion pound (US$18 billion) class action lawsuit against MasterCard for allegedly overcharging more than 45 million people in Britain over a 16-year period was blocked from proceeding by a judge, MasterCard said on Friday. Had it been allowed to proceed, the case would have been the largest and most complex in British legal history and would have tested the limits of the new Consumer Rights Act, which introduced US-style “opt-out” collective class actions for breaches of UK or European Union competition law in 2015. The damages being sought were more than £14 billion, but the Competition Appeal Tribunal said the case could not proceed through a so-called collective action. A proposed £14 billion class action lawsuit against Mastercard will not proceed after a tribunal ruled the case cannot go to trial. End of the 'rip-off': all charges for paying by card to be banned Read more

London-based Walter Merricks, a lawyer who once led the Financial Ombudsman Service group that handles consumer disputes with banks and who is the representative named on the proposed action, said he was considering an appeal with his advisers.
A United Kingdom court blocks a £14 billion class action lawsuit against MasterCard.