MasterCard Slammed With $19 Billion Suit Stemming From Allegations Of Excessive Fees

According to Reuters, Mastercard Inc MA could be forced to pay 14 billion British pounds (roughly $19 billion USD) in damages for allegedly charging excessive fees in Britain.

Details Of The Allegations

Around 46 million people across Britain could benefit from the legal case, which was brought by a former chief financial services ombudsman, Walter Merricks. The ombudsman alleges that MasterCard charged business owners unlawfully high fees that were passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

Related Link: MasterCard Surpasses Expectations, Adjusts Guidance At Investor Day

Court documents were recently filed in London, and MasterCard is accused of undertaking this practice from 1992 to 2008.

"This was almost an invisible tax," Merricks told the BBC. "MasterCard has behaved disgracefully in this. They have not had the reasonableness to accept that what this was doing was damaging UK consumers."

Reuters quoted MasterCard as saying in a statement that it "firmly disagrees" with the basis of the claim and will "oppose it vigorously."

Shares of MasterCard were trading lower by more than 1 percent at $98.75 ahead of Friday's market open.

The claim against MasterCard also happens to represent the largest damages claim in British history. Any person living in Britain who used a credit card during the 16-year period is an eligible claimant. Each person could receive more than 300 pounds each, according to Reuters' calculations.

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