Which? has announced that it will defend the UK’s collective action regime in a key Supreme Court hearing taking place today.

The landmark Merricks vs Mastercard collective action is set to reach a crucial moment this week, as the Supreme Court hears Mastercard’s appeal against a ruling that may allow the £14 billion collective action against the card issuer to proceed to the next stage of litigation.

In 2016, former financial ombudsman Walter Merricks launched a class action on behalf of 46 million customers against Mastercard. The claim relates to the European Commission’s 2007 finding that the card issuer charged inflated card fees on consumer card transactions between 1992 and 2008.

The claim was brought as an opt-out collective or class action, made possible by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The Supreme Court ruling is potentially a landmark for the UK’s new regime, as it will set the standard which claims of this nature need to meet in order to proceed as a collective action.

Which? has long campaigned for the introduction of collective redress for consumers, however five years after the Consumer Rights Act was introduced - with the aim of increasing access to justice for victims of anti-competitive behaviour - no claim has yet been allowed to proceed to a full trial.

Caroline Normand, Which? director of advocacy, said: “We have long campaigned for a collective redress scheme, but with no claim under the new regime reaching a full trial, consumers have not yet had the results they need.

“This Supreme Court hearing is therefore a vital one for consumers and Which? has intervened to ensure the regime achieves its purpose of providing real access to justice.”

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