Martin lewis issues £70 compensation alert even if you never had a mastercard

Martin Lewis, the founder of Money Saving Expert, has released fresh guidance for Mastercard holders - but even people who never owned one - stating that they may be eligible for a £70

compensation payment. Lewis has published a guide on the MSE website detailing how to verify eligibility for the payment. This development follows Mastercard's £200 million out-of-court

settlement in a lawsuit concerning its card processing fees. The claim alleged that Mastercard's fees were excessively high, resulting in retailers passing these costs on to customers.

Consequently, even individuals who have never possessed a Mastercard may have been affected. Martin Lewis took to Twitter to raise awareness about the issue, informing his followers that

possessing a Mastercard - past or present - is not a prerequisite for making a claim. He tweeted: "New MSE Guide. Check now if you're due up to £70 from Mastercard - even if

you've never had one. Millions are in line for compensation after the card firm settled a landmark legal case against it out of court." To be eligible, according to the claim

website, individuals must have resided in the UK for a minimum of three consecutive months between 1997 and 2008 and been at least 16 years old during that period. Additionally, they must

have made a purchase from a UK retailer using any payment method during that time frame, reports The Express. Furthermore, claimants must have been UK residents on September 6, 2016, and not

have previously opted out of the legal case. A dedicated legal portal has been established on the MastercardConsumerClaim.co.uk website to facilitate claims. The statement reads: "The

Competition Appeal Tribunal today gave its final approval to the £200 million settlement in the long running class action against Mastercard, which will now allow the millions of UK

consumers who are part of the class to come forward and claim their share of the £200 million, with individuals potentially getting between £45 and £70 each. "UK consumers will shortly

be able to register to receive a payment by completing a simple online form regardless whether they ever held a Mastercard card. It is expected that payments will be made to consumers who

register before year end. "This is the largest settlement of a group litigation for the benefit of UK consumers. Whilst the settlement level is less than the billions that were

initially claimed, in the end the facts of the case as they became known through many hearings, with witness and expert evidence, meant that the true value of the claim became clear and the

£200 million represents what the Tribunal considered to be without doubt a fair and reasonable settlement. In today's economic times, UK consumers will welcome up to £70 in their

pockets. "The Tribunal judges recognised the "huge responsibility" as class representative undertaken by former Financial Ombudsman Walter Merricks and expressed its

appreciation for his over 8 year "tireless fight" for the benefit of the class he represented. GET ALL THE LATEST MONEY STORIES SENT TO YOUR PHONE Get all the latest money stories

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"It also commended his decision to come up with a distribution plan that seeks to ensure maximum participation from UK consumers in the settlement payment process. Challenges to the

settlement by litigation funder Innsworth Capital, which sought to argue that it should get at least £179 million and UK consumers should be capped at getting no more than £4 each, were all

comprehensively rejected. The Access to Justice Foundation may also benefit from the settlement. "Official information on how to claim will be posted on this website in the coming

weeks. You are automatically a member of the class if you (i) lived in the UK (for at least a continuous period of three months) between 22 May 1992 and 21 June 2008; (ii) were aged 16 or

over during this time; (iii) (for non-business purposes) bought goods and services from businesses selling in the UK, irrespective of the means of payment used; and (iv) were living in the

UK on 6 September 2016." The exact amount you're entitled to is fixed at £70, although this figure could decrease if a larger number of claims are submitted, according to Martin

Lewis' MSE.