Compensation likely in shipping Class Action

UK car buyers could be entitled to a payout worth up to £150 million, following a court’s decision to allow a class action lawsuit. However, with up to an estimated 18 million cars affected, the windfall for affected buyers may only be around £60 per vehicle.

Motorists and businesses who purchased or leased a new car or van between October 2006 and September 2015 could be eligible, with the case relating to a finding by the European Commission (EC) that five maritime car carriers fixed prices and rigged the bidding process and market for roll-on, roll-off transport ships. This included carriers agreeing to ‘maintain the status quo’, not contesting certain routes, not bidding competitively for some customers, quoting artificially high prices, or not quoting at all in tenders for some manufacturers.

If the class action is successful, those motorists or businesses that feel they are entitled to compensation won’t be awarded the payout automatically, but they can register online at the website www.cardeliverycharges.com to ensure they don’t miss out getting their share of the cash. Any money that’s not claimed will be donated to the Access to Justice charity. The firm funding the class action stands to take a fee of up to 27.5% of any early settlement in the case.