A three-day hearing is now underway to decide whether a UK class action can proceed against a shipping cartel for overcharges on new cars and vans.

Over 17 million vehicles are said to have been affected by the price-fixing scheme run by five international shipping firms

Over 17 million vehicles are said to have been affected by a price-fixing scheme run by five international shipping firms, which led to a claimed £150m delivery charge overpayment in the UK.

The hearing will consider whether Mark McLaren, formerly of UK consumer organisation Which?, can proceed with the collective action to recoup “over payment” on behalf of all affected UK consumers and businesses.

The firms have already been fined €395m (£334m) by the European Commission, which ruled in February 2018 that the five shipping companies had violated EU competition law, by coordinating rates, allocating tenders, coordinating reductions of capacity in the market and exchanging commercially sensitive information to maintain or increase the price of intercontinental shipping of new vehicles.

The UK class action, filed two years ago, would apply to fleets as well as individual motorists – anyone who bought or leased new cars or vans affected by the cartel between October 2006 and September 2015.

Affected parties will be automatically included in the class and eligible for compensation – potentially up to £60 per new car bought or leased. There is no cost to being part of the claimant group – the action is being funded by Woodsford Litigation Funding – and class members can claim for more than one vehicle, if applicable.

The legal action covers many mainstream brands – examples include Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Peugeot and BMW – but the carmakers themselves are not involved.

Mark McLaren said: “This hearing is a significant milestone in our case that will decide whether UK consumers and businesses affected by the shipping cartels can access justice through the collective action regime, since they could not viably claim for their losses individually. I have spent much of my career working in consumer protection and I strongly believe that compensation should be paid when consumers are harmed by such deliberate, unlawful conduct.”

To watch the hearing, which takes place at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) until Wednesday 1 December, access the live stream on the diary page of the Tribunal website.

More information about the claim, including included and excluded manufacturers, is available on the collective action website.