individuals and companies who purchased or leased a new automobile or van in the UK between October 2006 and September 2015 could be in for a payout, following a court’s decision to allow a class action.
The case relates to an earlier European commission finding that maritime automobile carriers fixed prices, rigged bids and allocated the market for roll-on, roll-off automobile carry in that period. legal firm Woodsford, which is bankrolling a class action here in the UK, estimates it could be worth £150 million in damages to UK automobile buyers.

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However, there are thought to be close to 18 million potentially wronged automobile buyers in the UK, so they shouldn’t get too carried away by the most recent court victory. It’s now up to the shipping companies to work out early or face a court judgement, and while there’s potentially a big payout for the lawyers – their fees will be up to 27.5 per cent of an early settlement which it has been suggested could range from £50-£100 million – we’ve been told affected consumers can look forward to individual payouts of just sixty quid.
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Given the small scale of individual awards, it’s possible that numerous millions could go unclaimed, but in that case the remainder of any settlement pot will go to the access to Justice charity, as per the guidelines of the competition appeal Tribunal.
“The Tribunal has authorised the claims to continue as collective proceedings, implying that millions of motorists and companies who purchased or leased a new automobile between October 2006 and September 2015 could be in line for compensation because of the additional cost passed on in the price of their cars by the higher carry charges which resulted from the operation of the cartel,” said Woodsford in a statement today. “These individuals and companies will now automatically be represented at court, unless they choose to leave – or opt out – of the claim.”
Just because all affected consumers are now automatically represented in the case, you can’t sit back and wait for a cheque to arrive. If you think you’re owed compensation, you can join the action at cardeliverycharges.com by registering your claim.

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