Millions of UK buyers and businesses could receive compensation after a court approved claims from a £56 million fund linked to a car shipping cartel.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal approved the claims plan on September 23.
It covers eligible vehicles bought or leased between October 2006 and September 2015, after shipping costs were allegedly passed on through delivery charges.
The ruling follows the final settlement in the case, which brought the total recovered from the shipping companies to £92.75m. Of that sum, £55.87m was allocated for distribution to eligible consumers and businesses.
Businesses that acquired vehicles for their own use may be eligible, including fleet operators and vehicle rental companies.
Dealerships may be eligible to claim for qualifying vehicles they bought and first registered themselves, including demonstrators or pre-registered cars.
How much could claimants receive?
Under the approved plan, a claimant can receive £25 for their first eligible vehicle and £5 for each of their second to sixth vehicles.
The initial payment for each vehicle from the seventh onwards is £2.50. A further payment of up to £2.50 per vehicle may follow if enough money remains after the claims period.
People claiming for up to six vehicles can generally confirm their details through a formal ‘statement of truth’, without initially supplying old purchase documents.
In this claim, a statement of truth is a formal declaration that the vehicle details someone submits are accurate to the best of their knowledge.
Larger claims face additional checks.
The tribunal said detailed DVLA fleet data should simplify verification for fleet operators, although it raised concerns about the evidence that some businesses outside that database may need to provide for older vehicles.
The claims period is expected to run for six months once it opens.
The tribunal will receive monthly progress reports and may change aspects of the distribution process if take-up or practical difficulties warrant it.
The case followed the European Commission’s 2018 finding that international car carriers had colluded over vehicle shipping.
The claim alleged that higher shipping costs were passed through vehicle delivery charges to buyers and lessees.
Mark McLaren, the class action representative, said: “Those already signed up will be contacted as soon as the distribution is open and will be directed to our online claim form to get back the money you’re owed.”
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