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03 March 2016 / Simon Duncan
Issue: 7689 / Categories: Features , Banking
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The hungry CAT fallacy

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Simon Duncan reports on class actions in the UK & LIBOR/FX claims

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 introduced a private right for consumers to bring proceedings attacking anti-competitive practices by businesses, such as price fixing. This has been effective since 1 October 2015. Will the new law encourage more class actions to be brought against banks for LIBOR and FX price fixing?

Under the pre-existing regime only a “specified body” could bring a claim to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (the CAT) and that claim restricted to goods or services received outside of the claimants’ business. Only one claim was brought in 12 years, it was The Consumers Association v JJB Sports PLC [2009] CAT 3. In that case Which? (the specified body) sought to recover losses suffered by victims of a replica football kit cartel. Only 130 claimants opted in, a fraction of those affected. Each claimant received compensation but the legal costs significantly outweighed this. Which? then stated that it would not bring any more claims.

New regime

The new regime includes any

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