£39m available for UK motorists in car shipping cartel claim over inflated costs for UK motorists 

Court agrees settlements from two shipping companies accused of conspiring to fix the delivery costs of new cars and vans

Over 17 million cars and vans bought in the UK are said to have been affected by a price-fixing cartel involving five international car shipping companies. 

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has ‘unanimously approved’ two settlements proposed by Mark McLaren, who made a £150m legal claim on behalf of UK motorists, and two of the five companies accused of fixing the delivery costs of new cars and vans.

McLaren agreed a £37.25 million settlement with shipping companies WWL/EUKOR and “K” Line. The Tribunal said these settlements were ‘fair and reasonable’ in considering the interests of motorists who have been affected by this lawsuit.

Three of the five companies accused of price-fixing have now had settlements amounting to £38.75 million approved, following a £1.5 settlement between McLaren and CSAV that was approved in December 2023.

Consumer advocate, McLaren, described the settlements as a ‘major milestone’ in the claim. He responded to today’s decision from the Tribunal by saying:

‘We are thrilled that the Tribunal has approved these two settlements, underscoring that they are in the best interests of the class members that I represent.

‘Achieving these two further settlements brings the total compensation for UK businesses and consumers affected by the shipping cartel to nearly £40 million.’

A nine week trial against the two remaining shipping companies in the claim, MOL and NYK,  who represent nearly half of the market in the claim, will start on 13 January 2025. McLaren is seeking a further £100 million in compensation from these two companies. Compensation to affected UK motorists will wait until the outcome of this trial is known.

Who is owed compensation?

UK consumers and businesses who bought or leased new cars and vans between October 2006 and September 2015 could be owed compensation.

Consumers and businesses who bought new vehicles from many of the leading brands including Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Peugeot, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Citroen and Renault could have been affected by the price-fixing cartel.

When compensation will be available

Millions of UK motorists could be owed compensation. It is not yet known how much each claimant could be owed – and the money available to UK motorists will depend on the outcome of the trial against the two remaining companies in the claim.

For this reason, the Tribunal – led by Hodge Malek KC – approved McLaren’s recommendation to hold back on distributing compensation until the case against the remaining two companies is concluded. This is likely to be May 2025 at the earliest.   

In agreeing to today’s settlements, Malek said he would not support at this stage the proposed immediate payout of ‘costs, fees and disbursements’ to funders ahead of any compensation being made available to affected motorists. 

The claim is funded by litigation funders Woodsford. There are no legal or other fees, or any risk of costs, for motorists affected by this claim. McLaren has recommended that any unclaimed damages go to charitable schemes, which the Tribunal said was a ‘positive feature’ of the agreement.

McLaren, a former Parliamentary and Legal Affairs Manager at Which?, added: ‘I have spent much of my career working in consumer protection and strongly believe in compensation for consumers and businesses harmed by unlawful conduct.’

McLaren played a key role in advising the government when the current collective action regime – which enables groups claims for breaches of competition law like this one – came into force under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

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International price-fixing affecting millions of UK motorists

The five companies in McLaren’s claim were made to pay a £327m (€395m) fine following a European Commission ruling that found they had violated EU competition law.

The shippers were found to have coordinated rates, allocated tenders, coordinated reductions of capacity in the market and exchanged commercially sensitive information to maintain or increase the price of intercontinental shipping of new vehicles.

McLaren, with law firm Scott+Scott, first filed his claim against these companies in February 2020. 

Belinda Hollway, Partner and Head of Scott+Scott London said today’s decision was a ‘very positive development’ for motorists who have been affected by this claim. 

‘The approval of these settlements is a very positive development for class members and demonstrate the claim’s momentum ahead of the nine week trial against the remaining two defendants in January.

‘Scott+Scott is proud to be advising the class representative and this is an important achievement for the claimants that Mark represents, providing access to justice and securing redress to victims of the cartel.’