London — Mastercard preyed on more than 46-million unknowing consumers by unfairly charging card fees over a 16-year period, lawyers seeking to bring a £14bn class-action lawsuit told a London court. The credit-card company infringed EU competition law by imposing high charges to retailers that accepted its cards between 1992 and 2008, Paul Harris, a lawyer for consumers, told the Competition Appeal Tribunal on Wednesday. The panel will hold a two-day hearing to decide whether the matter should go to a full trial. It would be the UK’s biggest class action and one of the first filed under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

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