UK: The Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved a £25m settlement of a class action which alleged that South West Trains abused its dominant position by not making tickets from London fare zone boundaries sufficiently available for purchase, meaning many Travelcard holders were charged twice for part of their journey.
Former SWT franchisee Stagecoach has agreed the settlement approved by the specialist court on May 10 with no admission of liability.
The case was brought by class representative Justin Gutmann, represented by law firm Charles Lyndon Ltd and financed by specialist litigation funder Woodford Group. Dentons UK & Middle East represented Stagecoach South Western Trains Ltd.
Woodford Group estimates that more than 1·4 million passengers who travelled after late 2015 may be eligible for a share of the settlement sum; a website will be set up to enable claims to be submitted between July 10 2024 and January 10 2025.
A spokesperson for Stagecoach Group told Rail Business UK ’we are pleased that the Competition Appeal Tribunal has approved the collective settlement that we have agreed with the claimant in this long-running case related to historic matters’.
A similar claim against current South Western Railway operator First MTR South Western Trains Ltd continues.
There are also ongoing claims against former Southeastern franchisee London & South Eastern Railway Ltd, and against Govia Thameslink Railway, Govia, The Go-Ahead Group and Keolis (UK).
