LONDON, Jan. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A date has been set by which any person with an interest (including any proposed class member) must, if they so wish, provide written objections to the collective proceedings order application and/or seek to make oral observations at the hearing where the collective proceedings order application will be heard. To do so, the persons need to write to the Tribunal by 4pm on 25 February 2021 at the below address. The date to determine whether the proposed collective claim can go ahead has not yet been set.
Any person with an interest (including any member of the proposed class) may object to the collective proceedings order application or authorisation of the Proposed Joint Class Representative by writing to the Tribunal stating their reasons.
The collective proceedings order application will be heard by the Competition Appeal Tribunal ("Hearing") for passengers' claim to recover damages from Govia Thameslink Railway Limited ("GTR") and its parent companies, The Go-Ahead Group Plc and Keolis (UK) Ltd.
The claim was launched on 10 June by Edward Vermeer and by David Boyle on behalf of GTR passengers who it is alleged overpaid for their journeys due to GTR's failure to comply with fare-setting regulations ("Claim").
Claim Summary
The Claim alleges that the fare-setting regulatory regime does not entitle GTR to issue fares limited to only Southern and/or Thameslink branded trains but requires GTR's fares to permit travel on all three brands (Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express). The Claim alleges that, by charging higher prices for fares permitting travel on two or all three brands, GTR is abusing its dominant position in the market for rail services on the London-Brighton mainline in breach of Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998.
The Class
The Class includes rail passengers who after September 30, 2015: (i) purchased Any Permitted fares except where a fare was for travel exclusively within the Travelcard Zones; (ii) purchased Not Gatwick Express fares except where a fare was for travel exclusively within the Travelcard Zones; (iii) tapped in or out at London Victoria platforms 13 and 14; and/or (iv) were required to pay for penalty or excess fares on a GTR train brand excluded by the fare purchased.
Financial Arrangements
This legal action is being funded by LCM Funding UK Limited, a highly experienced third-party litigation funder. Insurance is in place to cover adverse fees or costs up to £9,500,000.
The non-confidential version of the Application for the Collective Proceeding Order, the litigation funding agreement, and the insurance policies are available upon request.
The Hearing
The Hearing is scheduled to last 3 days.
Following the Hearing, the Tribunal will determine whether the Claim is allowed to proceed. If it is permitted to proceed, class members will not have to pay any legal fees or costs, except in exceptional circumstances where they assert individual issues.
Class Member Options
Passengers domiciled in the United Kingdom will be automatically included in the claim unless they request to be excluded. Anyone domiciled outside the United Kingdom will not be automatically included in the claim unless they request to be included.
Any proposed class member may object to the Application or the authorisation of Mr Vermeer and/or Mr Boyle as joint class representative. They may also ask to speak at the Hearing. Any third party with an interest that is not a member of the proposed class may apply to the Tribunal for permission to make written and/or oral submissions at the Hearing. Objection and Tribunal appearance requests must be received by the Tribunal by 4pm on 25 February 2022 by post or fax to the following address:
The Registrar
Competition Appeal Tribunal
Salisbury Square House
8 Salisbury Square
London EC4Y 8AP
Fax: 020 7979 7978
When writing to the Tribunal they must include the reference "Govia Thameslink Railway Collective Action" and Case No. 1404/7/7/21.
To learn more about the Claim and Application, visit the dedicated GTR Claim website at www.gtrclaim.co.uk or the Tribunal's website at www.catribunal.org.uk/cases.
