B&Q has come together with some of the UK's other leading retail names to sue Visa over excessive debit and credit card processing costs.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the DIY business has joined forces with, amongst others, Sir Philip Green's Arcadia empire, Next, Debenhams, Morrisons and Asda in an effort to recoup ten years' worth of card costs.

Those two supermarkets are also in the process of suing MasterCard.

The latest move comes hot on the heels of a landmark proposal by the European Commission to cap card processing fees. These currently vary from 0.1% to 2.5% - costs which are absorbed by retailers, and totalling £850m a year. The legislation would cap credit card fees at 0.3% and debit card fees at 0.2%.

The proposal has been welcomed by the British Retail Consortium, which has been campaigning for a decade to cap what it calls "unjustifiably high fees". Said director general Helen Dickinson: "Capping these excessive and anti-competitive fees will support the UK retail industry by £362m a year, boosting the industry's ability to invest and innovate while continuing to deliver lower prices and value for customers."

The Daily Telegraph says Visa is surprised by the case being mounted against it, promising to "strongly contest it". It also reports banking sources as saying that card providers may be forced to shelve credit cards offering perks such as air miles if the EC proceeds with its cap.