MILLIONS of Brits have been ripped off by a shipping company scam which inflated the price of new cars.

Drivers who bought or leased a new motor between October 2006 and September 2015 could receive a payout, after five shipping companies fixed their charges for bringing models into the UK.

The firms - MOL, K Line, NYK, WWL/EUKOR and CSAV - are accused of jacking up their prices to bring vehicles into the country.

These inflated prices were then passed onto an estimated 17million drivers when they bought a new car from a dealership.

A group legal action has been filed to the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal under the Consumer Rights Act in a bid to win back some money for consumers.

Shockingly, 80 per cent of drivers who purchased a car during this period may have been overcharged due to the £150million price-fixing scheme.

Customers who bought models from Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Peugeot, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Citroen and Renault are likely to have been overcharged.

Affected drivers have been automatically entered into the claim and could receive up to £60 compensation.