Category: Industry

Loyalty penalty CMA investigation concludes

The massive loyalty penalty CMA investigation – deemed a ‘super complaint’ – has resulted in a set of reforms to stop the issue affecting people.

The investigation found “damaging practices by firms, which exploit unsuspecting customers”. This issue is estimated to equate to a cost to the consumer in the region of £4bn per year. There are thought to be millions of people affected by loyalty penalties.

The loyalty penalty CMA investigation looked at five markets: savings; insurance; mortgages; mobile phone contracts; and broadband. New regulatory rules are set to be introduced to stamp out the loyalty penalty endemic.

The Heathrow parking competition infringements case

First published by Author on December 14, 2018 in the following categories: Industry Latest Price Fixing Pricing and tagged with cma | price fixing | pricing

A hefty fine has been issued in the wake of the Heathrow parking competition investigation that drew to a conclusion a couple of months ago.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a fine of £1.6m to Heathrow after they admitted to competition law infringements. The fine was originally £2m, but as a result of Heathrow’s cooperation and acceptance of wrongdoing, they received a leniency discount of 20%.

The investigation surrounds how parking charge rates were set in connection with the operator of Terminal 5 Hotel, Arora Group.

Huge funeral costs investigation development

First published by Author on November 29, 2018 in the following categories: Industry Investigations Latest Pricing and tagged with cma | competition law | funerals market | market abuse | pricing

investigation into retail banking competition

There’s been a huge development in the regulator’s funeral costs investigation that we’ve been tracking for a long time now.

The Regulators, the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority), are set to move from a market study to a referral for a market investigation. Their interim report states that there are “reasonable grounds for suspecting that a feature or combination of features of a market or markets in the UK prevents, restricts or distorts competition”.

The CMA now want to look into any adverse impact on the consumer. For a huge and sensitive market that’s worth something like £2bn a year, this is big news.

Undertakings in the online gambling competition investigation

First published by Author on November 23, 2018 in the following categories: Industry Investigations and tagged with cma | competition law | market abuse | online gambling

The regulatory investigation into online gambling competition led to undertaking being signed by key players in the market.

Undertakings are always a positive step in ensuring there’s fair competition in the market. The regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), declared enforcement action earlier this year. Now, two big companies in the market have agreed to formal undertakings to improve their practises.

This should ensure that online gambling competition is healthy and consistent. This approach should always benefit the consumer.

Victory in Ping competition appeal tribunal

First published by Author on November 02, 2018 in the following categories: Industry Investigations Latest Selling Restrictions and tagged with cma | competition law | market abuse

The CMA’s previous competition infringement decision has been upheld at the Ping competition appeal tribunal.

The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) had previously established a breach finding against Ping Europe Limited. Ping had banned the sale of its golf clubs online which had triggered an investigation by the CMA.

Having assessed the issue, the CMA found that Ping was in breach of competition law by stopping two UK retailers from selling their golf clubs online. The Ping competition appeal tribunal has now upheld the original finding of the breach as well.

The loyalty penalty super complaint

First published by Author on October 26, 2018 in the following categories: Compensation Claims Industry Latest and tagged with loyalty penalties

A loyalty penalty super complaint has been initiated, which is being investigated by UK’s competition regulators, the CMA.

The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) are looking into the issue. A super complaint is a complaint usually made by a consumer body where a large number of consumers may be affected by the same issue. The complaint aims to ensure that consumers are always getting a fair deal instead of being ripped off.

The loyalty penalty super complaint relates to the mobile phone, broadband, savings accounts, mortgages and household insurance markets.

The funerals market study

First published by Author on October 19, 2018 in the following categories: Industry Investigations Latest and tagged with cma | competition law | market study

The funerals market study is a currently being conducted by the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) in the UK.

The scope of the funerals market study is to find out more information about the market to ensure it’s working fairly and efficiently. The key areas being assessed by the CMA include customer behaviours, customer experiences and decision-making processes that have led to customer decisions.

The review was initiated in summer this year and remains ongoing.

Design, construction and fit-out competition case to continue

First published by Author on September 07, 2018 in the following categories: Industry Investigations Latest and tagged with competition law | construction industry | pricing

Watchdog investigations into the design, construction and fit-out competition issues is set to go on, according to a recent update published by the CMA.

The CMA – the Competition and Markets Authority – have been investigating the industry since July 2017 on the basis of suspected anti-competitive agreements that may be having an adverse effect on the market, and therefore the consumer.

A year on from the CMA’s investigations commencing, the CMA has taken the decision to extend the investigation with the view to publish a further update toward the end of the year.

Informing the CMA of a competition concern

First published by Author on August 03, 2018 in the following categories: Industry and tagged with cma | competition law

Informing the CMA of a competition concern can be vital to ensure that our markets are fair, and to ensure they’re focused on consumer confidence and competitive pricing.

You may find yourself, as a business, embroiled in a potential competition issue. It may be that you’re being asked to engage in price-fixing or market-sharing, or you may discover that suppliers or competitors are engaging in behaviour that’s in breach of the Competition Act.

Discovering this can be worrying, but we can help. As the Competition Lawyers, we can guide you through the process of a damages claim as well as the matter of informing the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) of a competition concern.

Google competition breach yields massive fine

First published by Author on July 20, 2018 in the following categories: Industry Latest and tagged with cma | market abuse

A Google competition breach has yielded a massive fine imposed by the European Commission over its behaviour surrounding Android phones.

The fine amounts to £3.9bn ($5bn) and is based on Google’s search-related revenue earned during the period the competition breach is said to have taken place.

The investigations into the Google competition breach stem back to 2015 and surround impositions of pre-installed browsers and search apps that it’s claimed has led to users not looking for alternatives, with Google paying huge sums to manufacturers to pre-install its own software.