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The Heathrow parking competition infringements case
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
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.
The CMA statutory audit market investigation
The CMA’s (Competition and Markets Authority) statutory audit market investigation was launched last month.
A number of key issues are being looked into by the CMA to make sure that the market is working fairly and efficiently. Comments on the key issues are being invited, and a statutory deadline has been applied to the investigation.
It’s early days, with the investigation only being launched last month. It’s another important one for us to keep an eye on as lawyers who fight for competition to be fair and consumer-focused!
Victory in Ping competition appeal tribunal
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
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 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
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.
Pharmaceutical drugs competition investigation update
There’s been an update in the huge pharmaceutical drugs competition investigation update being conducted by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The update for the investigation, which is one of many investigations in to anti-competitive behaviour in the pharmaceutical drugs sector, is now a review into suspected anti-competitive agreements. There is also at least a suspicion of concerted practices in relation to generic pharmaceutical products.
If anti-competitive behaviour or agreements are identified, big fines could be issues against the offending organisations. Read More
Google competition breach yields massive fine
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.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has hit Ping Europe Limited (Ping) with a fine of £1.45m for refusing to allow their golf clubs to be sold online.
They have also been forced to repeal their online sales ban immediately.
The CMA ultimately found that Ping’s online sales ban was a restriction that could adversely affect competition in the market by closing one of the most important distribution channels available to the retailers involved; i.e. the world wide web.
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