Category: Pricing

Latest in the CMA road fuel market study

The CMA recently published an update in respect of its road fuel market study where it had been looking into the prices and competition in this particular sector.

The study was launched last year and came at an important time when the cost-of-living crisis was really hitting us all and continues to cause significant problems for families across the UK. It is essential to make sure that no companies are breaching competition law and that consumers are not being taken advantage of, particularly when we are all feeling the squeeze.

Unit pricing in the groceries sector: CMA project

The CMA has launched a project to look at the unit pricing in the grocery sector which, I think we can all agree, is a particularly important matter given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

The CMA has published its announcement in respect of the project recently, so we are very much in the early stages of this particular one. The matter also follows a previous Super Complaint in respect of the complexities and issues that could have been impeding the ability of consumers to make informed choices in respect of price comparison.

Read on for a little bit of information about this latest CMA project. I think we can all agree it is one to watch given that we are all feeling the pinch at the moment.

Private healthcare market competition investigation

The private healthcare market investigation that has been ongoing for over a decade is a matter that has seen a recent update published by the UK’s CMA, the Competition and Markets Authority.

Private healthcare is a particularly sensitive industry in relation to competition law, and it is one that must be monitored carefully to make sure that patients – i.e. consumers – can make the best choices for them. In this latest update from the CMA, it has been suggested that there is still much more work that needs to be done.

Suspected unfair pricing investigations

It is important for the CMA to look into incidents of suspected unfair pricing to ensure that consumers are not being overcharged and taken advantage of.

This can particularly be the case in relation to medication costs of which the CMA has looked into a number of issues about the NHS being overcharged, and we will provide an update of an example in this article.

Broadly speaking, it is important that pricing is set at fair levels and that companies are not taking advantage of consumers to drive their profits up in an obscene manner. At the same time, competition must be required to allow pricing to be set competitively as well.

Fuel retail market review in the UK – CMA

First published by Author on August 03, 2022 in the following categories: Industry Investigations Latest Pricing and tagged with cma | competition law | fuel | investigations | pricing

investigation into retail banking competition

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that it is conducting an urgent review into the UK fuel retail market at the request of the government.

The review comes at a time with soaring inflation, a cost-of-living crisis and the prices at petrol pumps spiralling out of control. We are all being hit by the increased cost of living, and the government must do all it can to ensure that the people do not suffer and face further hardship.

We welcome the review that is being conducted by the CMA, and we urge the government to step up in supporting people and preventing prices from soaring even further out of control.

Most favoured nation clause example: ComparetheMarket fined £17.8m

Last year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the details of its full decision having fined ComparetheMarket £17.8m for reportedly breaching competition law. The investigation that had been concluded by the UK’s competition regulator led to the finding that the famous price comparison website was said to have broken the law by including a most favoured nation clause in some of the contracts it had with home insurance providers.

Over the course of December 2015-December 2017, ComparetheMarket is said to have used the clause to retain its domination of the comparison website market. The knock-on effect may have been the prevention of healthy growth of its competitors and possibly restricting customers from finding better deals on their home insurance.

Designed to empower consumers to find bargains in a crowded and confusing market, price comparison websites should be on the side of their users. This is why it was concerning that ComparetheMarket had been restricting competition seemingly for their own gain. The enforcement action taken by the CMA hopefully helped to restore competitiveness in the digital price comparison market, and is a real example of where the most favoured nation clause can lead to problems for competition law.

CMA investigation into suspected anti-competitive pharmaceuticals agreements

In late 2017, the CMA released a statement announcing that it had begun an investigation into suspected anti-competitive pharmaceuticals agreements between “various parties”.

The pharmaceutical companies under review were kept anonymous until 2019. Then, according to the CMA, they alleged that Alliance Pharmaceuticals, Focus, Lexon, and Medreich had reportedly made agreements to not compete in regard to supplying anti-nausea drug Prochlorperazine.

In January, the CMA published an update regarding their investigation, which was set to conclude in Autumn 2021. As the case approaches its end, we look back at investigation so far and assess the potential damage the anti-competitive agreements may have caused.

SSE code modifications appeal

First published by Author on November 03, 2021 in the following categories: Industry Pricing and tagged with cma | energy | pricing

Earlier this year, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) granted an appeal involving SSE (Scottish & Southern Energy) to review energy code modifications decided by Ofgem, the UK government’s energy regulator. The SSE code modifications appeal reportedly takes issue with Ofgem’s move to ensure rules about charges to use the electricity transmission network are properly applied.

Ofgem asserts that the rule is currently being misinterpreted, meaning that customers are currently paying over the odds as energy generators are taking their money to cover transmission charges. Hearings have been set to take place this year.

The SSE code modifications appeal is based on the energy company’s belief that Ofgem is incorrectly applying the rules surrounding transmission charges. According to SSE, the cut to company returns made by the increased costs could mean that energy generators may find it harder to meet the UK’s ambition of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Precast concrete drainage cartel – appeal denied

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has previously confirmed the denial of an appeal made by FP McCann Ltd, a company understood to be involved in an alleged precast concrete drainage cartel, who reportedly sought to evade the £2.5m issued to them for their reported infringement of competition law.

The earlier update with regards to the cartel investigation marks an end to the four-year legal case. It is understood that several companies had previously either admitted to their illegal practice or accepted penalties, while FP McCann lodged an appeal in December 2019 with the hope that the ruling would be overturned.

The CMA’s final decision looks to mark a victory for businesses and consumers across the UK, setting an example that any form of illegal price-fixing and collusion will not be tolerated by the watchdog.

Suspected anti-competition arrangements in the financial services sector

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the government body that regulates business competition in the UK, previously published an update with regards to its investigation into the financial services sector relating to alleged suspected anti-competition arrangements.

The update followed the UK government’s declaration of a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union, with the CMA announcing that the investigation will continue beyond the conclusion of the exit transition period. Previously, the investigation was also seeking to ascertain whether an infringement of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) had occurred, but now it will proceed in respect of UK competition law, solely investigating the possibility of a breach of the Competition Act 1998 (CA98).