Asda-Sainsbury’s merger will raise competition questions
The Asda-Sainsbury’s merger will raise competition questions and will, we strongly suspect, draw the attention of the UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Market’s Authority (CMA), who will conduct a review to assess the impact the merger may have on the market.
With the merger set to result in Asda and Sainsbury’s controlling 60% of the market, the CMA will need to ensure that any merger that does go ahead – if it’s even allowed to proceed in the first place – will not put consumers in a worse position in the long-run.
Consumers are being promised price cuts of 10%, but in the absence of any specificity as to the products that will be cut, the potential merger has raised a lot of eyebrows.
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A new draft consumer law advice for the UK care home industry is being considered, with a particular focus on curbing charges after a resident’s death.
The care home industry has been under close scrutiny in recent years from the UK’s competition watchdog – The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) – over families bearing the costs of fees after a resident has passed away. The CMA has been looking at the industry as a whole to ensure there is fair competition to keep fees down in an era where elderly care is both costly and straining under a continually ageing population.
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CMA clamp down on car hire websites over “hidden” costs
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have clamped down on car hire websites over “hidden” costs, resulting in changes as to how quotes are to be presented, and ensuring more information is provided as to what additional costs could be incurred.
The investigation has seen online travel agent P&P Associates Ltd, as well as price comparison website companies Affordable Car Hire Ltd and Flexiblecarhire.com Ltd, commit to ensuring all compulsory charges are contained within quotes.
Now, things like fuel surcharges, additional fees for young drivers and out-of-hours pick up charges must be included in the initial quotes.
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UK pharmaceutical companies paying millions of pounds to healthcare professionals
According to a report from The Times newspaper, UK pharmaceutical companies are reportedly paying millions of pounds to healthcare professionals and other organisations.
American pharmaceutical companies have previously come under fire for reportedly paying healthcare professionals to push their products, and it now appears the UK may have the same problem.
According to The Times, two of the biggest pharmaceutical players in the UK have been making “secret payments” of almost £20 million to reportedly “plug” their products.
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Customers being duped into bogus holiday discounts and deals
According to investigations by consumer group Which?, who have asked Trading Standards to investigate travel firms, consumers are potentially being duped into purchasing holiday deals in bogus sales and discount schemes.
Promotions were reportedly tracked, and it was found that some discounts and deals were available for the same price or less after a time-limited “sale” had ended.
Some travel firms are being accused of offering misleading discounts to dupe holidaymakers into paying hundreds of pounds more than necessary off the back of bogus deals.
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CMA investigate the design, construction and fit-out services industry
At the end of last year, six months on from initial investigations and information gathering, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided to open investigations in to the ‘design, construction and fit-out services’ sector over suspicions of competition act breaches.
No conclusions have yet to emerge, and the investigations remain ongoing. However, this sector has had its fair share of investigations and breaches in the past, so we wouldn’t be at all surprised if the investigation concludes that the law has been broken in some way.
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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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Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decision was published about Micronclean Limited and Berendsen Cleanroom Services Limited who were found to have allocated territories and customers plus both companies had agreed not to compete with each other’s relevant allocations.
This is a very serious breach of competition laws – the market is essentially rigged in their favour by sharing the market and agreeing not to compete. This can lead to inflated prices, a lack of innovation and little choice for consumers in the market. This behaviour favours the companies financially, and not the consumer; totally against the principles of fair competition.
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Vital Hydrocortisone tablets at the centre of suspected excessive and unfair pricing to the NHS
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are investigating price-hikes of vital hydrocortisone tablets on the basis that they suspect they are being excessively inflated.
Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited and Accord Healthcare Limited, which acquired Actavis UK in January 2017, are at the centre of the CMA’s investigations. The suspicion is breaches of competition laws through unfair prices over the supply of hydrocortisone tablets in the UK to the NHS.
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A little about competition law…
Competition law allows for fair competition to be maintained between companies and prevents companies taking part in anti-competitive behaviour.
The UK is governed by UK and EU competition laws, and if it’s found that a company has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour, there can be serious consequences. The two common ways in which competition law can be breached is: engaging in anti-competitive agreements; abuse of a dominant market position.
Both can lead to fines for offending companies.
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