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Office design and fit-out cartel leads to director disqualifications
The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) has secured the disqualification of a number of directors in the aftermath of the fines issued in the office design and fit-out cartel investigation.
In April 2019, fines in the sum of £7m were issued to a number of companies who had been found guilty of breaking vital competition laws. For over a decade, the guilty companies had been engaging in cover bidding, where they were able to artificially inflate the prices of at least 14 contracts. This kind of behaviour can also reduce the quality of services on offer for the consumer as well.
Now, the CMA has taken further action by securing disqualifications for a number of directors who were involved in the cartel activity.
Groundworks supplier investigation: the latest
There’s an ongoing groundworks supplier investigation being conducted by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), so here’s the latest.
The investigation surrounds suspicions of anti-competitive behaviour in the sector for the supply of groundworks products to the construction industry. The CMA’s investigation is looking into whether any of the key suppliers in the market are breaching important competition laws. If they are found to be acting unethically, they could face substantial fines.
The investigation has been going on for some time now, and a great deal of evidence has been collected and reviewed so far.
Provisional finding in the pharmaceuticals competition investigation
There has been a provisional finding in the pharmaceuticals competition investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) who have been looking into companies for quite some time.
It has been alleged that anti-competitive agreements are in place between four firms in the sector, and the calculated costs to the NHS is terrifying. If the provisional finding is formalised, huge fines could be issued to the alleged offenders involved in the investigation.
The costs of anti-competitive arrangements in the pharmaceutical industry often fall on the NHS, and therefore on the taxpayer, which is why these kinds of investigations are incredibly important.
Updates in the funeral market investigation
There has been a couple of updates in the ongoing funeral market investigation being carried out by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK.
We’ve been tracking this investigation for quite some time, and it’s one of particular importance given the sector and subject. There will always be a market for these kinds of services, and the market will likely continue to grow. As such, any concerns with regards to competition law is a matter that the CMA must look into in detail.
Since our previous article on the investigation, there has been a couple of updates.
Provisional finding in the CMA roofing materials investigation
There’s been a provisional finding in the CMA roofing materials investigation that was launched in the summer of 2017, with three major suppliers alleged to be in a cartel.
The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) believes that the three alleged cartel companies have been allocating customers, as well as information sharing and colluding on price. This type of behaviour usually only leads to one thing: bigger profits for the companies, and higher costs for the consumer.
An allegation of a cartel finding is incredibly serious, and the companies at the heart of this investigation could be issued significant fines that can run into the millions.
Suspected anti-competitive agreements in the musical instruments sector
Regulators have opened investigations into the musical instruments sector on the basis that there may be anti-competitive agreements that can be detrimental to the consumer.
The investigation has been launched by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) who are the UK’s primary watchdog when it comes to enforcing healthy competition. Anti-competitive agreements that result in cartels, price fixing, and other forms of collusion can be damaging to the consumer. Profits can be inflated for the businesses, and the consumer can end up paying more; which is the opposite to what healthy competition should ensure.
It’s therefore within the public’s interests for suspected anti-competitive agreements to be thoroughly investigated. If the consumer is being ripped off, the companies involved in the behaviour must be punished.
Short-term car lease market review concludes
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been looking into the short-term car lease market since last year, and the investigations have now come to a head.
Last month, the review into the practises of five major car rental companies came to a conclusion. The review had been conducted by the EU Consumer Protection Co-operation Network, which is coordinated by the CMA. Big-name firms have previously agreed to undertakings, and further changes to online booking processes are now set be made.
The review has been a follow-on from the big 2015 action involving Avis-Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and Six. Regulators considered that more could still be done to ensure that some EU-facing websites were complaint with important consumer laws.
Antivirus software competition investigation
An antivirus software competition investigation has been launched by the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) in the last few months.
What’s interesting about this case is that it was launched as part of the wider reviews following the loyalty penalty super complaint initiated by Citizens Advice. The loyalty penalty super complaint could trigger a number of reviews across a wide range of market sectors.
If it’s all in the name of improving competition and enforcing compliance of the vital regulations that we have in place to protect consumers, we’re all for it.
Further action set for the CMA’s secondary ticketing and Viagogo case?
There’s more news in the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) secondary ticketing and Viagogo case. And it could be huge.
You may recall that we’ve been tracking this case for a while now. At the start of 2019, a Viagogo, StubHub and Ticketmaster were all required to undertake serious changes to their business behaviour. This came in to effect as of midnight on 17th January 2019.
However, the CMA conducted some simple checks on 24th January 2019. They say that they found that Viagogo had failed to comply with the court order against them. Now, Viagogo is potentially facing further legal action for contempt of court.
£7m in fines issued in office fit-out competition case
A huge £7m in total fines has been issued after five companies have admitted to breaches in the office fit-out competition case.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been investigating the design, construction and fit-out services market since 2017. In July 2018, they decided to continue their probes, and in March this year, fines have been issued and agreed.
The five companies that have admitted to breaches and will be fined are Coriolis, Fourfront, Loop, Oakley and ThirdWay.