OFT fines Mercedes-Benz dealers
AUTOMOTIVE giant Mercedes-Benz and three northern truck and van dealerships have been fined £2.6m for breaching competition law.
The Office of Fair Trading launched an investigation three years ago into the trading practices of the German group and four Northern dealers between 2008-10.
It involved Warrington and Manchester-based Enza Motors, Road Range in Liverpool, and Bolton, Blackburn, and Carlisle-based Ciceley.
The OFT said the way each company broke the law varied, but in each case there was some element of market sharing, price co-ordination or exchange of commercially sensitive information. All the companies admitted breaching competition rules which reduced a total fine of £3m by 15%.
Mercedes has been fined £1.5m, Road Range £115,774, Ciceley £659,675 and Enza £347,198. Yorkshire-based Northside Truck and Van has escaped a fine in return for coming forward with “valuable evidence”.
The investigation centred around the distribution of vans between Ciceley and Northside and Ciceley and Road Range, and the distribution of trucks involving Ciceley, Enza, Mercedes-Benz and Road Range.
Ali Nikpay, OFT senior director of Cartels, said: “These cases send a clear signal that the OFT will take firm action against companies that collude to deny customers the benefit of fair competition regardless of the size of the firms involved or geographic scope of the investigation.
“These examples also underline that the OFT can uncover cartels even in cases where the businesses involved do not blow the whistle, as well as being a concrete illustration of the benefits of businesses acting quickly and cooperating at the earliest opportunity so as to qualify for immunity from fines.”
Road Range is owned by the Robert Smith Group, whose largest shareholder is Robert Smith of the Wirral. Enza Motors’ is controlled by Sale-based Russell Elgar-Parsons through the Enza Group, and Ciceley is owned by the Morgan family. Northside is owned by Lanarkshire-based SAH Ltd, which in turn is owned by the Anderson family.
In a statement Mercedes-Benz said it regretted the incident and had “learned a lot from it”.
“The company has strengthened its internal controls, and every member of staff participates in comprehensive and ongoing integrity training programmes. The company and its staff have fully co-operated with the investigators over the past three years.
“This thorough OFT investigation took three years to complete, and the agreed settlement with Mercedes-Benz UK relates to one meeting held in late 2009. The settlement figure, based on company turnover, is £1.49m.
“The settlement reached with the OFT draws the investigation into this matter to a close. Mercedes-Benz takes its responsibilities under competition law seriously and has taken all appropriate steps to ensure all its staff comply fully with the law.”
