There are signs that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is taking an increasing interest in breaches of competition law resulting from competitors sharing price-sensitive information with one another.

When dealers in Mercedes Benz vans and trucks were found to have breached competition law by taking part in activities that contained ‘at least some element of market sharing, price co-ordination or the exchange of commercially sensitive information’, the OFT imposed fines on them totalling £2.8 million. Such exchanges are seen as ‘preventing, restricting or distorting competition’.

Six businesses were involved, one of which avoided a penalty by claiming immunity – a process by which a business gives evidence against the others involved and thereby escapes a fine.

Of the five remaining businesses involved, four reached settlements with the OFT – by which they gained a ‘settlement discount’ of 15 per cent.

If the OFT commences an investigation into your affairs, suspecting you of ‘price-fixing’ or other anti-competitive behaviour, the risks to your business can be substantial. The OFT’s starting point when calculating financial penalties is the seriousness of the breach and the turnover of each of the offending businesses in the relevant market.