Truck Cartel – Compensation Claims for Trucks purchased between 1997 and 2011

Background

In July 2016, the European Commission announced a Settlement Decision and imposed record fines totalling just over EUR 2.93 billion on four manufacturers for acting as a Cartel and fixing the price of medium (6 to 16 tonnes) and heavy trucks (over 16 tonnes) sold between 1997 and 2011.

The four manufacturers who received fines were;

-Volvo/Renault

-Daimler

-Iveco

-DAF

A fifth manufacturer, MAN, was granted immunity from fines having revealed the existence of the manufacturers’ cartel to the Commission. MAN remains otherwise subject to the Commission’s findings and, in particular, remains open to compensation claims from its customers affected by its involvement in the Cartel.

The Commission has made clear that any business which purchased or leased either medium or heavy trucks manufactured by these five manufacturers in the period 1997-2011 has the right to claim compensation from the manufacturers for any losses which that business has suffered because of the higher prices charged for those trucks due to the Cartel.

In addition to direct purchases from the five named manufacturers involved in the Cartel, affected businesses may be able to claim compensation from the Cartel for purchases made from other manufacturers, for example Scania, because the market price paid to those other manufacturers was inflated by the operation of the Cartel.

What Losses Could be Claimed?

Affected businesses may be able to claim for a range of losses. In particular, where a business can demonstrate that it was overcharged (as the Cartel made the price higher) when it purchased (whether outright, or on finance) or leased a truck in the 14 years period from 1997 and that this overcharge was absorbed by the business and not passed onwards to its customers, then the business will be able to claim compensation for the overcharging. In addition the business will be able to claim interest from the date of purchase to the date of compensation.

How do I know if I have a claim?

Each potential claim is subject to a number of factors and no two claims are alike. However in the first instance, if your business has purchased either a medium or heavy truck in the period 1997 to 2011 then in principle you may be entitled to recover compensation. If you are interested in finding out more about bringing a claim then please contact James Parks or Brett Maloney from Novate here.

For more information and to check if you are owed compensation, visit http://www.novatedls.com/services-for-business/truck-cartel/