The Norwegian Competition Authority has today sent a Statement of Objections to two Norwegian moving companies informing them of its preliminary view that the two companies have breached the competition rules. The Authority is considering imposing fines of NOK 4,070,000 and NOK 840,000, respectively, on the two companies.
The Authority carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of two parties in September 2021 due to concerns that the two firms had been involved in collusive practices.
According to the Authority’s preliminary findings, the moving companies have had extensive contact about specific future moving assignments. They have in various ways informed each other about customer inquiries, divided assignments and coordinated prices and other terms before making offers to customers. It is the Authority’s preliminary assessment that the moving companies have infringed Section 10 of the Competition Act, in the period from May 2019 to September 2021.
– When requesting offers from several service providers, the intention is to take advantage of a competitive process. Fake bids undermine the point of competition. Trust in public tender competitions must be preserved to ensure the best combination of price and quality for consumers. Bid rigging is taken very seriously by the Norwegian Competition Authority, says Director General Tina Søreide.
The market for relocation services in Norway consists of many smaller players. The customer base consists of individuals, businesses, and the public sector .
– In this case, our preliminary assessment is that customers have been misled into believing that they have received competing offers, while offers have in fact been false. The Competition Act applies in all markets, and it is important that small and medium-sized businesses also comply with the competition rules, says Director Hanne Dahl Amundsen.
The difference in the level of the preliminary fines is due to differences in the turnover of the companies involved.
The Competition Authority emphasizes that the views presented in the Statement of Objections are preliminary, and that no final decision has been adopted at this stage. The companies have until 13 June 2024 to provide their replies to the Statement of Objections.