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RHA takes legal action to reclaim truck payments after cartel ruling


BIFA Members may be entitled to claim up to £6,000 per truck bought or leased since 1997 after the European Commission found truck manufacturers guilty of price fixing


The Road Haulage Association (RHA) started a collective claim in the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London last July against the major European truck manufacturers to reclaim significant sums of money owed to any business that purchases or leases trucks.


Potential payments


Members may well be entitled to join the collective claim and potentially receive £6,000 or more per truck purchased or leased since 1997. The collective claim, which is not limited to RHA members and covers all sectors, is being brought because the truck manufacturers were found guilty by the European Commission of illegally fixing truck prices over a 14-year period. The reader might not be aware but DAF, Daimler/Mercedes, Iveco, Volvo/Renault and Scania got together in secret between 1997 and 2011 to rig the prices of trucks in Europe, including the UK. The cartel related to all truck


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types over 6 tonnes and is likely to have affected the prices paid by businesses across all sectors (including freight services) that purchase or lease trucks. As a result, the European trucks cartel is one of the biggest issues facing the haulage industry at this time. Although the European Commission fined the truck manufacturers almost £4 billion for their illegal conduct, businesses affected by the cartel need to bring a claim before the courts if they want to recover money owed to them. That is why the RHA decided to bring a collective claim against the truck manufacturers and, as the trade body dedicated to road haulage, is leading the industry charge to recover compensation.


The claim covers all types of trucks provided


they are 6 tonnes or more. It is not limited to new trucks but also covers secondhand trucks. In addition, the claim extends to all makes of trucks and not merely trucks built by the manufacturers


involved in the cartel. So, you can also claim for makes such as Hino and Isuzu. Over 6,000 truck operators have already signed up to the RHA’s collective claim and a further 1,500 have registered their interest and are in the process of signing up. This includes operators of all sizes from owner operators up to companies with over 1,000 trucks in their fleets. It also covers all sectors. It is not though too late to join the RHA’s legal action, which you can do using the simple sign-up process at www.truckcartellegalaction.com.


No risk It is probably worth emphasising that there is no cost or risk in joining the RHA collective claim. The claim is being paid for by a specialist litigation funder who will take a small percentage (currently estimated at 8-10%) of the compensation awarded to truck operators. The RHA has also taken out a significant insurance policy to protect itself and all operators signing up to its collective claim. If Members are interested in finding out more about the RHA’s collective claim, we would encourage you to visit www.truckcartellegalaction.com where you will find responses to a large number of FAQs.


February 2019


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