UK: Estate agents fined for price fixing

Three Berkshire estate agents have been fined more than £600,000 (US$787,186) for illegally fixing the minimum commission rates they charged their customers, reported the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). 

The move comes after the CMA found that the companies, Michael Hardy, Prospect, and Richard Worth, together with a fourth company, Romans, broke competition law by taking part in a price-fixing cartel, which began in September 2008.

For almost 7 years, the 4 companies conspired to set minimum commission rates for the sale of residential properties in Wokingham, Winnersh, Crowthorne, Bracknell, and Warfield – where they were the leading estate agents at that time. This involved the firms exchanging confidential information on pricing and holding meetings to make sure all members enforced and maintained the agreed minimum rates.

The result was that local home-owners were denied the chance of securing the best possible deal when selling their property because they were unable to meaningfully shop around all their local agents for better commission rates.

Full Content: Gov UK

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