The Road Haulage Association (RHA) is asking vehicle operators who consider that they may have a claim for compensation following the fining of five major truck manufacturers earlier this year for price fixing, to register their interest on www.rhatruckcartelclaim.co.uk.

The manufacturers involved were: MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco, and DAF.

There will be no cost and it will be risk-free for hauliers that choose to opt into the claim.

On 19 July, 2016 the European Commission issued a record €2.9bn fine to the five manufacturers after it was found that they co-ordinated truck pricing and colluded in passing on the costs of compliance with emissions rules in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As a consequence, the Road Haulage Association has announced that it will be progressing with its application to become the representative body on behalf of UK hauliers bringing collective proceedings to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

RHA Chief Executive Richard Burnet said, “We consider ourselves duty-bound to acknowledge and act upon our members’ wishes. We have taken legal counsel and have thoroughly explored the approach that we need to take. If the CAT accepts our application, detailed disclosure of evidence will be released and at that stage the case will be developed more fully.”

“This will be a long drawn out process and it is important to stress that hauliers will not get an immediate pay-out; indeed there is no guarantee of any pay-out at all. However, it would appear that based on the high level of evidence already received that the prospects for compensation look encouraging. The process of obtaining representative status could take up to a year and the whole process up to a determination or settlement could well exceed a further two years.”

The RHA is keen to stress that the legal and other costs will be significant during this process and beyond the normal means of the Association. The Association will ensure that it will suffer no financial exposure and legal action will be de-risked from the perspective of both the RHA and the individual hauliers seeking a claim. This will be covered by ‘after the event insurance’. In addition, the RHA will, in principal, not profit from this action.

www.rhatruckcartelclaim.co.uk

Photo: Richard Burnet