Shipping firm agrees settlement in car delivery charges cartel claim

CSAV, one of five shipping groups which operated an illegal cartel to manipulate car shipping prices, has proposed a settlement of £1.5 million.

Last year, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) published a legal notice declaring that the £150m car carriers claim against shipping companies for overcharging customers could proceed as an opt-out collective action, or class action, with Mark

McLaren acting as the class representative through a not-for-profit company, incorporated to bring the claim.

A settlement has now been agreed between Mark McLaren on behalf of UK consumers and businesses which purchased or leased new cars and vans, and CSAV.

Scott and Scott, the law firm instructed by McLaren, and Wilmer Hale, the law firm instructed by CSAV, have made a formal application to seek approval of the settlement. 

This will be followed by a hearing on December 6, where McLaren and CSAV will ask the CAT to approve the proposed settlement.

CSAV is the smallest defendant in the cartel, with 1.7% market share of the cartel. The claim against the other four defendant groups is expected to proceed with a trial due to be listed in early 2025.

McLaren, class representative, said: “This is a major milestone in this case but, as the first ever collective settlement, it is also a significant development for the wider UK collective action regime. 

“I am looking forward to the collective settlement approval hearing on 6 December 2023, to demonstrate to the Tribunal why the settlement is in the best interests of class members – UK car and van buyers who have suffered a loss as a result of the cartel. 

“I have spent much of my career working in consumer protection and I strongly believe that compensation should be paid when consumers are harmed by such deliberate, unlawful conduct.”

More than 17 million cars are said to have been affected by the price fixing scheme, run by international shipping firms MOL, K Line, NYK, WWL/EUKOR and CSAV, with the claim value expected to be up to £60 per car.

Those affected are consumers and businesses who bought new vehicles from many of the leading brands including Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Peugeot, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Citroen and Renault between October 2006 and September 2015.

The legal action followed followed the European Commission’s decision in 2018 to fine these shipping companies €395 million for fixed prices and rigged bids for roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) transport of vehicles.

The EC found that the shippers had coordinated rates, allocated tenders, coordinated reductions of capacity in the market and exchanged commercially sensitive information to maintain or increase the price of intercontinental shipping of new vehicles.

When buying or leasing new vehicles, consumers and businesses pay for delivery costs and the class action aims to help that those who were overcharged get their money back.