Hundreds of UK food retailers have lined up for their share of £2bn in compensation from the world’s leading truck manufacturers.
Tesco Distribution, Wincanton, Biffa Waste Services and Travis Perkins are among some thousands of haulage businesses in the UK set to receive damages from lorry manufacturers as part of a €3bn (more than £2.4bn) action suit in the EU.
After a seven-year legal battle, manufacturers including DAF, Mercedes, Scania, Volvo and Renault have been fined by the European Commission for reported price fixing over a 14-year period.
The Road Haulage Association has been approved by the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) to recover losses on behalf of thousands of British haulage businesses “who were overcharged thousands of pounds by truck manufacturers”.
The damages are expected to be approximately £6,000 per truck, according to the RHA. Damages for large operators of fleets could be in the millions of pounds, the group said, adding that hundreds of food retailers had already registered to take part in the collective class action suit.
The trade association’s MD, Richard Smith, said: “We urge those who are eligible to opt in to the legal action, so that they can access compensation if it is awarded by the tribunal.
“The RHA is dedicated to the interests of the road haulage sector, and we are proud to be bringing this claim in order to secure compensation for companies and individuals and to deter cartelist behaviour and poor corporate governance in our industry.”
The CAT granted a Collective Proceedings Order on 5 August 2024, which means the claim can proceed as a collective action.
A date for trial has not yet been set. Once in trial, the tribunal will decide whether the defendants have to pay damages to the class and at what level these damages are set.
Those eligible to opt in include companies, firms and individuals who purchased or leased new and used trucks of six tonnes and over, registered in the UK between 1997 and up to 2014, depending on the type of vehicle. They have until the end of this week to opt in, the RHA warned.
The claim is being brought against a number of companies within the MAN, DAF and Iveco groups of companies – but the claim covers all makes of trucks, not just those manufactured by these companies.
It is not the first time DAF Trucks has found itself in legal trouble in the UK – in 2023, Royal Mail, which is one of the largest fleet operators in the country with over 3,000 trucks, brought a claim against DAF and was awarded approximately £17.5m.
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