agreement on petrol prices – Corriere.it
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They agreed on pump prices to the detriment of motorists. With this accusation, the Competition and Market Authority (AGCM) fined some petrol stations operating in the municipality of Livigno, in the province of Sondrio, and which manage thirteen points of sale, for over 4.2 million euros. The Authority has in fact ascertained the existence, between 2012 and 2022, of an anti-competitive agreement between the diesel and petrol distribution companies Cus.Car , Fibo, Ges.Car di Cusini Bernardo & C, Tre.Car, CU. BA, Global Service, Bondi Carburanti di Bormolini Luigi and Silroc.
Email communications
According to the Agcm, the agreement was implemented through weekly communications via e-mail with precise indications of future prices to be applied in retail distribution systems. These emails were sent by a natural person to a list, visible to all recipients, containing the addresses of the companies in question. The agreement emerged thanks to the investigations of the Guardia di Finanza. As early as 2021, during administrative police actions, the military had noticed the sameness of petrol and diesel prices for all the distributors involved, even if they appeared to belong to different companies and in many cases to be affiliated to several oil companies. The Authority was based on the systematic sending of e-mails by the sender to fuel distribution companies and on the correspondence between the prices contained in the communications and those actually charged by the distributors. Global Service defended itself by arguing that the e-mail was for informational purposes only.
The harm to consumers
According to the Competition and Market Guarantor Authority, the agreement has instead eliminated the competitive confrontation between the parties and has irreparably compromised the physiological competitive game to the detriment of consumers. Also in consideration of the fact that the fuel distribution service in the Livigno area benefits from a particular tax regime which makes it more competitive with respect to distribution activities in other areas.
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