Controlling Prices when Companies Work Together
When companies work together to agree on a price for certain types of products, they are aware of the fact that it is against the law. These companies while knowing it is against the law agree in secret, which causes the consumer to get less value for their money. The consumer is able to put a stop to this practice and have a voice in a court of law with a class action lawsuit to stop the antitrust violations of these companies.
Fight Price Fixing
The competition between companies selling the same type of products allows the consumer to have a choice in the price they pay and the quality in manufacturing they want. When the companies conspire to fix the pricing there is no motivation to manufacture quality products.
When you suspect or are aware of price fixing in the market contact Ehline Law to discuss the claim.
Higher Profits with Price Fixing: When companies conspire to fix prices industry-wide the manufacturer can expect to have a certain level of profits. This will mean that they will not have to spend time or money finding better ways to manufacture the product. They also have no fear of the competition selling the product for less and this causes the consumer to pay more, since there is no competition.
Examples of Price Fixing
There are examples of price fixing that caused consumers to get less for their money. One of these instances was fixing the standard of gas. Gasoline retailers agreed to ignore what is known as the hot gas phenomenon. This is occurs during hot weather when consumers get less gas for their money at the pump. There is an appliance that can be added to the pump that would measure the gasoline correctly during hot weather; however retailers preferred the extra money they were making from hot weather sales. This was considered fixing industry standards, which means consumers, got less for their money.
There was also an artificial high price when manufacturers fixed prices for HDTVs, after the manufacturing prices went down the prices for consumers stayed at a fixed price. The consumer paid more than they should have been able to benefit from the industry’s lower manufacturing costs. It is often claimed in antitrust conspiracy cases that everyone is doing it, but the fact remains that it is an illegal action. When you are certain of price fixing or suspect it is occurring contact Ehline Law to discuss the claim.