As early as November last year, Bolesławieckie Towarzystwo Gospodarcze submitted a request to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection to investigate the issue of high and identical fuel prices at stations in Bolesławiec. The Wrocław branch of the office conducted an analysis of fuel price levels throughout 2004.
The inspection showed that prices at individual stations were practically identical throughout the year. In their explanations, all the companies inspected pointed to what they considered the decisive factor affecting the final price: competitors’ prices. Monitoring competitors’ movements is one of the basic duties of every station manager.
UOKiK: (...) we always hope that people will come forward and provide us with such evidence in the public interest.
In summarizing the explanatory proceedings, the director of UOKiK’s Wrocław branch stated that "merely following competitors’ prices does not yet constitute sufficient evidence of an agreement and, as such, is permissible. Businesses’ adaptation to changes in market conditions, shaped, among other things, by changes in the prices charged by competitors, is not prohibited, provided that it is not based on prior arrangements."
The office inspecting the fuel stations in Bolesławiec found no material evidence of price-fixing collusion. It did not, however, rule out the possibility that such collusion might exist. "In cases of this kind, UOKiK makes efforts to obtain such evidence, which is extremely difficult because of its secret nature; therefore, we always hope that people will come forward and provide us with such evidence in the public interest." What did UOKiK mean by material evidence of collusion? Did it mean leaflets, notes, correspondence or witness testimony clearly showing that the prices used resulted from mutual agreements?
Bolesławieckie Towarzystwo Gospodarcze intends to take further steps to prove that local fuel sellers are colluding. To this end, it will request that the Wrocław branch of UOKiK issue a post-inspection decision. This will make it possible to challenge the decision before an administrative court.
See also
Office of Competition and Consumer Protection