The air conditioning market in Slovakia is likely controlled by a cartel. This means that entrepreneurs may have agreed on minimum prices and restricted competition to increase their profits at the expense of customers. The Antimonopoly Office has conducted several unannounced inspections and has begun an investigation. If suspicions are confirmed, customers will be entitled to compensation.
The Antimonopoly Office (PMÚ) is investigating businesses involved in air conditioning, refrigeration systems, and heat pumps. After initial inquiries, suspicions arose.
“The Antimonopoly Office is investigating a cartel agreement among these entrepreneurs, which consisted of agreeing on minimum prices that they then charged their customers for services. As a result, these customers may have ultimately paid higher prices,” said Juraj Syrný, head of the Cartels Department at the PMÚ.
A similar cartel agreement on a multinational level was previously uncovered by the European Commission. It involved truck manufacturers who agreed on the selling prices of trucks. The case went through the courts for almost ten years. In the end, it was confirmed that the cartel existed, and customers were entitled to damages.
If the air conditioning cartel in Slovakia is confirmed, customers will also be entitled to compensation. They will be able to claim it in court but will need to prove the amount of the damage.
“We will use the services of a court expert, who will use a comparative method to assess the price that was increased due to the cartel and what the price would have been without the cartel,” explained lawyer Marián Ruňanin.
We reached out to the Slovak Association for Cooling, Air Conditioning, and Heat Pumps with questions about the possible cartel agreement, but they did not respond. However, the secretary of the Czech association said they would take uncompromising action against any illegal behavior by their members.
“We have bylaws that clearly state how a company should behave. There is a paragraph that says if a company acts unlawfully, it can be excluded from our association,” said Štěpán Stojanov, secretary of the Czech Association for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology.
If a cartel agreement between companies is confirmed, the Antimonopoly Office can impose a fine of up to ten percent of their global turnover.
Source: TASR
