George Peretz QC: The Subsidy Control Bill: Part I – A new public law regime – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted October 28th, 2021 in bills, competition, constitutional law, judicial review, news, state aids, tribunals by sally

‘The Subsidy Control Bill, now going through the House of Commons, creates the domestic replacement for the EU State aid regime. So it might be regarded as legislation of interest only to those who reside in the land of competition law: a distant land of which State aid law is a particularly exotic and remote peninsula. Any such view would, however, be profoundly wrong. On the contrary, the Bill sets up a new type of public litigation, covering a very wide range of public authority decisions, that should be of considerable interest to public lawyers and its application to legislation will be of interest to constitutional lawyers as well.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 28th October 2021

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Motorola faces competition inquiry over UK emergency services network – The Guardian

‘The UK’s competition regulator is investigating Motorola over concerns that it has “cashed in” on its monopoly over mobile networks for the UK emergency services.’

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The Guardian, 26th October 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Facebook fined a record £50m by UK competition watchdog – BBC News

Posted October 21st, 2021 in competition, fines, internet, news, takeovers by sally

‘Facebook has been fined £50.5m ($70m) by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which accuses it of deliberately breaking rules.’

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BBC News, 20th October 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK Competition Appeal Tribunal certifies first excessive pricing class action – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 13th, 2021 in appeals, class actions, competition, damages, news, telecommunications by sally

‘The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has given the go-ahead to the UK’s first “excessive pricing” abuse of dominance claim, which could involve up to 2.3 million customers and damages of up to £469 million, plus interest.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 12th October 2021

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

BT collective action ruling “could open the floodgates” – Legal Futures

Posted October 5th, 2021 in class actions, competition, consumer protection, news, telecommunications by sally

‘The Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (CAT) approval of a second opt-out collective action is likely to open the floodgates to more applications, it has been claimed.’

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Legal Futures, 4th October 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Watchdog launches probe into Leicester City and JD Sports over merchandise – The Independent

Posted October 1st, 2021 in competition, news, ombudsmen, sport by sally

‘The UK competition watchdog has launched an investigation in Leicester City FC and retailer JD Sports over the sale of club merchandise.’

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The Independent, 30th September 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

BT faces £600m legal case over landline charges – The Guardian

‘Almost 2.5 million BT customers could receive up to £500 each after a tribunal approved an attempt to launch a class action against the telecoms company over claims it overcharged them for their landline telephone services.’

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The Guardian, 28th September 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

“You know what we meant!” Supreme Court guidance on non-compete clauses – 3PB

‘On 23 July 2021 the Supreme Court handed down its unanimous judgment on the issues of restraint of trade and solicitors’ undertakings. This article considers the central issue before the court, namely whether a non-compete undertaking within a non-disclosure agreement was an unreasonable restraint of trade and therefore unenforceable.’

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3PB, 9th August 2021

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Tribunal finally grants first ever collective proceedings order – Legal Futures

Posted August 19th, 2021 in class actions, competition, consumer protection, news, tribunals by sally

‘The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) yesterday approved the first collective proceedings order (CPO), allowing the £14bn Mastercard opt-out class action to go forward at last.’

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Legal Futures, 19th August 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Competition watchdog to probe Central England Co-op funeral deal – The Independent

‘The UK competition regulator is to investigate the takeover of funeral homes by the Central England Co-op amid increased scrutiny of the industry.’

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The Independent, 16th August 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Facebook could be forced by UK watchdog to sell gif creator Giphy – The Guardian

Posted August 13th, 2021 in competition, internet, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘Facebook could be forced to sell gif creation website Giphy after an investigation by the UK competition regulator found its takeover could harm competition among social media companies and the digital advertising market.’

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The Guardian, 12th August 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Covid: Watchdog to immediately investigate Covid PCR test cost – BBC News

Posted August 13th, 2021 in competition, consumer protection, coronavirus, holidays, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The competition watchdog has said it will investigate the price of PCR Covid tests “immediately”. The health secretary had called for a review into “excessive” pricing and “exploitative practices” among test providers.’

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BBC News, 12th August 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Watchdog backs regulator’s plan to reduce UK energy firms’ returns – The Guardian

‘The competition watchdog has sided with Great Britain’s energy regulator after an industry rebellion over a clampdown on the returns energy network companies can make at the expense of customer bills.’

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The Guardian, 11th August 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Covid PCR costs can be excessive and exploitative, says Javid – BBC News

‘The health secretary has asked the competition watchdog to investigate “excessive” pricing and “exploitative practices” among PCR Covid test firms.’

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BBC News, 8th August 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Drug firm fined for huge price rise that hit NHS – BBC News

Posted July 29th, 2021 in competition, consumer protection, fines, medicines, news by sally

‘A drug company that increased the price of a crucial thyroid remedy more than 10-fold has prompted fines of more than £100m by the competition watchdog.’

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BBC News, 29th July 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Writing fake online reviews could be made illegal – BBC News

‘A plan to crack down on online rip-offs including making it illegal for people to write or host fake reviews has been outlined by the government.’

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BBC News, 19th July 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

MPs call for ‘complete reset’ of music streaming to protect artists – The Guardian

‘Music streaming needs a “complete reset”, according to a damning parliamentary report that calls on the UK competition watchdog to investigate the commercial power wielded by major record labels.’

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The Guardian, 15th July 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Plan for single register of all regulated and unregulated legal providers – Legal Futures

Posted June 8th, 2021 in competition, consumer protection, legal services, news by sally

‘A combined digital register of regulated and unregulated legal services providers would be “the simplest solution” to improve consumer navigation of the market, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has said.’

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Legal Futures, 8th June 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

UK Trade Remedies Authority begins operating – OUT-LAW.com

‘A new regulator, with powers to investigate and address unfair trade practices and subsidies, has begun operating in the UK.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 2nd June 2021

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Apple accused of breaking UK competition law by overcharging for apps – The Guardian

Posted May 12th, 2021 in class actions, compensation, competition, fees, news, telecommunications by sally

‘Apple is facing a demand for billions of pounds of consumer compensation in a British lawsuit that accuses the company of overcharging users by up to 30% on its App Store.’

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The Guardian, 11th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com