European Commission investigations into alleged price fixing by a number of oil giants have been welcomed by the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and Fair Fuel UK. Following raids into the offices of the oil companies in questions, there are claims that prices have been fixed for more than a decade. European Commission officials said its investigators made the "unannounced inspections" on Tuesday amid claims that collusion between companies may have occurred in a bid to distort prices. If this has been the case, costs to UK consumers and businesses could have ran into ‘billions of pounds’ according to Fair Fuel UK spokesman, Quentin Willson. The new allegations come four months after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) concluded there was no need to have an inquiry on whether prices in the petrol and diesel markets had been fixed, after many months of campaigning from Fair Fuel UK. RHA Chief Executive, Geoff Dunning, said: “The news [of an investigation] is tremendously encouraging; for the motorist in general, the haulage industry in particular and the UK economy as a whole.” “At a time when businesses are desperately trying to get back on their feet after several very difficult years, there finally appears to be a light at the end of the oil pricing tunnel”, he continued. Mr Dunning concluded: “All too often we use the EU as a scapegoat when it comes to the rules and regulations that surround the UK road freight industry. This is a time when we are pleased to be among the first to say ‘on behalf of UK hauliers, thank you Brussels’.”
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