About the Claim

From 2006 to 2012, five major shipping companies were involved in a cartel which affected the price of deep sea carriage of new motor vehicles, including cars and vans. The decision of the European Commission fining the shipping companies hundreds of millions of euros in fines is here. During the cartel period, the shipping companies shared confidential information, rigged tenders and prices, and reduced overall capacity on the car and van shipping market. 

We believe that the cartel meant that car manufacturers paid too much to transport new vehicles from their factories around the world to the UK and Europe. In turn, customers who bought a new car or van between 18 October 2006 and 6 September 2015 are also likely to have paid too much by way of delivery charge.

That is because when a manufacturer sets the price for its new cars or vans, it takes account of its total delivery costs, including its shipping costs. For simplicity, car manufacturers typically divide their total delivery costs equally amongst all of the cars and/or vans that they sell. When a customer buys a new car or van, they pay for ‘delivery’, either separately or as part of the ‘on the road’ price.

Although the car manufacturers themselves have done nothing wrong, customers who bought a new car or van between 18 October 2006 and up to 31 December 2019 are therefore likely to have paid an increased delivery charge.

The claim is to recover those extra charges from the shipping companies who were in the cartel. To be part of the action, class members must have purchased or financed at least one new car or van in the period from 18 October 2006 to 6 September 2015. Class members may be able to claim for additional vehicles purchased or financed in the period from 7 September 2015 to the end of 2019.