Between 2004 and 2013, various vehicle manufacturers, including brands such as Fiat, Ford, Opel, Citroën, Peugeot, Renault or Toyota, among many others, exchanged information with the intention of setting management criteria at their dealerships. sales and after sales. In total, almost 30 car brands, 130 dealers and 21 manufacturers were involved in this case, which consisted of raising prices in an agreed and predetermined manner.
These practices turned out to be irregular and the brands were penalized for this because the customers paid more money than they owed for their vehicle, since the sale price was not the real one, but one agreed with the competition. Something that has resulted in compensation ranging from 2,000 to 9,000 euros, depending on the sale price and the model of the vehicle. Thus, it is essential to know the requirements to know if you can be one of those affected by this car cartel and, above all, how to claim the corresponding compensation.
All of this has led to the fact that, based on the Founding Treaty of the European Union in terms of anti-competitive practices, an obligation must be faced for the damage caused when the rules that regulate competition are infringed. With this European framework, and with the Law for the Defense of Competition, the people affected have the right to receive compensation for the extra cost paid when buying a vehicle.
In Spain, the National Market and Competition Commission (CNMC) estimated that the extra cost could inflate prices by 10% compared to their real price. Thus, if the price was 20,000 euros, an extra cost of 2,000 euros was added. Therefore, it is necessary to review the following requirements because if you meet at least one, you can start a claim.
For a person to be considered affected by the car cartel, they must meet at least one of the following four requirements:
In addition, it is important to point out that having current possession of the vehicle is not a requirement. Even if the car has been sold to a third party, if the first buyer meets any of the above conditions, they are still an affected user. To start the compensation application process and have the best chances of success, it is advisable to consult a guide to claim against the car cartel.
Any user with a car model that is part of those affected can start the process to claim compensation, although they must make sure to do so within the deadlines dictated by the Law. Regardless of the route used to file the claim, The fundamental thing is that the purchase of the vehicle can be proven by providing documentation that demonstrates the facts such as the invoice, the technical sheet, signed purchase-sale contracts, the circulation permit, etc.
In any case, and as indicated above, in order to present the claim it is not necessary to be the current owner of the vehicle and it is also legitimate to request compensation if it was sold to another buyer or if it was replaced by another model.
Once the purchase of the vehicle is accredited, the second step is to try to quantify the damage suffered through an expert report in order to quantify the corresponding compensation. The purpose of this report is to compare the price paid by the claimant at the time the vehicle was acquired with the circumstances that should have occurred under free market conditions. In other words, to verify if there was an abuse of power by the car cartel and if this entailed an overprice or any other damage to the affected individual.
After preparing the expert report, the lawyers raise the defense and try to negotiate with the company. Thanks to the case of the truck cartel, which in many respects has served as a precedent, there are currently more clues on how to do it correctly in order to avoid the dismissal of the appeal.
The first thing of all is to exhaust the previous ways before ending up in the hands of Justice as such. So, you have to start by imposing a claim prior to the brand. Although, for now and, unfortunately, this path is being rejected outright by companies. So, most likely, we will have to go to court.
Thus, in the courts we will have to file a lawsuit, which is usually admitted unless the expert report is insufficient. Once the claims are admitted, most of them tend to be resolved in favor of the customers, who receive between 5% and 10% of the price paid for the vehicle, plus legal interest on the purchase price.
