07 December 2007
As major supermarkets* and dairy firms agree to pay fines of over £116 million for fixing the price of milk, butter and cheese, Pula Houghton, Campaigns Policy Manager, Which? comments:
“It is shocking that consumers have been ripped off by businesses they trust. Consumers will be asking - if it is milk now, what next?
“If the supermarkets want to restore the consumer confidence that will no doubt be damaged by their admissions, they should publicly commit to never doing this again and find creative ways to proactively reimburse their customers.
“Whilst we are pleased that the firms involved have admitted price fixing and been fined, the fines won’t repay the consumers who have paid over the odds for basic provisions.
“The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) must continue to press for the strongest possible punishments to stamp out these practices.”
-Ends-
* Sainsburys, Asda and Safeway.
