Rote scrutiny
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OFFICE of Fair Trading director-general Gordon Borne has denied that his office has told the Road Haulage Association to register its rate guides as possibly illegal restrictive agreements.
The agreements, which covered transport of nearly all the loads carried, were placed on records kept at the Office of Fair Trading by the RHA earlier this month — but the action was on a voluntary basis.
Denial of the action follows reports that the OFT had asked the RHA to put the string of rate guides on the register.
In a letter to the Times newspaper, Mr Borne said that the action was carried out voluntarily and no notices requiring the RHA to place the guides on the register had been served.
"It is for the Restrictive Practices Court to decide whether or not any restrictions on any agreements which I put on the register are in the public interest," said Mr Borne.
The OFT has been looking at a number of RHA documents for some time following the RHA action in freely supplying the office with them.
It was thought that Mr Barrie had used his powers under new rules brought into effect last year allowing him to deal with price fixing in a wide range of industries.
This week no one was available at the RHA to comment on the situation but the Office of Fair Trading commented: "It is now a legal requirement to register agreements and this is what they have done – but this has not been declared to be unfair or restrictive," said a spokesman.