In October, the consumer group criticised the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for failing to protect consumers by taking no further action to address consumer detriment in the pub market following Camra’s complaint submitted in July.
Under the Enterprise Act 2002, Camra is entitled to appeal the OFT’s decision to the Competition Appeals Tribunal, and has decided on this course of action to continue fighting anti-competitive practices in the UK pub market.
Camra is pledging funds to the appeal, but is depending on consumers helping to raise further funds to ensure this legal challenge can stand the best chance of success. From 5 January 2010, Camra is calling on consumers to visit the Camra website and contribute to the ‘Consumers v OFT Pub Market Ruling’ campaign fund.
“Camra has taken the decision to appeal due to the inability of the OFT to deal with the problems affecting the UK pub sector,” said Mike Benner, Camra chief executive. “Camra’s super-complaint to the OFT was based on securing a fair deal for the pub-goer, and building a sustainable future for Britain’s pubs. However, we believe the OFT did not take reasonable steps to understand the pub sector, and more generally why over 50 pubs are closing per week across the UK.
Bob Young, a former member of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission and respected Principal of Europe Economics, has said the OFT’s response was “as inadequate as Camra’s super-complaint was compelling. The OFT hasn’t seriously considered whether there’s fair competition at a local level which ensures that consumers, or pub landlords for that matter, get the best deal. This is a critical shortcoming in the OFT’s response to Camra.”
Source: Camra
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024