no wonder the price of a windscreen is so high

BBC NEWS | Business | EU fines car glass 'price-fixers'

A reasonable fine which may put them off in future. Pity no-one got the boot.

As the fine was for business practices carried out between 1998 and 2003, presumably having been bubbled 5 years ago through an "anonymous tipoff" they have now stopped price fixing, so it shouldn't make any difference in future?

Or am I just being naive?

Saint-Gobain said it would immediately appeal the "excessive and disproportionate" fine.

But it didn't deny the activities...

i wonder what would happen if they boycotted the fines, then said, actually we've decided not to bother making any car windscreens any more for anybody... tough luck..

Its about time there was some transparency in this industry. Good to see the EU crack some heads together for a change.

All in all, that's smashing news

Its about time there was some transparency in this industry. :

You meant that .... right? good pun all the same

I think he got several puns in his comment...

It's all becoming clearer, that'll wipe some of their profits.

Its about time there was some transparency in this industry. Good to see the EU crack some heads together for a change.

All in all, that's smashing news

Get your coat... It's the one with nanotech self cleaning technology on the external surfaces

Seriously though, like they are going to stop. I get the feeling they will just find a new way to keep prices high.

They won't say get lost to the EU as otherwise they can be banned from trading here and have all EU assets seized. At that point the EU puts new management and retains as much of the existing staff as possible and carrys on minus the brand name.

You can never have too many puns, good clean family fun

It'll be like the mobile phone roaming kerfuffle, the suppliers will give with one hand and take away with the other. Given that few people directly pay for windscreens, I expect that the only people to benefit will be Manufacturers, Insurers and the likes of Autoglass who'll pay less and not pass on the reductions. Such is life.

Edited 13 November, 200817 yr by daiking

but this big fine, where does it go? and will they pay taxes on it?

but this big fine, where does it go? and will they pay taxes on it?

It goes to Euroland freeloaders society, not to the poor sods they ripped off.

On the pun front, I've just abused my mod powers to make the thread title much more satisfactory...

It goes to Euroland freeloaders society, not to the poor sods they ripped off.

just as i thought it might :(