Five‑Year Lock on Low Prices
Two finishing‑sector companies received hefty fines for price‑fixing – a decision made by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Tomasz Chróstny. The decision concerned the market division by Decora and Bel‑Pol. Importantly, this was not a one‑off incident but a systematic, ongoing procedure from March 2019 to April 2024.
The prohibited agreement involved vinyl panels, underlay, floor profiles, and skirting boards. For over 5 years consumers were denied the chance to buy Decora products at market prices.
Instead, they paid rates set at a single table. Evidence of the price‑fixing was obtained by UOKiK during interrogations at the companies’ headquarters. As in a good corporate thriller, key evidence came from recordings of conversations and emails that plainly show the free market in this segment was merely an illusion.
See also: UOKiK accuses Panek. Car‑on‑demand and a gigantic fine? Consumers fight for their rights
Monitoring, Orwellian
Decora, as a manufacturer, imposed rigid price lists on its contractors (from wholesalers to retail stores). It’s worth noting these were not mere suggestions but hard cooperation terms. The company not only set minimum selling prices but also dictated which promotions individual stores could use.
There was no room for subordination to the established rules, because those who tried to play fairly with customers and lower prices faced a disciplinary system.
If a store doesn’t understand and keeps a bad price, we lock it, and if nothing happens for a while, we take the exposure away
- we read in one of the messages secured by the office.
This is a classic example of market terrorism, where the main role is played by withholding supplies, taking back discounts, and ultimately even physically removing goods from showrooms. The conspirators included the sellers themselves, who politely informed about every breach of the imposed rates.
Besides price control, the companies engaged in another equally harmful practice: market division. This is a situation where wholesale customers are permanently assigned to a specific supplier.
Decora and Bel‑Pol decided who each would serve. Such market division strikes at the foundations of capitalism, namely competition for customers based on quality and price. Wholesale buyers could not choose a cheaper source because they were assigned by one of the conspirators.
See also: Traveplanet.pl fined by UOKiK nearly 650 k PLN. It concerns misleading travel agency customers
Almost 34 million PLN in total fines!
The total fine amounted to 33 927 343,75 PLN. The hardest hit was Decora, which received over 28,3 million PLN in sanctions. Bel‑Pol paid much less, only 5,29 million PLN. Such a large disparity results from a penalty mitigation program, because Bel‑Pol chose to cooperate with UOKiK, becoming a sort of royal witness.
The company provided new evidence that the conspiracy also covered underlay for laminate panels. As a result, its fine was reduced by 50%, and an additional 10% was deducted for voluntarily accepting the fine. It’s worth noting that managers also did not escape responsibility, as Tomasz Ginter from Decora and Marcin Nawrocki from Bel‑Pol must pay personal fines totaling almost 300 000 PLN.
See also: Shock in the housing market. UOKiK strikes developers. Poles had to pay hundreds of thousands for already purchased apartments
