Just had this responce from Paolo CESARINI of the European Commission:
Dear Mr S,
Thank you for your e-mail of 26 August 2007, in which you complain about the practice of a German company Touratech.
In your e-mail you explain that when customers in the UK attempt to acquire products through a German Touratech website, they are immediately redirected to the UK website where the same products are on offer at a higher price.
In reply to your query it should be pointed out that, in principle, vertical agreements between undertakings which restrict the territory into which, or the customers to whom, the distributor may sell goods, are prohibited by Article 81 of the EC Treaty. However, as follows from the case-law, Article 81(1) refers only to relations between independent economic entities and does not cover agreements or concerted practices between undertakings belonging to the same group of undertakings forming an economic unit (see judgment in Joined Cases T-68/89, T-77/89 and T-78/89 SIV and Others v Commission [1992] ECR II-1403, paragraph 357; judgment in case C-73/95 P Viho v Commission [1996] ECR I-05457, paragraph 6).
From the information in the possession of the Commission, it seems that both in Germany and in the UK Touratech operates through its branches. The arrangements for the distribution of Touratech products seem therefore to be made within a group of undertakings and do not constitute agreements within the meaning of Article 81 of the EC Treaty. In such circumstances, Touratech Germany's refusal to sell directly to consumers in the UK would not fall under the prohibition set out in Article 81 of the Treaty.
I hope that this answers your query.
Yours sincerely,
So in other words Touratech DE are not acting unlawfully in the eyes of the commission. So much for a common market then
Only recourse then is to stop buying products from TT UK until such time as they stop ripping us off
Dear Mr S,
Thank you for your e-mail of 26 August 2007, in which you complain about the practice of a German company Touratech.
In your e-mail you explain that when customers in the UK attempt to acquire products through a German Touratech website, they are immediately redirected to the UK website where the same products are on offer at a higher price.
In reply to your query it should be pointed out that, in principle, vertical agreements between undertakings which restrict the territory into which, or the customers to whom, the distributor may sell goods, are prohibited by Article 81 of the EC Treaty. However, as follows from the case-law, Article 81(1) refers only to relations between independent economic entities and does not cover agreements or concerted practices between undertakings belonging to the same group of undertakings forming an economic unit (see judgment in Joined Cases T-68/89, T-77/89 and T-78/89 SIV and Others v Commission [1992] ECR II-1403, paragraph 357; judgment in case C-73/95 P Viho v Commission [1996] ECR I-05457, paragraph 6).
From the information in the possession of the Commission, it seems that both in Germany and in the UK Touratech operates through its branches. The arrangements for the distribution of Touratech products seem therefore to be made within a group of undertakings and do not constitute agreements within the meaning of Article 81 of the EC Treaty. In such circumstances, Touratech Germany's refusal to sell directly to consumers in the UK would not fall under the prohibition set out in Article 81 of the Treaty.
I hope that this answers your query.
Yours sincerely,
So in other words Touratech DE are not acting unlawfully in the eyes of the commission. So much for a common market then
Only recourse then is to stop buying products from TT UK until such time as they stop ripping us off
)
if the ttuk are willing to sell to a german address that would make our case stronger
