
Rory Watson in Brussels
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Rory Watson in Brussels
The European Commission imposed one of the highest cartel fines in its history yesterday as it penalised nine companies for operating an illegal paraffin mafia for more than 13 years.
The combined penalties of 676 million (£534 million) on the companies for fixing prices and carving up markets for paraffin wax which is used in products such as candles, tyres and adhesives are the latest sign of the Commissions determination to stamp out cartels that prevent customers benefiting from competition.
Neelie Kroes, the EU Competition Commissioner, said: There is probably not a household or company in Europe that has not bought products affected by this paraffin mafia cartel, with all that implies in paying over the odds, higher costs and economic damage.
The Commission made dawn raids on the companies three years ago after Shell, one of its members, blew the whistle on the illegal activities.
The investigators found that the companies held regular meetings to discuss prices, allocate markets and customers and exchange sensitive commercial information.
Shell escaped a possible fine because it provided the Commission investigators with the initial vital information.
Sasol, the South African-German company that was considered the leader of the group, was fined 318.2 million. Among its employees, the cartel was dubbed the Blauer Salon (Blue Saloon) after the hotel bar in Germany where the first meetings were held.
Sasol, the worlds biggest manufacturer of motor fuel from coal said: Sasol is surprised by and does not understand the reasons for the magnitude of this fine and will be studying the reasons for the finding with a view to lodge an appeal against it.
The other companies fined were Total of France (128.2 million), ExxonMobil of the US (83.6 million), RWE of Germany (37.4 million), ENI of Italy (29.1 million), Hansen & Rosenthal of Germany (24 million), MOL of Hungary (23.7 million), Repsol of Spain (19.8 million) and Tuda-petrol of Germany (12 million).
The global paraffin wax market is worth almost 500 million.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article4863537.ece
Posted in: Exxon Mobil, The Times, Total.
Tagged: Eni · ExxonMobil · Repsol · The Times · Total
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30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan
The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.
Extremely slow broadband for 10 months, not fixed. I have had slow broadband well below the guaranteed speed for 10 months and Shell Energy have not been able to fix it. They have tried sending about 4 or 5 engineers but have not fixed the problem. Gurps, who I have been dealing with most recently, has been friendly and polite, alth… Read more
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Date of experience: 21 November 2023
Broadband Service is Appalling
I ordered shell energy broadband on nov 2. I was promised connection the following week. They initiated the direct debit. I called the following week and was told router would arrive on 13 and service would go live on 17. No further email or communication until 20 when I was told service would start on 30th. Spent 10 minutes waiting on phone line and spoke to a polite assistant who was absolutely useless in solving my problem. Avoid this unprofessional and chaotic… Read more
The worst ever
I used shell broadband. It was by far the worst broadband provider ever! The internet did not work most days. I had their super fast broadband and it dropped out constantly. Watching a movie was awful with the constant buffering. Customer support was super slow. Now their going to charge me for the useless router which I have sent back.
Date of experience: 21 November 2023

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