Consumers and organizations that purchased LG, Hitachi, Panasonic, Toshiba, and Samsung products containing cathode ray tubes (CRTs) between 1995 through 2007 may be able to file a claim in a multimillion dollar settlement. The California Attorney General announced a preliminary approval of settlements resolving allegations that these companies engaged in price fixing on critical components of televisions and computer monitors sold between March 1, 1995, and November 25, 2007. The CRTs were used to display images on computer monitors and television screens before they were replaced with flat screens. As a result of the price fixing scheme, California consumers and government entities overpaid for the products.
Under the settlement, the five companies will have to pay a total of $4.95 million to settle claims of overcharges paid by government agencies in California, general damages suffered by California’s state economy, and civil penalties. The companies will have to pay back the illegally obtained profits to the affected parties, each company will have to engage in company-wide antitrust compliance training, and prevent future violations of antitrust law.
According to the press release, in 2011, after the Office of Attorney General Harris conducted a confidential investigation into price fixing involving CRTs, a complaint was filed against these companies for having entered into a price fixing conspiracy of critical components of television and computer screens. That conspiracy is said to have involved top-level meetings of key executive decision-makers in Asia and Europe to set prices and outputs of CRTs. It also involved worldwide meetings among lower level executives to exchange confidential information. California subsidiaries of these companies were involved in this conspiracy and took on the role of monitoring the prices of televisions and computers in California stores.
California consumers or sole proprietors that purchased at least one television or computer between 1995 and 2007 can file a claim, with a guaranteed minimum check of $25. Claims can be filed at https://www.crtclaims.com by June 30, 2016. For more information regarding the settlement, visit the California Attorney General’s website.
About Business Consumer Alliance
Business Consumer Alliance (BCA) is a non-profit company that started in 1928. The broad purpose of BCA is to promote business self-regulation. BCA's mission is achieved by assisting consumers in resolving complaints with businesses and using that complaint information, along with other relevant information such as customer reviews, to forecast business reliability. With community support, BCA can identify trustworthy and ethical businesses and warn the public to avoid unscrupulous businesses whose purpose is to defraud the marketplace. BCA also helps businesses promote themselves by providing services and tools to protect their business and reach out to their customers. BCA obtains its funding from member businesses who support the mission and purpose of the organization and who agree to abide by high standards of ethical business practices.