Fender, Yamaha, Korg, Roland and Casio face class-action lawsuit for price fixing
UK competition watchdog CMA defines price fixing as when “a supplier requires a retailer not to sell below a certain price” with the goal of keeping prices “artificially high”.
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Instrument manufacturers Fender, Yamaha, Korg, Roland and Casio are facing a class-action lawsuit after they were found to have engaged in price fixing by a UK anti-trust regulator.
The move comes after 2019 and 2020 rulings by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), who defines price fixing, or Resale Price Maintenance (RPM), as when “a supplier requires a retailer not to sell below a certain price,” with the goal of “keep[ing] prices artificially high, so consumers are then robbed of a fair deal.”
According to Guitar World, the claims have been launched by legal firm Pogust Goodhead and consumer rights campaigner Elisabetta Sciallis, with the goal of securing compensation for customers who bought instruments from those manufacturers during specific timeframes
Any UK customer who purchased instruments or accessories from the following companies between the dates below is automatically enrolled in the relevant class action claim. They are:
- Fender: 2013-2019
- Yamaha: 2013-2018
- Roland: 2011-2019
- Korg: 2015-2019
- Casio: 2015-2019
During the dates affected, Yamaha’s brands included Line 6 and Ampeg, while Roland has ownership of Boss, and Korg owns Vox and Takamine.
A similar class action lawsuit was previously launched against Fender back in 2022 following a 2020 ruling from the CMA stating that the brand had engaged in price fixing. The guitar giant was ordered to pay a fine of £4.5 million.
In 2020, the CMA also ruled that Roland, Korg and Yamaha had engaged in price fixing in the UK market, and issued fines of over £4 million to Roland and £1.5 million to Korg. Yamaha was granted immunity from these fines, but not the class action, after cooperating with the investigation. Casio was fined £3.7 million in 2019.
