The Office of Fair Trading have charged million pound fines to a number of construction firms for secretly fixing bids for contracts building contracts.
As report here on Bracknell Blog we have been very concerned with the high cost of works and service charges to residents in flats.
This involved cover pricing where the companies secretly work together to raise prices. One of the companies will table an artificially high bid for work so the other company can then offer a lower bid price. This lower bid will look more favourable but it will be much more than the actual cost and therefore the bid will not be a correctly costed.
In 2004, Apollo Group, (one of the companies fined), won the contract for window replacements and other improvements at Mount Pleasant in Bracknell. The contract was for a total price of £606,000 and was with the Southern Housing Association who manage the flats in Mount Pleasant.
Apollo claims that these allegations are wholly unfounded and has appointed a team of lawyers to investigate the claims.
OFT Report can be found here
http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2009/114-09
http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2009/114-09
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