OFT LETS WH SMITH AND PENGUIN OFF THE HOOK

The Office of Fair Trading have decided to not investigate further the effective monopoly deal signed between WH Smith and Penguin books for sales of travel guides at their airport and station shops. The deal, referred to the Office of Fair Trading by the British Guild of Travel Writers earlier this year as anti-competitive and limiting consumer choice, limits sales of travel guides at airports and stations to Penguin brands.

In a letter to the British Guild of Travel Writers, the OFT was non-committal on the issue of whether there had been a breach of competition rules, deciding not to press ahead purely on the grounds that the case was too small to merit their attention. Helen Cameron, in the Preliminary Investigations Dept, explained:

…substantial work would be required to commence an investigation under the Act. In order to do so, the OFT would need to divert resources from other matters which it believes have greater priority…”

“After considering your complaint against the OFT’s prioritisation principles in the round, we do not consider it appropriate to make further enquiries into this matter. This is an administrative priority decision. It does not reflect a substantive view on the merits of your complaint.”

Guild Chairman, Melissa Shales, said she was “deeply disappointed by the decision taken by the OFT. The whole point of our case is that major corporations are riding roughshod over the smaller players. For the government authorities then to turn around and say that they will not investigate the small claims because they are not big enough is a double blow. A decision in favour of the British Guild of Travel Writers could have set a precedent that may have stopped other similar deals. The enormously positive response we had to our earlier press statements show that the public is solidly behind our campaign to ensure proper consumer choice.

“We hope the public will continue to vote with their wallets and choose from the broad range of travel guides available in other bookshops which offer a proper choice, rather than serving the the monopoly interests of one publisher.”

A full copy of the letter is available on the Guild website, www.bgtw.org or from the Guild (see below).

The British Guild of Travel Writers, founded in 1960, is the UK’s premier professional association for bonafide journalists, editors, photographers, and radio and film broadcasters working in the travel field. It represents some 270 members, many of who are involved as writers, editors or photographers working on foreign travel guides with a big range of publishers, and who are likely to be adversely materially affected by the restrictions on competition introduced by this agreement.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

The British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW - www.bgtw.org)
Press and PR Co-ordinator, Sarah Monaghan: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Chairman, Melissa Shales, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it