Variable

UK Data Service variable record for:

Public Attitudes to Price Fixing in Britain, 2007

Variable Details

Variableq79
LabelFinally, is there anything else you would like to tell to us about the issues/ scenarios raised in this survey? [Please type in your comments in the box below. If you do not have any comments to make, please type in ‘None’]
Responses
'NONE' 1
'None' 1
'none' 1
A judge who knows all the facts should take into account any extenuating circumstances 1
A pragmatic approach should be taken to price fixing with only cases of serious abuse punished. There are more pressing issues in society than this. 1
All price fixing is to the ultimate detriment of consumers - even when there is good intentions. 1
Although I believe price fixing stifles competition I can see scenarios that I struggle to condemn. E.g. factories who genuinely need to charge a certain price in order to stay afloat could perhaps openly declare that we, x, y & z have agreed a common p 1
Any form of price fixing is against the principles of free trade and when it is allowed prices always increase hurting the consumer and effecting the independent small businesses as big business always seem to win out 1
Any type of price fixing costs all of us money in the long run. 1
As a supporter of fair Trade I can see that there are cases for prices to be somewhat higher from the suppliers who are in third world areas, where they cannot compete with large multinationals on price alone. 1
As before, I don't really think price fixing is wrong. In a free economy it happens. It happens on different levels to how you have described as well; eg it's known that coca cola forced the big retailers to agree not to sell their product below a certa 1
As we are supposed to live in a free and democratic country market forces are the only way pricing should be made 1
Banks need to be addressed for this practice - they are making far too much money with no alternative. 1
Business controls government and thus it is very unlikely that any real meaningful action will be taken. 1
Can we pay a fair price for every product we buy? 1
Comment about scenario with factory in a poor region: the jobs may be protected by increasing the price of the goods, but this will not help the region if the goods are sold within that very region. I still think it is not right - if the practice is frown 1
Companies are allowed to make a profit, but people who are more well of than others are buying stocks and shares in companies, and recieve a dividend of the profits. It is these fat cats who are increasing the prices as well, therefore, depoeding on the c 1
Competition is the only way to a fair market for consumers. 1
Consumers should be protected as much as possible 1
DK 6
Does it not depend how far the government department concerned is prepared to go given their political commitment? 1
Each case should be judged on its own merits. Agreeing prices is not always wrong unless accompanied by individual greed or extortion. A corporation cannot be guilty of this but individuals or groups of individuals within a company may encourage that cult 1
Fair competition all round including prices keeps everyone on their toes, both customers and businesses. 1
Fining a company for price fixing or in any other scenario is totally pointless, as they will just raise their prices to recover the costs of the fine from the customers. It would be far better to punish the company via some form of social activity, or th 1
Freedom of choice and the ability to shop around is an integral consumer right so price fixing should not be allowed under any circumstances. 1
Government must be more transparent in what goods they keep at higher prices to get higher taxes. 1
How do we condone the buying of commodities and sellin g at the highest price yet condem ticket touts for doing the same 1
How do you distinguish between conscious price fixing and something that might appear as price fixing but wasn't actually planned, eg in your two shops in a village example? 1
I am not totally against price fixing and would accept it if the products where of better quality! 1
I believe that businesses should be free to set their own prices, bearing in mind their varying costs. I do not believe that they should dictate to suppliers how much they will pay for supplies eg. large supermarket chains only paying poor prices to farm 1
I believe that there is much illegal practice in big business which affects all of us adversely. Price fixing is just the tip of an iceberg. 1
I don't agree with price fixing of any sort, Ibelieve in competition. If some companies can't compete, others will prosper (as long as survivors don't become a monopoly) 1
I don't really understand it but from what I gather it is better to not have fixed pricing so supermarket chains etc can sell similar unnamed products for less 1
I dont think this is as clear cut as it appears in the first instance. I think there are occasions that prices could/should be fixed although i think these should only be done by an independant body, or a panel of ordinary people after a request has bee 1
I feel fixed pricing is wrong if it it purely to make more profit and would have no hesitation in reporting anyone I knew was involved in same 1
I feel ill-informed to make these judgements - not an area I've thought about much before! 1
I feel that the paramount reason for price fixing is to make larger profits for the companies involved. 1
I feel that this is too much of a grey area to be more definitive with my responses. Price fixing may be okay if the price is fixed reasonably and each business would have an equal chance of getting customers. If the price was ridiculously high just to 1
I feel there is a lot of this kind of thing going on and there should be tougher laws to put a stop to it 1
I feel there should have been more choices for some of the questions. 1
I found it hard to answer some questions because in some cases I have some sympathy with the actions taken but in principle I do not agree with price fixing. I am sure that most of the time it is used as a means to make more profit. 1
I have said 'no' to each scenario in the last question as I think we have too many laws already most of which are not properly implimented and we do not need any more! 1
I have stated further back what I think. It is wrong to price fix, the companies know it's wrong, politicians know it's wrong, but in some cases they are all complicit in the practice when it suits their agenda. 1
I have taken price fixing to mean that it would be fairer for the general public, not that it would make more profits for the shareholders. 1
I like to shop around on the internet, if every company charged the same price how would you know it was a fair price 1
I live in a large village which is really a dormitory for a nearby city. Recently a large supermarket was opened in the village by a very large chain. This has caused the closure of a small grocer and a butchers shop and a bread shop is tottering. 1
I object to price fixing because I believe that competition in the Market Place is good for both Seller & Buyer 1
I still think your questions are very poorly set for the answers to be worth having, no matter how good you claim whatever binary computer you use is. You release meaningless data which the 'chattering classes' discuss, making their lives even less meanin 1
I think that price fixing goes on regardless of the law. it is policing the law that is difficult. 1
I thought price fixing already was illegal un the UK? 1
I thought price fixing was already illegal... 1
I thought that under current competition law price fixing ws illegal and that the commission has only scratched the surface in its investigations. Companies like supermarkets do not necaessarily meet to fix rices but it is very easyto compare their pr 1
I would like all involved in business to be honest as the business persons involved would not like if it happened to them when they were spending for themselves 1
I would not work for a firm I knew was breaking the law. I would look elsewhere for work. 1
I'm not sure I understood the questions properly, I'm not sure price fixing is wrong if it states a fair price and cuts out oll the bach biting, and increased advertising, telling us all how marvellous they are, I think the political parties should be pri 1
Ideally price fixing should only be illegal where the service is essential and the consumer cannot use an alternative. In all other areas market forces should create a gap in the market for a competitor to begin to operate. 1
If companies and prices are regulated and a fixed proce must be charged for a fix service e.g. taxis, then this is acceptable and of benefit 1
If lawa are made everyone must stay within them or question the law legally. Price fixing is unfair because each business has different costs and varying development plans. Every business should be able to calculate their charges to cover what is necess 1
If we had more open competition in this country and less of the bully boy tactics from the large firms, we in this country might not be known as rip off Britain. 1
If, perhaps, there was a way of ensuring or enforcing more, or indeed full transparency -would this not help business in general by developing consumer trust and thus assist in driving business forward. 1
In a truly free economy the market will eventually 'punish' price fixing without the need for additional goverment interference. 1
In many cases people may well 'think' that there has been price fixing, when in fact a business may have no choice other than to supposedly 'price fix', in order that they can cover the overheads and make a living. 1
In the case of the factories in the poor region the law SHOULD still apply. However, as a primary employer government aid should also be available to support them, and remove the need for the practise. 1
Interesting and challenging - made moreso by not being able to preview or review questions & answers 1
It is also wrong for the likes of Stagecoach to run free buses in an area to put the local bus company out of business. That happened where I live 1
It is clear to me that there is a certain amount of price fixing going on between the big supermarket chains and I strongly disapprove. 1
It is common practice but difficult to prove. 1
It made me realise that although I disapprove of price-fixing in principle because the motivation is increasing profits at the customers' expense, there are a lot of grey areas where it could be beneficial to customers or citizens. 1
It was difficult to answer the question where the jobs would be lost in a poor region. The law should be the same for everyone. They could penalise differently like in means testing or fines and a warning. 1
It would be good if services like dentists had fixed prices, so that you could pick a dentist on how good they were and not how expensive the treatment would cost. 1
It's all about, for me anyway, the products and services that are being fixed. It simply isn't as black and white as some of the options you have given me today which is why I have answered DK for a few of them. 1
It's just unfair. The consumer 'assumes' they are getting a good deal but in fact the market has been rigged to suit the businesses in question. The consumer would be unable to get a true and fair price whether that was more or less expensive. It's (un)co 1
It's not fair for large companies to price fix because it's driving up prices and taking money from the public and giving itto allready rich corporations 1
It's pointless to ask people to make moral judgements witin the context of capitalism. Capitalism cannot be moralised. But it can be overthrown. 1
Its not enough to say that a consumer can choose to shop elsewhere. In many areas there is no competition or alternative. Anything other than competitive markets are inefficient and wasteful. 1
Just to say that in price fixing scenarios that protect vulnerable people in poor countries or villages here, price fixing only slows the suffering or decline of those areas, not deal with them. 1
Just using my eyes and ears I would say that price fixing amongst large British retailers is rife and many of the scenarios in the survey will not be too far from real life in Britain at least. 1
Local authorities and Government departments appear to be exempt from current regulations. Newcastle City Council fixes parking charges with the local NCP cap parks to prevent price competion. No action is taken even though it is clearly known. If it were 1
Most members of the public are not aware if price fixing goes on. However, it makes sense to 'shop around' for a commodity because price savings can be substantial. 1
NONE 91
NOne 1
No company or person is above the law,we should all abide by it. If the law is broken the guilty parties should be punished. If everyone played fairly,I am sure we would be living in a better world today. 1
None 338
None sorrry 1
None-apart from the comments I made earlier in another box. 1
None. 3
Not fixing prices helps to create competition, which is healthy for business and the economy overall. Fixing prices should only be allowed when it can benefit the community and the economy as a whole. 1
Not much point in asking about interantional companies, eg drug companies, who are some of theworst offenders. Pity the questions didn;t also cover price-fixing by professionals such as consultants and private hospitals. 1
PLEASE REFER TO THE PHONE TARIFFS JUST CONSIDERED BY OFCOM 1
PRICE FIXING IS RIFE IN THE UK. HENCE THE NAME RIP OFF BRITAIN IF IT MOVES TAX IT..IF IT LOOKS GOOD DOUBLE THE PRICE..BUY IT FOR PEANUTS SELL IT FOR A FORTUNE..GOOD OLD BRITAIN I THINK NOT !! 1
PRICE FIXING SHOULD BE A CRIMINAL LAW WITH HEAVY FINES AND IMPRISONMENT 1
People not worthy of attending a real university and undertaking a real university course should be prevented from doing so, by market forces if need be. 1
Price Fixing is Fraud and should be treated as such. 1
Price Fixing used to be known as the RRP usually set by manufacturers for their products. This insured that small retailers could not be undercut by larger retailers. I think this worked quite well and was policed by the maunufacturer - BUT times have cha 1
Price fixing by larger companies can put many smaller businesses out of business as they cannot compete with the low prices or the later reductions offered against the higher prices 1
Price fixing can have both good and bad implications - as long as price fixing is done in conjunction with a free market i.e. one competitor can drop their prices if they believe they can be a sustainable company. 1
Price fixing can never be justified as it is usually the items bought by the poorer in society that are 'fixed' 1
Price fixing implies collusion. Adjusting prices by reference to competitors is not of itself price fixing. For commodities where brand differentiation has little meaning, one expects the market to behave in general as if price fixing or price tracking 1
Price fixing in any form, by companies, governments, or other bodies is wron and prejudicial to the end consumer. Free enterprise works but 'not at any price' 1
Price fixing is a crime and should be treated as such. 1
Price fixing is all too prevalent on the high street. As an example - Large electrical/electronic retailers are prime culprits (ALL their prices are identical) and the Government/Trading Standards do nothing about it. 1
Price fixing is evident on a lot of childrens products, for example prams, I find this appalling and believe it is unfair on those with a low income 1
Price fixing is fraud and should be treated as such. If this puts a firm out of business then so be it. If the business could not survive without price fixing, they should stay out of the marketplace - the business is non-viable. 1
Price fixing is now a common practice, we have 3 local electrical shops within a local shopping park and the prices are never more than 1p different. Shopping around is becoming a thing of the past 1
Price fixing is unfaire . We need a free market. 1
Price fixing is wrong and in most circumstances free choice is the best option. 1
Price fixing is wrong in ALL circumstances. 1
Price fixing makes the public trust companies less, and they are more likely to lose faith in companies whose main aim is to make as much profit as possible without care or consideration for the cunsumers 1
Price fixing should also be looked at in relation to the government. i.e. their contracts 1
Price fixing should be completely illegal and companys guilty of this should have its management held to book and have them held responsible and dealt with by the highest court in the land 1
Price fixing should be made a criminal offence by statute 1
Price fixing should not be a practice of decent businesses 1
Price fixing to increase firms' profits is not a good thing, but I'm not sure that it should be illegal unless the customer or supplier materially suffers (e.g. can't afford food or drugs) 1
Price fixing unfortunately will always be practised whether legal or otherwise....its big big business and is sometimes hidden by other factors by those at the top 1
Price fixinng is wrong no exceptions 1
Prices in this country do not reflect the production costs - e.g most our goods are produced abroad as it is supposedly cheaper yet goods in this country are the most expensive in Europe 1
Punishments should out way gains 1
Rail fares are to high. 1
Re;Taxi fares;-these are generally set by the local council in their area of operations.It is an advantage for the customer to know in advance how much they will have to pay.University tuition fees should also be at a fixed level,otherwise they could be s 1
Regulation alone will not prevent price fixing, the onus has to be on the workers in a particular industry to stand up and be counted. 1
Retail Price Maintenance should also be made illegal across the board with no exceptions as there are now on products like newspapers and medicines 1
Should also apply to Public sector services 1
Some of my answers seem to confound earlier ones. I found it difficult to stick to my principles where, perhaps jobs were at stake. I felt rather guilty then althoug, from the little I know, prce-fixing is wrong. 1
Some prices should be capped. eg footbal tickets, some medicines 1
Some were hard choices to make. 1
Sometimes with taxi/cab firms it is nice to know you have a fixed rate across the board but with supermarkets it should not be allowed. 1
The bigger the business the greater the punishment as they are fixing prices to increase profit not as a way of trying to ensure survival. 1
The business I work for thrives best when having to compete on value for money. Price fixing by competitors in other countries hurts both customers and our own ability to compete 1
The issue clearly operates in other areas where suppliers have their prices fixed by retailers or have other conditions placed on contracts awarded. 1
The question about use of employers' internet and phone lines for personal purposes is a tricky one and the practice is often allowed provided that the employee does not abuse the privilege. There's a matter of degree that's not allowed for in your survey 1
The questions asked are loaded. In several cases although I have answered against price fixing I would need to be looked at rather more carefully 1
The various bodies that are set up to monitor and regulate these practices are weak when it comes to tackling them. The companies make fools of them with their promises and excuses 1
The whole Pharmaceutical and food industries, should be investigated for price fixing and knowingly, seriously damaging people's health 1
There is a fine line between agreed price fixing and firms taking note of competititors prices and acting upon them unofficially. Some of these laws may be hard to enforce in a free society. 1
There is already too much regulation in the EU and far too much red tape for small businesses to cope with in the UK. However price fixing is unfair. 1
There may be occasions when fixing prices is in everyone's interest- In those situations submissions for approval should be made to a tribunal established for that purpose. The decion of the Tribunal and the exact details of the Object, Price and Rational 1
These questions should not be judged on how right or wrong these practices are; that's an abstract notion. They should be judged on a practical assessment of the consequenses of different policies in different circumstances. 1
This did make me think, and proved how little thought I have given to the subject. 1
This is obviously about competetion law and price fixing. I think the laws are not framed particularly well at present and particularly the uncertainty surrounding what is a dominant position. 1
This survey has helped make me have a better understanding on the impact on people who could be subject to these illegal price fixings. I would say now that it should be illegal for some businesses but not all. As mentioned previously 1
This survey has made me reassess. I always thought price fixing was wrong, but now I see that there are consequences to punishing companies or allowing smaller businesses to find market price, when they are unable to sustain it. For example, when a larg 1
We as a nation are too much for the money at any cost and hang the rest no matter who it hurts.There doesn't leave much for competition to thrive or quality 1
We don't always have a choice of supplier when buying necessities as we live in remote area. This inevitably means we are subject to fixed prices for most of our supplies. Long live competition! 1
We may have had a benefit of lower petrol prices by price fixing but taxation makes prices of most goods much higher than they would otherwise be. This would be okay of the taxation money is used to benefit the people, ie.,better education, hospitals etc 1
We need competition to keep prices down, big business like Mobile phone companies and energy suppliers are getting away with murder, we the pensioners are being stuffed by the government and big companies. 1
Why do these thing have to be so cut and dry? If companies are price fixing and its perceived to be detrimental to whosoever then ban them for X months/years. All too often these sorts of sweeping changes are called into being in a world thats changing so 1
Why the prupose of this questioning. Price fixing quite rightly is illegal. 1
Yes, some of these scenarios also reflect upon the legitimacy of offering 'incentives' or 'bribes' to gain business (eg. recent BAe/Saudi dealing) and I think that the Government was emphatically wrong to sanction this by halting inquiries into it. 1
You cannot have one law for one section of the community and another law on the same thing for another. The law has to be applied evenly to everyone no matter who they are or what they sell. Laws are not made to be broken, even if the media keep telling 1
You did not mention petrol companies. 1
You have raised a lot of ethical issues and have not given suggested responses that cover all the options. These is usually of a 'yes but, if such and such..' part of the argument, that is difficult to put forward under 'other'. 1
You have to take the long term view and some undesirable short term consequences may have to be faced 1
`none` 1
companies just want to make a profit, but the public have to pay for their services no matter what, this is definitely illegal, companies can and should reduce prices. 1
competition is necessary in order to keep prices in check. 1
dk 5
dn 1
don't have any opions on the subject 1
fixed prices can be useful when negotiating with a builder for a quote 1
fuel cartels sghould be heavily fined and their Directors fired and banned from holding any similar position in the future 1
i am caught between the situation that price fixing is illegal and not to my benefit yet there are situations where the vulnerable may lose out unless they are protected 1
i believe in fair trade for all 1
i do think that price fixing should be classed as unlawful 1
i don't think price fixing should happen but it does and there is little any individual can do about it 1
i dont believe in fixed pricing, it makes buying the simple things rather dear for people like me on a very low income 1
i feel that anyone trying to make money by cheating customers are wrong, there should be a profit limit on goods which determind the rrp. 1
i have not been aware of this issue 1
i once worked for a company which was guilty of price fixing 1
if businesses, particularly retailers don;t have freedom, we will end up with less shops. 1
if companies used the profit for research there would have to be something to prove they were doing so. 1
if these practices are illegal no one should be above the law 1
in the scenario of the factory, the government should be doing more to help the companies provide their service in a cost effective manner that will not require price fixing. Price fixing is always wrong even when it benefits some customers as it will be 1
interesting scenarios 1
intersting moral dilemmas 1
it is largely a matter of principle, we should not have a mulit tier system where certain people/ business are able to find loop holes in the way thing are dealt with. All situations should be equal and equally dealt with no matter who they are. We trust 1
it is morally wrong for companies to rip off customers in this way, what about integrity? 1
it wa fully expined 1
it's a global economy and about survival of the fittest, not about surviving because your local customers have no other option because this encourages local bad practice, which will probably always exist anyway. Competition is healthier than price fixing. 1
its a common things and it makes me angry. Things are dear enuogh in this country as it is. 1
its an issue i've never considered thanks for making me think about it 1
n/a 1
nONE 2
na 1
nne 2
no 10
no it raised some good issues 1
no one is interested in the issuue as everything is powered by money talks 1
none 553
none further 1
none good survey 1
price 'rigging' or fixing to my mind creates unfair and uneven playing fields for the consumer and the employees of those companies. Where price rigging harms people is that it sets unfair and artificial competetivness amonst companies (nationally & inte 1
price fixing hurts the ordinary person 1
price fixing is an obnoxious practice and in the long term does nobody any favours 1
price fixing is just one small part of asociety obsessed by money at any cost 1
price fixing is wrong 1
price fixing is wrong if it is detrimental to the public 1
price fixing should be stopped and free trade encouraged 1
price fixing should not happen no matter what. 1
price fixing takes away choice and will cause shops to shut down. why have all shops selling at one price, if thats the case you only need one shop. 1
price fixing to the fact that the price is right and fair 1
re Minicab scenario- fixed prices for cabs can be positive as the client knows how much the charge is whichever taxi company they use especially from Taxi ranks 1
same law should apply to airlines 1
small traders suffer from the buying power of the big companies 1
some of the questions are too limited, for example the three companies price fixing to save jobs - if true - is a more difficult moral decision, especially as if two companies fail the third can charge whatever they want so the effect is the same as pric 1
some of the scenarios were not just as easy as agree or disagree. Perhaps a box to explain the reason for the answer given e.g. extenuating circumstances? 1
the only way to stamp out overpricing is to ensure that price fixing is not allowed 1
there is a difference between actively price fixing and competitors selling at the same price because that is the level that the market will support. Price fixing is wrong when it falsely inflates prices, but that doesn't mean that is 4 competing busines 1
this pratise goes on all the time, just take a look at petrol prices, 1
very interesting 1
very tough area - probably sum up by agreeing to price fixing, as long as it wasn't by too much - should be a limit. 1
we english people want taxes on all our wage when we get them so that when we retire we get more in our pension and we should be able to get them all at 65 not in bits and pieces it is our money after all we worked for it for + amount of years or do away 1
why did you not use energy companies in this survey 1
with fixed prices you lose the fun of shopping around. I like to find bargains and would miss the hunt. 1
yes price fixings.is only good for bussiness that all 1
you cannot have one rule for one and not for another, if something is illeagal then thats that 1
you pay more to see good football ie a team about to be relegated like Charlton is not worth the same amount of money as watching Manchester UTD or Chelsea play 1
you seem to be afraid to use the word 'corruption' in many of these a and b questions! why? 1
DisclaimerPlease note that these frequencies are not weighted.
LocationPublic Attitudes to Price Fixing in Britain, 2007