AGCM

PRESS RELEASE

AUTOSTRADE: ANTITRUST AUTHORITY OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLE ABUSE OF A DOMINANT POSITION IN MANAGING VIACARD PASSES

Non-reimbursement of expired cards contested: users pay for a service not rendered.

The Italian Competition Authority, at its meetings on 4 and 8 May 2007, decided to open an investigation into Autostrade S.p.A. regarding the possible abuse of its dominant position in the management of prepaid Viacard passes. In its decision, the Authority charges Autostrade with refusing to repay to consumers the residual credit on expiring or expired cards.
The investigation was launched following a notification from a consumer who was later reimbursed by Autostrade, and who forwarded the matter for the Authority's consideration. From subsequent checks carried out directly by the Antitrust Authority's offices, it nevertheless emerged that Autostrade continues to refuse to reimburse residual credit and also offers unclear information on the subject. This means that consumers who do not protest (and put their cases to the Authority) are paying for a service which has not been rendered.
In its decision, the Authority emphasizes that Autostrade S.p.A. has an exclusive concession for the management of a number of stretches of motorway which represent 64% of the national network and it therefore occupies a dominant position in the motorway market in the areas covered by its concession. Thanks to this legal monopoly, Autostrade manages the payment of tolls by way of Viacard passes, which are the only electronic toll payment method, in place of cash, which can be used by consumers who do not have a current account at a bank.
It is therefore alleged that Autostrade, by not reimbursing Viacards which are unused or only partially used during their period of validity, places an undue and arbitrary economic burden on end users, abusing its dominant position by fixing unjustifiably harsh contractual conditions and providing inadequate information - this latter in contravention of the principles enshrined in the Consumer Code, whereby contractual conditions must be expressed in a clear and comprehensible manner.
The investigation must be concluded by 31 December 2007.

Rome, 9 May 2007