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Australia: ACCC accuses roofers of Facebook collusion to raise prices after hailstorm

By  |  December 11, 2019

Two roof repairers have been caught red-handed trying to jack up prices for property owners whose homes were ravaged by last year’s hailstorms in Sydney.

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    Two Sydney roof repairmen tried to lift prices for home owners and insurers affected by the 2018 Sydney hailstorms They discussed their plan on a Facebook group, leaving evidence for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) it is a breach of competition law when rival businesses discuss how much to charge customers

    It was the most expensive catastrophe for Australian insurance companies in 2018, as tennis ball-sized hailstones caused more than AU$125 million (US$86.1 million) worth of damage to thousands of homes and motor vehicles.

    But one repairer, Mark Lee Burtenshaw thought it would be the “perfect opportunity” to lift prices for victims of the hailstorm.

    Mr Burtenshaw, director of ANZ Roofing, even posted his idea on two roofing industry Facebook groups last December, which left a trail of evidence for the ACCC to investigate him.

    “I think this latest storm is the perfect opportunity for the roofers of Sydney to increase pricing across the board as a standard that doesn’t decrease!” he wrote, while posting a photo of a large hailstone in his hand.

    Full Content: Australia News, ABC, Daily Mail

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