Autobutler has accepted to pay a fine of DKK 7 million (€ 938.511,00)

The case has been settled by an in-court settlement.

Autobutler operates an online tender portal, where car owners can obtain offers from various workshops, if they need their car to be repaired or maintained.

In June 2023, The Danish Competition Council ruled that the agreements between Autobutler and several hundred workshops infringed the Competition Act. The Council ordered the company to cease the behavior and to refrain from similar behavior in the future.

The agreements were entered in certain periods from at least March 2016 to October 2021. The agreements concerned at least nine different services: air-conditioning service with or without cleaning, basic service, car check, brake, wheel change with or without tire storage, change of oil and visual check.

The individual workshops could choose whether they wanted to participate in the fixed price-agreement for a certain period and register with Autobutler. The agreement prevented the participating workshops from competing on price, which might have impaired the customer mobility between the participating workshops and impaired the mutual competition on customers: this may lead to higher prices and lower quality.

When determining the fine of DKK 7 million, emphasis has been on the gravity and the extent of Autobutler’s participation in the infringement. Emphasis has also been on the duration on the infringement and the company’s turnover. The fact that the company contributed to closing the case has also been taking into account.

Read the in-court settlement (in Danish)

For further information

Contact the Head of Communications at the Competition and Consumer Authority, Hanne Arentoft, at +45 41 71 50 98.