Guilty Ruling for Vesa

VESA and three tracking groups was found guilty of anti competitive practices They were found guilty by the Competition Tribunal.

The Vehicle Security Association of South Africa (Vesa) has expressed surprise at a ruling by the Competition Tribunal that the association has been found guilty of anti competitive practices in the vehicle tracking market.

Three other companies, Netstar, Matrix Vehicle Tracking and Tracker Network, were also found guilty. These three groups dominate more than 90% of the South African market.

According to the ruling, the four groups had contravened the Competition Act by setting such unique standards making it impossible for other companies to enter the market.

The case was brought against Vesa and the three companies by Tracetec which sought to enter the market. The company was told that standards set by Vesa's sub committee on stolen vehicle recovery prevented it from entering this market.

The three groups have since resigned from Vesa.

The Competitive Tribunal concluded that any company that wanted to offer its products in the stolen vehicle recovery market at the time needed to have the product approved by Vesa.

This was due to the fact that all top short term insurance companies that were represented by the South African Insurance Association would not approve the installation of a system that did not have Vesa approval.

Vesa was held liable because its subcommittee had allowed the three companies noted to set a standard that was so blatantly anti competitive.

Consumers have regularly complained about the domination of the three vehicle tracking groups on the market, and the lack of competition. 

Some have also expressed their strongest disapproval of installing an aftermarket alarm in their car as they claim it technically voids their car warranty. Drivers claim that it can and often does affect the car's factory electrical system and can lead to problems such as overheated ignition wires, and the failure of sensitive electronics.