A pat on back for watchdog that really put the bite on

AT first glance, it looks as though the OFT has thrown the book at the construction industry.

But dig a bit deeper in the ruling and there is the sense of the watchdog being aware of the enormity of the price-fixing scams it had uncovered and realising that if it really decided to play nasty, the future of many building firms, not to mention several vital public projects, would be thrown into jeopardy.

So while the headline figure is £129.5 million, it covers 103 companies. And the penalty is not as high as it could have been - the OFT says that 83 builders received reductions because they had already admitted they were in the wrong.

The watchdog was also mindful that levying the severest possible fines in the depths of a recession that has hit the trade hard could put constructors out of business. Plus, the OFT also makes clear, it believes the practices were industrywide and the firms before it were not the only ones to have engaged in them.

What is shocking is not so much that the builders were caught - the OFT investigation does much to confirm the suspicions of anyone who has had any work done on their home - but that they thought they could get away with it. The fact is, of course, that they did, for a long time.

For acting so determinedly and diligently, the OFT deserves praise. Surely, the industry cannot ignore this message that it must improve its standards.