Million of customers will be entitled to a partial refund after a settlement has been agreed by seven leading LCD manufacturers.

Sharp, Samsung and five other LCD makers have agreed to pay out $553 million (£350 million) to settle claims of price fixing. They have been accused by eight states of inflating the price of TV and computer screens.

Attorney general Eric Schneiderman said “This price-fixing scheme manipulated the playing field for businesses that abide by the rules, and left consumers to pay artificially higher costs for televisions, computers and other electronics, Protecting the integrity of the marketplace is the only way to ensure the best outcome for New York’s consumers. That is why my office will aggressively police anti-competitive practices and hold accountable those who violate the law.”

The agreement terms state that the companies will pay $37 million to government and other public organisations for damages resulting from the purchase of TFT LCD panels. A remaining $501 million will be given as partial refunds to customers who bought products between January 1 1999 and December 31st 2006. No details of how much or how to get to refunds has been made public.

Kitguru says: News indicates that other countries may follow suit, targeting the leading LCD makers for damages due to price fixing.

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