Autostrade, tolls never reduced: the TAR confirms the 5 million fine to ASPI

The Tar of Lazio legitimized the 5 million euro fine imposed byAntitrust to Autostrade per l’Italia In March 2021. The accusation is of incorrect commercial practice « for not having adapted or reduced the toll in the sections in which there are critical and persistent conditions of usability of the motorway service with long tails and high travel times, caused by the serious deficiencies by the company in the management and maintenance of infrastructures that have requested extraordinary interventions for safety « . The story began for episodes dating back to the collapse of the Morandi bridgein Genoa on 14 August 2018, to the accident on Acqualonga viaduct of 28 July 2013 and the detachment of a part of the vault of the Bertè Gallery December 30, 2019.

The origins of the story

As a consequence of the construction site of a large part of works on the motorway routes, as well as the seizure of different protective barriers of different viaducts by the judicial authority, significant inconvenience to circulation were recorded, as well as relevant increases in the average travel times. Thus came to the provision with which the Authority contested the failure to predisposition of suitable measures to compensate the inconvenience suffered by consumers and, in general, the omitted correct information about the methods for obtaining reimbursements. The TAR ruling rejected the appeal of Autostrade per l’Italia, with which, in addition to the sanctioning measure, the further penalty of 10 thousand euros was also contested for non -compliance with the original decision.

The motivations of the go -ahead of the TAR

The TAR, after having preliminarily rejected the censorship of rejection of the company’s commitments (« as is known, the evaluation by the authority of the commitments presented by the professional under procedure is widely discretionary »), then examined the individual reasons for appeal. First of all, the judges clarified how « the contested one is undoubtedly an incorrect commercial practice: in fact, both the elements set up of it are existedthat is, the professional’s negligence and the suitability to distort the behavior of the average consumer to a significant extent « . As for negligence, « this assertion is the result of the examination of the data collected during the investigation: these, prudently assessed by the AGCM, highlight how the inconvenience suffered by consumers are the result of the lack of maintenance works on parts of the motorways under concession ».
Finally, it should be noted that today Autostrade per l’Italia provides, in the event of a delay for work construction sites on the management network, the tariff reimbursement starting from 10 minutes late (which can reach up to 100% of the toll for all vehicles of vehicles).

Missed compensatory measures of the discomfort

Also ascertained the increases in travel times, « it should be observed that the extremes for qualifying aggressive and deceptive commercial conduct »; Also because « the failure to prepare suitable compensatory measures of the discomfort immediately – that is the provision of similar possibilities in a very unconcending way with the actual damage caused – has translated into the limitation of consumer freedom ». Last point, that referred to the quantification of the sanction. The TAR considered that the authority « appears to have made correct government of the significant regulatory parameters ».