Competition Authority Probes Possible Price‑Fixing by Tampere Vets
The Competition and Consumer Authority says a representative of Tampere veterinary clinic Eläinlääkäriasema Status suggested to rivals raising small‑animal emergency fees and setting a €1 million starting price in a Tampere–Pirkkala procurement.
A review by the Competition and Consumer Authority found that a representative of Eläinlääkäriasema Status contacted rivals via Instagram and WhatsApp and suggested raising small-animal emergency fees and setting the tender's starting price for Tampere and Pirteva services at one million euros.
The City of Tampere and the municipality of Pirkkala ran the procurement for the small-animal emergency service in summer 2025.
The regulator warned that even sharing planned offers or target prices between competitors can be treated as an unlawful bid cartel, and it has sent advisory letters to Status and Evidensia Eläinlääkäripalvelut asking them to review their practices. The winning bid, however, was considerably cheaper than the previous contract. Both Status and Evidensia lost the competition.
Marika Lakkala, CEO of Status, told YLE that Pirteva had recommended exploring joint bids. She said Status quickly dismissed cooperation and submitted an independent offer. Anssi Tast, CEO of Evidensia, said the company was approached in January 2025 about a joint bid, declined to participate and submitted its own proposal. Both statements were given to YLE.
The regulator previously sent advisory letters in a separate Tampere case involving alleged customer-sharing between firms, part of a wider scrutiny of local businesses' competitive practices the regulator warned window‑cleaning firms last spring.
Earlier coverage
Catch the full story over at YLE
