Hitachi Busted For LCD Price Fixing

Did you buy a Hitachi flat panel monitor between 2001 to 2004 from Dell Computers? It so happens that Hitachi admitted that they priced fixed their LCD flat panels. Bad them.

Apparently, Hitachi met behind closed doors in Japan, the US, and Korea to screw Dell and consumers. As punishment, they will pay a $31 million fine to the US Justice Department.

Hitachi isn't the only that was caught. LG, Chunghwa and Sharp were also found to be price fixing TFT LCD displays last year. In December 2008, LG Electronics was fined a whopping $400 million dollars, the second largest ever imposed by the Antitrust division.

So wouldn't it be fair that Dell Computers be given the funds and then let them pass a percentage of that onto its customers? Consumers are the one's that got ripped off in all of this not only in those that bought from Dell but across the entire LCD flat panel market.