Cabcharge Australia Limited (CAB) said it was initially unaware of being served a legal notice from the Australian Competition Consumer Commission (ACCC) as it did not open the relevant envelope until three hours after the courier delivered it. The company made the statement in response to an ASX query regarding the sudden decline in Cabcharge’s share price.

Cabcharge said it was originally made aware of the legal proceedings when it was advised last Friday afternoon that the ACCC had issued an announcement on its website related to the matter.

The company maintains that had it been aware of the proceedings it would have notified the market prior to the ACCC issuing a release.

Cabcharge said it believed the decrease in the share price on Friday was a direct result of the ACCC announcing the commencement of the legal proceedings on its website.

The company said it does not believe the final outcome of the legal matter would have a material effect on the taxi fare charge facilitator.

At 1345 AEST, Cabcharge shares were down 1c to $5.15.