The CMA's new direct enforcement powers
Since 6 April 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has had enhanced direct enforcement powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) granting the CMA the ability to investigate and levy large fines for breaches of consumer law without needing to bring a court claim. Using these powers, the CMA is able to impose fines of up to £300,000 or 10% of a business's annual worldwide turnover (whichever is greater).
The CMA's first investigations under the DMCCA
On 18 November 2025, the CMA announced that it had opened its first consumer protection investigations using its new powers, targeting online pricing practices, including drip pricing and pressure selling tactics. The CMA is investigating eight businesses in relation to their presentation of fees, misleading time-limited offers, and/or automatic opt-ins for optional charges.
The CMA had previously set out in an approach document that its first 12 months of enforcement action would focus on the more egregious breaches of consumer protection rules, including aggressive sales practices involving vulnerable consumers, the provision of objectively false information, and banned practices including drip pricing, fake reviews and clearly unfair terms. The CMA has stated that it will be targeting conduct representing clear infringements of the law and areas of essential household spend.
The first eight businesses now being investigated by the CMA under the DMCCA are:
| Sector/business |
What is being investigated? |
| Ticketing providers: StubHub and viagogo |
Drip pricing: mandatory additional charges that are applied late in the checkout process when consumers buy tickets on their websites. |
| Driving schools: The AA and BSM |
Drip pricing: the presentation of compulsory fees on their websites, and whether such fees are displayed in the total price the consumer sees at the beginning of the purchase process. |
| Gyms: Gold's Gym |
Drip pricing: the presentation of a one-off joining fee for its annual membership and whether it is introducing the fee part way through the sign-up process and not including it in its advertising. |
| Homeware retailers: Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical |
Time-limited sales: Wayfair and Appliances Direct are being investigated for their time-limited sales and whether these sales ended when they said they would.
Default opt-ins: Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical are being investigated for default opt-ins to purchasing additional services.
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The CMA has stated that it has not reached any conclusions about whether the law has been broken in any of these investigations to date, and is due to provide updates on all eight investigations in March 2026, following initial information and evidence gathering.
Advisory letters to businesses and new guidance
The CMA has also sent advisory letters to 100 businesses, setting out concerns over the use of additional fees and online sales strategies. The letters were sent to businesses in sectors where the CMA identified potential concerns, including holidays, driving schools, homeware retailers, rail travel, parking, bus and coach travel, luggage storage, cinemas, live event tickets, food and drink delivery, parcel delivery, gyms, fashion, and online vouchers. These sectors were identified by the CMA as collectively serving tens of millions of UK consumers every year.
The letters serve as a warning to businesses that they should review their practices to ensure they are compliant with consumer law, or face enforcement action. The CMA has issued new pricing transparency guidance and unfair commercial practices guidance to assist businesses with compliance (more here).
How does this differ from the CMA's previous enforcement approach?
Drip pricing, which is now specifically prohibited in all circumstances under the DMCCA, had also previously been an area of focus by the CMA under existing rules against misleading headline prices. There is nothing new in the CMA continuing to focus on this area. Businesses should ensure that all mandatory prices are included in all invitations to purchase.
The CMA also previously published an open letter in 2023 stating that it was actively focusing on 'online choice architecture', meaning the design of websites or apps which influence how consumers make choices when shopping online. This led to enforcement actions against - and undertakings from - homeware companies Simba Sleep, Emma Sleep, and Wowcher. Misleading online countdown timers, pre-ticked boxes for optional purchases, and misleading discount claims were all investigated. The CMA's new investigations into Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical reflect a continuation of the CMA's work in investigating these aspects of online choice architecture, with a particular focus on homeware companies and other companies that represent key areas of consumer spending.
Takeaways for businesses
- Consumer-facing businesses should review their pricing presentations and purchasing customer journeys to ensure that they are in line with the CMA's price transparency and unfair commercial practices guidance, as well as wider consumer law.
- The CMA is taking a multi-layered approach to enforcement, using letters to put businesses on notice of potential breaches of consumer law. Higher fines may be imposed on businesses who ignore advisory letters, are then later formally investigated by the CMA and found to be in breach.
- While the CMA is focusing on areas of key consumer spending, all sectors should be reviewing their practices on price transparency alongside wider consumer law requirements. Businesses should ensure that they have internal policies in place on how to respond to and internally manage any potential CMA investigation.
- The CMA has demonstrated that it is actively using its new direct enforcement powers. Consumer-facing businesses should ensure that compliance of its pricing and sales practices are a top priority.
