Liftoff for the CMA's direct consumer enforcement powers

On 18 November 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened its first consumer enforcement investigations under the new direct enforcement regime introduced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act).

What you need to know

• The focus of these initial investigations is on online pricing and sales practices (including the use of drip pricing and presentation of mandatory fees, time-limited promotional sales, and pre-selected default options) by eight companies in the secondary ticketing, driving schools, gyms and fitness and homeware retailers sectors.
• The CMA has separately issued 100 advisory letters to businesses across the following sectors: holiday and package travel, rail, bus and coach travel, parking and airport parking, live event tickets, cinema tickets, food and drink delivery services, letter and parcel delivery, and fashion.
• Alongside its enforcement activity, the CMA published revised guidance on price transparency. 
• Under the new regime, the CMA has the power to impose penalties of up to 10% of a company's global turnover or £300,000 (whichever is greater) for breaches of consumer protection law.

What you need to do 

• The CMA’s enforcement action and advisory letters are a clear warning that businesses must scrutinise how they present prices and structure online sales, and fix anything that could mislead or unfairly steer customers. If you receive a letter (or operate in one of the CMA’s priority sectors) you should act promptly to ensure your online sales practices are compliant.
• Assess and escalate: ensure you understand the content and requirements of the CMA's letter and the relevant provisions of the DMCC Act and consumer protection law. Where appropriate, update internal stakeholders.
• Review and remediate: map customer journeys and communications, identify any non-compliant pricing or design practices, and fix customer-facing interfaces and internal processes to ensure compliance.
• Document and embed changes: document the steps you have taken (even if you consider that no changes are required). Where necessary, consider internal guidance and training so teams understand and consistently apply any revised safeguards. 

First investigations and updated guidance

On 18 November 2025, the CMA launched the first consumer enforcement actions under the DMCC Act, targeting online pricing and sales practices. The CMA has:

• opened eight investigations into companies operating in the secondary ticketing, driving schools, gyms and fitness and homeware retailer sectors; and
• issued 100 advisory letters to businesses across 14 sectors, including holidays and package travel, rail travel, parking and airport parking, bus and coach travel, live event tickets, cinema tickets, food and drink delivery services, letter and parcel delivery, and fashion.

This enforcement wave follows a cross-economy review of over 400 businesses in nearly 20 sectors since the DMCC Act came into force in April 2025. The initial focus targeted practices including drip pricing, pressure selling (including countdown timers) and default opt-ins.

Alongside its enforcement action, the CMA has published updated guidance on price transparency (CMA 209), along with guidance on getting consent for additional charges; and an updated version of its Unfair Commercial Practices guidance (CMA 207) to take into account the price transparency guidance. 

CMA's initial enforcement focus: key sectors and practices

The CMA is prioritising sectors with high consumer spending or broad consumer exposure, including travel, food delivery, secondary ticketing and postal services. These sectors often involve multi-step online journeys where unfair or prohibited pricing practices and choice architecture risks can arise.

The CMA has highlighted concerns around: 

• Drip pricing and the display of mandatory charges: the CMA has opened investigations into secondary ticketing platforms Viagogo and StubHub and the AA and BSM Driving Schools to consider whether mandatory charges are included upfront and in the total price displayed to consumers. The CMA has also opened an investigation into Gold's Gym to consider the presentation of a one-off joining fee for annual memberships. The CMA has noted that the fee is displayed part-way through the consumer sign-up process and not factored into its advertised membership cost. In addition, the CMA has issued advisory letters to businesses operating in sectors where drip pricing is prevalent (for example, event tickets, cinema tickets and gym memberships).
• Time-limited offers: the CMA is scrutinising the use of sales countdowns and time-limited promotions by the homeware retailers Wayfair and Appliances Direct, including whether sales offers ended when stated. The CMA's broader review of online sales practices also considers the use of misleading countdown timers.
• Default opt-ins: the CMA is investigating Marks Electrical and Appliances Direct over the use of default enrolment into optional charges unless consumers actively opt out or deselect the option.

The advisory letters explain the concerns identified and urge businesses to review and, where necessary, remediate in line with the DMCC Act and CMA guidance. The CMA has confirmed that it will continue to monitor the businesses concerned to check compliance.

Whilst the initial investigations focus on a subset of specific companies, the scope of the letters and the CMA's monitoring indicate that the CMA is targeting behaviours across the economy, rather than particular industries. The CMA's press release notes that over the last few months it has conducted "a major cross-economy review of more than 400 businesses in 19 different sectors" focusing on compliance with price transparency rules. 

CMA's enforcement powers and potential remedies

The DMCC Act gives the CMA direct civil enforcement powers alongside its court-enforceable powers (see our April 2025 update). The CMA's new toolkit of direct enforcement powers includes the ability to: 

• impose penalties on companies (up to the higher of 10% of global turnover or £300,000) and individuals (up to £300,000); 
• issue infringement notices, setting out alleged contraventions of consumer law; and
• impose directions requiring companies to stop infringing conduct and/or to provide compensation or redress to consumers. Failure to comply with the CMA's directions or the terms of undertakings agreed can trigger separate penalties. The CMA can also seek court orders and other orders, and may commence criminal proceedings for certain consumer law breaches.  

What does the updated CMA price transparency guidance say?

On 18 November 2025, as part of its "package of action", the CMA published updated guidance on price transparency and additional charges, and an updated version of its unfair commercial practices guidance to align with the DMCC Act. 

The CMA's price transparency guidance (CMA 209) reinforces previous guidance that the total price (including all mandatory and non avoidable charges) should be presented clearly and upfront when consumers make purchase decisions. Where a total price cannot be calculated in advance, traders must give consumers the information needed to calculate it themselves (for example, the price per kg). The guidance also explains how the rules apply to common charges, including delivery costs, per-transaction fees and periodic pricing for rolling or minimum-term contracts. It supplements the main Unfair Commercial Practices guidance (CMA 207), which has been updated to provide additional detail on invitations to purchase and remove sections relating to the prohibitions now addressed in CMA 209.

The CMA has also published specific guidance for online businesses where customers are charged for optional extras, such as insurance, express delivery, or charitable donations. The guidance states that businesses should: (i) avoid pre-ticked boxes or automatic opt-ins, (ii) clearly explain what extra payments cover and (iii) ensure customers must actively consent to add optional extras (for example, by ticking an unticked checkbox for gift wrapping or selecting add / decline options for insurance). Customers who have not expressly agreed to an optional charge are not obligated to pay the charge and are entitled to a refund if the charge has been applied.

What you should do now 

The CMA has confirmed that its advisory letters set out the concerns that it has identified about a business' use of additional fees, online sales tactics and broader online-choice architecture practices. These letters put recipients on notice that they must review, and where necessary change, their practices to ensure compliance with consumer law and the DMCC Act. The CMA has also indicated that it will continue engaging with these businesses to check that corrective steps are taken.

Businesses receiving an advisory letter (as well as businesses operating in one of the 14 targeted sectors) should take reasonable steps to assess their current practices and mitigate future enforcement risk. For the businesses affected, now is the time to ensure your governance, customer journeys and pricing practices are fully aligned with the DMCC Act and the CMA’s expectations. This should include:

• ensuring you understand the contents and requirements of a CMA advisory letter if received, alongside the relevant provisions of the DMCC Act and the guidance;
• considering the steps required to ensure compliance and ongoing monitoring;
• carrying out a compliance audit to understand your current internal processes and customer journeys / design choices to identify where compliance risks may arise; and
• implementing any necessary remedial action and preparing a response to the CMA's letter to explain the compliance and remedial steps taken.

If you would like help assessing your current practices or responding to a CMA advisory letter, or would like any other information, please contact the authors or your usual Ashurst contact.

Want to know more? 

• New era for consumer enforcement in the UK (7 April 2025), for a summary of the consumer law changes introduced by the DMCC Act.
• From five stars to fines: the risks of fake reviews in the UK (14 July 2025) for a summary of the prohibitions on fake reviews, concealed incentivised reviews and misleading review information.
• Greenwatch: How widespread is greenwashing by UK businesses? Which? Investigates (17 July 2025) for a discussion of a report published by Which? in relation to misleading green claims and best practice tips.