Consumer law in the UK: the current state of play

Most of the consumer law provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) came into force on 6 April 2025.  Among other things, the legislation gave the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) a raft of tough new enforcement powers, including the power to impose fines of up to 10% of turnover for breaches of UK consumer law. This has significantly increased the risk profile for consumer-facing businesses in the UK, particularly as regards potential financial exposure – not just from fines but also from redress orders requiring consumers to be compensated for harms suffered.

UPDATE:  On 22 October 2025, shortly after this briefing was published, the CMA put out a statement confirming that it expected to launch enforcement cases under the DMCCA consumer regime "soon".  Misleading online choice architecture and drip pricing (see section 2 below) were highlighted as potential enforcement targets, although it's possible that other practices could also be in the CMA's sights.  Overall, we think the statement from the CMA is broadly in line with our "take" on the current state of play in this briefing.

Finally, it's worth noting that the DMCCA also allows fines of up to £300,000 to be imposed on certain individuals – including directors and senior managers – based on their involvement in consumer law breaches.

The DMCCA also made a number of important changes to the substance of UK consumer law. Many businesses targeting consumers are likely to need to take action in order to comply with these new rules.

The CMA has also been consulting on draft guidance setting out how prices should be presented to consumers – including delivery charges, booking or admin fees, local taxes, joining fees and other sums that may make up the total price for a product or service. It is particularly concerned about misleading "headline" prices, which don't include additional charges that most consumers will end up having to pay. Our briefing explains how the DMCCA tightens up the law in this area, in particular by making significantly easier for regulators such as the CMA to enforce. It also explains some of the key issues you may want to consider when it comes to the price-related content of promotional material.

Before the DMCCA came into force, the CMA initiated court action against the Emma Group, an e-commerce mattress seller, over some of its online sales practices. These include countdown timers which – in the CMA's view - create a misleading sense of urgency, designed to pressure the consumer into making a quick purchase (and to deter from them making comparisons with other, competing offerings).  Such allegedly manipulative practices are sometimes referred to as "dark patterns" and the CMA has previously carried out research into this area.

Although the action is being taken under the pre-DMCCA framework, any court ruling is likely to be of considerable interest to businesses selling to consumers online – and may well influence the CMA's approach to the exercise of its much stronger DMCCA powers.  Dark patterns also appear to be a key focus of the EU's proposed Digital Fairness Act – which we will be discussing in more detail in the coming months.  Lastly, the fact that the CMA has gone to court in this case highlights its willingness to take enforcement action on consumer law – and as noted in section 1 above, its DMCCA powers mean that in future, it will be able to take direct action against alleged infringements, without having to ask a court to enforce on its behalf.

UPDATE: On 22 October 2025, shortly after this briefing was published, the CMA indicated that it would also be looking to refresh its guidance on unfair contract terms.  However, although that guidance is probably overdue for review, the DMCCA did not make significant changes to the law on unfair terms (which can be found in the Consumer Rights Act 2015).  In view of that, our view is that for most businesses, it will probably be more beneficial to focus on whether you are engaging in any potentially unfair practices – particularly those falling into the categories highlighted above.

Faced with a substantial increase in the risk of non-compliance under the DMCCA, consumer-facing businesses need to consider whether they are doing enough to limit their exposure. Key questions to ask include:

• Are we in a higher risk category? (see section 3 of this briefing)

• Has the CMA - or its predecessor, the OFT – investigated our sector in the past?

• Are we sitting on any "ticking time bombs" in terms of our existing practices and processes involving consumers? Just because regulators have not seen fit to investigate in the past doesn't mean they will adopt this approach in future, now that they have much stronger powers at their disposal and a mandate from Government to use them. Remember that the CMA is actively looking for enforcement targets.

• Are our existing processes (e.g. customer sign-up) likely to remain compliant and if not, how easy would it be upgrade them to e.g. meet the new rules on subscription contracts or misleading/fake reviews? Are there any longer term projects where the specification may need to be adapted to take account of the DMCCA?

• Does our approach to pricing in sales/promotional material risk falling foul of the stricter rules in the DMCCA?

• Are relevant staff – particularly those in sales roles – aware of the risks that infringing consumer law poses to the business? Do staff need a refresher on what types of behaviour or practices are likely to be problematic?

• Do we have a plan for how we would respond if investigated by the CMA for breaches of consumer law? The DMCCA also significantly strengthens the CMA's investigatory powers and fines can be imposed for non-compliance with e.g. information requests.

In marked contrast to many of our competitors, our approach to consumer law draws on the combined expertise of two practice areas:

• our top-ranked Technology and Commercial Transactions team, which has extensive experience of advising businesses on issues such as consumer-facing terms, sales practices and promotions; and

• our highly regarded Competition team, which has extensive experience of CMA and other regulatory investigations.

We can help you ensure your business is insulated from the most punitive aspects of the new regime, whilst equipping you with strategies for anticipating and managing CMA interventions. We can also help you understand how the consumer law aspects of the DMCCA interact with its other provisions and other legislation – and how you can use the regulatory framework to gain competitive advantage. To find out more, please speak to any of the contacts listed below.