CMA launches first investigations under UK’s enhanced consumer protection regime

Today the CMA announced its first investigations under the enhanced consumer protection regime that came into force in April. The investigations, which are all initially focused on drip pricing and pressure selling, target eight businesses across four sectors. 

Background

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) came into force in April 2025, for the first time giving the CMA powers directly to impose hefty fines on businesses for breaches of UK consumer protection rules (as covered in our previous briefings). While the CMA appeared initially focused on publishing extensive guidance on the new rules to help businesses comply, last month the Executive Director for Consumer Protection announced that the CMA would “soon be opening enforcement cases, targeting action against the most egregious conduct where there are clear infringements of law” – fuelling speculation as to which companies and practices would be targeted.

Today’s announcement reveals that since April the CMA has been reviewing the practices of more than 400 businesses in 19 different sectors, to assess their compliance with the rules on price transparency. The outcome of that review is a two-tiered approach: (1) direct enforcement action against eight named companies; and (2) “advisory letters” sent to an additional 100 companies. 

Enforcement action targeting drip pricing and pressure selling

The CMA has stressed that the investigations, targeting companies active in secondary ticketing, driving schools, gyms and household goods, are focused on sectors with a significant impact on the cost of living for large numbers of UK consumers. 

More than half of the investigations are initially focused on drip pricing – an area which the CMA has repeatedly confirmed is a priority, and which was also the focus of an ASA ruling just last week. Although the CMA has only today published its final guidance on some of the more complex aspects of these rules (as covered in our previous blog), the CMA has stated that today’s investigations focus on practices that have long been prohibited including under the previous (pre-DMCCA) legislation. The other three investigations focus on pressure-selling tactics including potentially misleading countdown timers, which has also been a prior focus for the CMA.

The CMA is due to provide updates across all eight cases in March 2026, following the initial information and evidence gathering stage. 

100 advisory letters  

The CMA has also written to 100 companies across 14 sectors, again with a focus on sectors which impact the cost of living for a large number of consumers. The CMA has written to:

• 19 companies in the holidays sector;
• 15 companies in live events;
• 14 companies in the parking sector.

The remaining 52 letters have gone to companies active in gyms (11), retail (8), cinemas (6), luggage storage (6), homeware (4), food delivery (4), driving schools (3), rail travel (3), bus and coach (3), parcel delivery (3) and health and wellness (1).

The letters are intended to put these companies on notice to review their pricing practices and sales tactics to ensure compliance with the rules, or otherwise risk future enforcement action. 

Our consumer law team has assisted a number of companies with their compliance in relation to the UK’s new consumer protection laws.  Please get in touch with one of the authors of this post if you would like to discuss this topic in more detail.