Eight companies are under formal investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over concerns about online pricing tactics, marking the regulator’s first major enforcement action under its strengthened consumer protection powers.
The firms — StubHub, Viagogo, AA Driving School, BSM Driving School, Gold’s Gym, Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical — are being examined as part of a wide-ranging review into how businesses display and structure online prices. The CMA is also writing to a further 100 companies to warn them about potential breaches relating to additional fees, pressure selling and misleading sales tactics.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said consumers should be able to trust that the prices they see online are genuine and complete.
“At a time when household budgets are under constant pressure and we’re all hunting for the best deal possible, it’s crucial that people can shop online with confidence, knowing that the price they see is the price they’ll pay,” she said. “Any sales must be genuine.”
The investigations follow a major review launched in April in which the CMA assessed price transparency practices at more than 400 businesses across the economy. Regulators are particularly concerned about “drip pricing”, where customers are shown a low initial price but encounter additional fees only during checkout, and about the use of countdown clocks and other pressure-based selling tactics.
The cases are the first to be opened under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, introduced last year, which gives the CMA unprecedented enforcement powers. The watchdog can now determine for itself whether consumer law has been broken — without taking cases to court — and can order firms to pay compensation or impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover.
The CMA has yet to confirm a timeline for the investigations but said further enforcement action is likely as the regulator continues its sector-wide review. The businesses named have the right to respond, and the CMA has not yet concluded whether any breaches have occurred.