Consumer laws in the UK are undergoing a revolution and, as part of those changes, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) is becoming a hugely powerful regulator of consumer laws.  The latest rules are set out in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 ("the DMCC Act").

Ahead of these changes coming into effect, Lewis Silkin has heard directly from Jason Freeman, a Legal Director at the CMA.  

In his first article he shared his thoughts on the key changes he sees the DMCC Act making to the law on unfair commercial practices. 

Now, in this second piece, Jason goes on to explain how the DMCC Act will change the enforcement of UK consumer law. 

The key takeaways from Jason are:

  • The DMCC Act updates and replaces the court-based enforcement regime so that the court has the power to issue fines of up to 10% of global turnover for infringements of a wide range of consumer protection laws, following a successful application made by enforcers such as Trading Standards, sectoral regulators and the CMA.
  • The new Act also creates a direct enforcement regime to operate alongside the court-based regime.  This gives new powers to the CMA itself to decide whether consumer laws have been infringed, and to impose substantial monetary penalties for those infringements, of up to 10% of the trader's worldwide turnover. 
  • The CMA expects its investigations under the new Act to proceed swiftly.  Where the CMA suspects an infringement, it may send a provisional infringement notice to the trader which will trigger the right to make representations (including oral representations).  Where the CMA is satisfied there has been an infringement, it may send a final infringement notice.  In some circumstances, traders under investigation may provide undertakings to the CMA or agree to conclude the investigation by way of a settlement.
  • To get ready, businesses may find it helpful to look again at recent CMA guidance and enforcement outcomes to see what practices have caused the CMA concern.

Get DMCC Ready

With the relevant provisions expected to come into force in April 2025, now is the time to prepare for them.  To help you do this, Lewis Silkin has a Get DMCC Ready Hub which includes information on the DMCC Act, including guidance, insights, news and events. 

Get DMCC Ready: Hear directly from the CMA (Part Two)

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