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 – capable of initiating and conducting its own investigations, deciding whether a company has breached consumer laws (without involving the courts), and unilaterally issuing a financial penalty of up to 10% of annual global turnover.

The latest rules are contained in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC). At Lewis Silkin, we are on a mission to help our clients 'Get DMCC Ready'.

Jason Freeman, a Legal Director at the CMA, has shared his thoughts with Lewis Silkin on how the CMA will interpret the DMCC, how the DMCC will change the law regarding unfair commercial practices, and the enforcement of consumer law more generally. 

In the first of a short series of articles, Jason sets out the key changes he sees the Act making to the law regarding unfair commercial practices. 

The key takeaways are:

• From April the consumer must be shown the total price for a product, including all mandatory price components, as soon as any pricing information is displayed. 
• The DMCC Act removes the requirement for a court or regulator to consider the impact of any drip pricing on the consumer's transactional decision.  In practice, this will make drip pricing easier to enforce.
• There is a new banned practice regarding fake consumer reviews. This includes a positive obligation on anyone who publishes or provides access to consumer reviews or consumer review information to take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and remove banned reviews. 
• CMA's existing guidance, including that to review sites, influencers and other businesses on how to present the full picture, may be helpful in working through the new fake review rules.