Consumer Portal
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Keeping pace with the evolving UK consumer law landscape is now an essential part of doing business in the UK. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) has reshaped the UK's consumer protection regime and, given the breadth of changes and heightened enforcement risk, we have created a dedicated portal for clients. This portal brings together our short informative guides on key consumer practices regulated by the DMCCA. It also includes useful insights to help businesses understand the direction of enforcement, manage risk, and maintain compliance in a changing regulatory environment. Please check in with the team for the latest updates.
Christopher Graf Partner, London D +44 20 7246 7206 M +44 7824 320864
Email
Rebecca Owen-Howes Counsel, London D +44 20 7246 7253 M +44 7733 307375
Jennifer Cass Partner, London D +44 20 7246 7552 M +44 7552 509491
Ashley French Associate, Edinburgh M +44 78 2602 0119
Tom Hanson Partner, London D +44 20 7246 7110
Richard Brown Partner, London D +44 20 7246 7587 M +44 7977 189500
Key Contacts
Greenwashing
Consumer Enforcement Powers & Provisions
Pricing Practices
Fake Reviews, Hidden Advertising & Social Media Platforms
Laura Whyatt Partner, London D +44 20 7320 6150 M +44 7824 955611
DMCCA Consumer Provisions
July, 2025
Read more
The CMA's new direct enforcement powers
April, 2025
Price Transparency
Drip Pricing
CMA Investigations
November, 2025
Publishing Fake Reviews
May, 2025
Submitting & Commissioning Fake Reviews
Fake Reviews & Hidden Advertising
Guidance for Social Media Platforms
October, 2025
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The CMA's new direct enforcement powers – mapping the road ahead
Consumer Spotlight Series
April 2025
Businesses should ready themselves for the most significant change to UK consumer law in recent years, or face the potential consequences. From 6 April 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (the CMA) will have the power to directly enforce consumer law (in the same way that it does competition law), including the power to impose fines of up to 10% of a business's global turnover.
Navigating the first phase of enforcement
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the DMCCA) reinstates and amends existing consumer law, whilst also introducing new provisions to reflect evolving consumer behaviour and modern purchasing practices. In anticipation of its new powers, the CMA has issued informal guidance on its expected approach to early enforcement. Some key takeaways are as follows: A phased approach to enforcement on drip pricing – The first phase (from 6 April) will focus on banning genuinely unexpected and untrailed charges added on at checkout, where these clearly breach the new law, as set out in the final form of the unfair commercial practices guidance expected to be published before the law enters into force. Further consultation with interested third parties will take place in summer 2025, with specific drip pricing guidance expected in autumn 2025. No enforcement action for fake reviews – The CMA recognises that the new provisions to tackle fake reviews in the DMCCA may require changes to businesses' systems and compliance programmes. As a result, in the first three months (April to June), the CMA will instead "support businesses with their compliance efforts". Enforcement priorities – Early enforcement action will target more egregious breaches, such as aggressive sales practices preying on vulnerable people, contract terms that are very obviously imbalanced and unfair, and providing consumers with false information. When deciding on penalties, the CMA will take account of the proactive steps taken by businesses to correct infringing behaviour.
Enforcement guidance: Key takeaways
The CMA published its final guidance on direct consumer enforcement on 14 March, setting out what parties can expect in terms of engagement with the CMA when they are the subject of an investigation. The guidance also provides a number of practical examples of how the CMA expects to calculate fines. The CMA has a range of information-gathering tools including powers to request written information, make test purchases, observe business conduct and enter a premises with or without a warrant. Since the draft guidance was consulted on last year, the CMA has made some changes to ease the burden on businesses, such as by extending timeframes for written representations and providing helpful illustrations of what might amount to a "reasonable excuse" for non-compliance.
The CMA's wider toolkit
The CMA intends to use its new consumer enforcement powers alongside its existing competition law toolkit to support well-functioning markets. The Government's draft Strategic Steer calls on the CMA to use its full suite of tools, including its direct consumer enforcement powers, to "grow the economy through promoting consumer trust and confidence, while deterring poor corporate practices". The new powers are being introduced against the backdrop of the CMA's "4Ps" framework – a programme for change designed to enable the CMA to keep true to the fundamentals of consumer welfare, while operating in a different way. It means that the CMA will be balancing the pace of investigations with proportionality for businesses, as well as ensuring a clear and robust process and predictability for the parties.
Because consumers deserve to know that the CMA has their back; and fair-dealing businesses deserve to know that their competitors are playing by the same rules and can't gain a competitive advantage by breaking the law."
- Sarah Cardell, CEO, Competition and Markets Authority
The CMA will also initiate an "extensive business outreach programme" to help businesses comply with the new regime.
an "approach document" setting out the CMA's enforcement priorities for the first 12 months and further detail on how it intends to take account of the "4Ps" framework; unfair commercial practices guidance (streamlining the December 2024 draft, with specific carve-outs for drip pricing where the CMA intends to reconsult); and consumer protection enforcement guidance setting out how the regime sits in the broader landscape and when the CMA will exercise its direct enforcement powers.
Expect further guidance around 6 April 2025
Conducting risk assessments to identify key areas of potential harm to consumers by testing customer journeys Establishing or updating internal consumer (and competition) compliance measures and policies Developing clear processes to provide complete and accurate information to consumers Carrying out internal compliance training for sales and consumer-facing staff Identifying priorities in the short and longer term, based on the CMA's phased approach to implementation and enforcement Putting in place any necessary IT changes, including changes to website content and practices Setting up mechanisms to regularly monitor compliance with the specific provisions of the DMCCA and measures to promptly address non-compliance Looking out for further alerts in our Consumer Spotlight Series, in order to track developments in this area, including possible additions to the list of prohibited commercial practices
What should businesses be doing to get ready?
Please contact a member of the Dentons team if you would like to discuss the changes to UK consumer law.
Christopher Graf Laura Whyatt Richard Brown Rebecca Owen-Howes Ashley French Jennifer Cass Tom Hanson
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DMCCA Consumer Provisions – Top 10 Key Points
July 2025
As we approach July, we can expect the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to start exercising its new direct enforcement consumer powers (initially, at least, in relation to fake reviews). We have compiled our top 10 key points to ensure that, as consumer-facing businesses, you are fully prepared for life under the new consumer law regime.
1. Be aware of the different types of unfair commercial practices
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the DMCCA) establishes two broad categories of unfair commercial practices: Practices that are always unfair: As a trader, you will be acting unlawfully if you engage in any of the 32 "banned practices" listed in the DMCCA (including fake reviews); where there is an omission of material information from an invitation to purchase (i.e. drip pricing); and the promotion of unfair commercial practices in a code of conduct. There is no need to show that any of these practices have affected consumers. Practices that are only unfair if they impact consumer decisions: Other commercial practices may be unlawful if they fall within the DMCCA and are likely to cause the average consumer to take a different transactional decision than they would have otherwise. Such practices include misleading acts and omissions; aggressive practices; and conduct that contravenes the requirements of professional diligence.
2. Start from the assumption that your consumer transactions are in-scope
In addition to the previous alerts discussing the headline changes, such as the introduction of new prohibitions on fake reviews and the CMA's direct enforcement powers, the DMCCA also updates the old legislation in relation to assessing the unfairness of commercial practices, including: Omission of material information from invitation to purchase (including drip pricing): Specific provision has been made in the DMCCA so that such practices will always be unfair, regardless of their impact on the consumer. Average consumer: Instead of having to show that the action or omission "materially distorts the economic behaviour" of the average consumer, the test is whether the commercial practice is likely to cause the average consumer to take a different transactional decision. Aggressive practices: It is now sufficient to show that a practice uses harassment, coercion or undue influence and is likely to impact consumer decision-making, rather than cause significant impairment of the average consumer's freedom of choice or conduct. Vulnerable persons: Introduces the concept of "situational vulnerability", which means that, for example, consumers can be vulnerable based on the circumstances they are in (e.g. a consumer recently made redundant may be vulnerable to advertisements on training opportunities).
3. Appreciate that your conduct may breach more than one prohibition
The DMCCA prohibitions are not mutually exclusive, so a particular conduct may be caught by more than one prohibition. The sanctions you may face could potentially be greater if the conduct involves more than one offence. For instance, when an influencer posts content promoting a product without disclosing that they were paid to post such content, this could breach three separate "banned practices": concealing incentivised reviews; failing to disclose paid content; and creating a false impression that a trader or representative is not acting for purposes related to the business. In addition, the same conduct may also constitute a misleading omission (which may relate to the main characteristics of the relevant product itself or omits material information from an invitation to purchase) if it is likely to affect consumer decision-making.
5. Know that the CMA is watching... but is also ready to engage with your business
The CMA has adopted a dual approach of engagement (through the CMA Growth and Investment Council) and vigilance (through active monitoring and direct enforcement). The CMA is keen to engage with businesses and is open to considering novel practices before implementing sanctions. Be mindful that the CMA is also simultaneously conducting extensive market monitoring using the most up-to-date technology to identify potential infringements at scale. The CMA's stated focus for the first 12 months is tackling "egregious harms", focusing on the more serious cases of consumer harm, such as: aggressive sales practices that prey on consumers, especially those in a vulnerable position; where information has been provided to consumers that is objectively false; and where contract terms are in place that are clearly imbalanced and unfair. In choosing which cases to pursue, the CMA will apply its Prioritisation Principles by looking at whether it is best placed, whether it can be effective and really shift behaviour to create better outcomes for consumers. This does not mean less severe infringements are being ignored. Think of it more as the calm before the storm, as the CMA builds its case portfolio and establishes enforcement priorities across multiple sectors.
The new provisions in the DMCCA apply to a wide range of transactions. You will be in-scope if you fall within the following categories: Any person acting for business purposes or acting in the name of, or on behalf of, another for business purposes, such as agents, subcontractors, representatives or other associates, charities, public bodies engaging in commercial transactions and individuals who regularly sell goods from their homes through online marketplaces. Any trade, craft or profession operated, whether or not carried on for gain or reward (including the offer of free gifts to consumers or providing services in exchange for personal data). Any acts or omissions by a trader relating to consumer products, including physical and intangible goods/services, such as immovable property (e.g. the sale or lease of land), intangible rights (e.g. cancellation or cashback), credit rights (such as debt collection and demand payments), membership rights and digital content. It is immaterial whether a commercial practice is carried on in the UK or elsewhere, provided that it is directed at consumers in the UK. The safest approach is to adopt the view of a consumer – if it looks, sounds or just feels unfair to the consumer, it most likely is in fact unenforceable.
4. Take into account the heightened protection for consumers in all areas
6. Take the CMA guidance and previous enforcement action seriously
The CMA's published guidance is not merely advisory – it reflects the CMA's enforcement priorities and interpretation of the law. The CMA has stated that the examples in the CMA's guidance on Unfair Commercial Practices, Fake Reviews and the CMA's approach to consumer protection illustrate how the law may apply in practice. The CMA has explicitly stated that it will target actions where it has previously "laid down a marker", making historical enforcement patterns crucial predictors of future priorities. Businesses should thoroughly analyse both the guidance and past CMA interventions in their sector to identify potential compliance risks, as yesterday's enforcement actions may foreshadow tomorrow's priorities. The CMA is currently conducting an initial sweep of review platforms, following the publication of its Fake Reviews Guidance in April. It is seeking out review platforms that may need to do more to ensure they are complying with consumer law, as is outlined in the guidance. For example, the CMA recently issued a statement following undertakings from two review platforms to address fake reviews and catalogue abuse (a process whereby sellers effectively hijack the reviews of well-performing products and add those reviews to an entirely separate and different product). This signals its broader intention to scrutinise review platforms more closely and ensure compliance with the strengthened laws around fake reviews, now that there is greater clarity on what constitutes non-compliance.
7. Remember the consumer can always seek to rely on the professional diligence safety net
The professional diligence prohibition acts as a safety net and a general prohibition on unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices, capturing a wide range of commercial practices, including practices not otherwise caught by the DMCCA. Professional diligence is measured against factors such as the consumer's legitimate interests and protection of these interests, as well as industry practices (assuming these are not dishonest and in bad faith), including codes of practice. Reliance on a code, however, may not be sufficient to escape the prohibition, whereas lack of a code in an unregulated sector may mean that professional diligence is not a straightforward matter because of the lack of shared understanding between operators in the sector. The CMA has previously relied on professional diligence, for example, in relation to car rental intermediaries and as a basis for undertakings committed to supplier due diligence in greenwashing cases.
8. Do not forget all the other consumer laws which still apply
The DMCCA represents a significant overhaul of consumer protection, but it does not operate in isolation. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 still contains the bulk of consumer rights and remedies available. Other laws, such as the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 will also apply to relevant transactions. As shall, potentially at least, the Ecommerce Regulations; other specific consumer legislation, in areas such as product safety and consumer credit; laws of other jurisdictions into which you actively market, in particular the EU; regulatory codes, such as those operated by the Advertising Standards Agency; and, not least of all, the common law. This layered regulatory environment means you may need to navigate multiple frameworks depending on your activities. Comprehensive compliance strategies must account for this complex legislative landscape rather than focusing exclusively on the DMCCA's new provisions. If your business operates in multiple jurisdictions, you will also need to comply with local regulations in addition to the new framework set out in the DMCCA.
9. Keep an eye on global developments
The EU is actively developing its consumer protection framework through two major initiatives: a new five-year Consumer Agenda focusing on consumer rights in the single market (currently at the public consultation stage) scheduled to be adopted in Q4 2025; and the Digital Fairness Act enhancing digital consumer protection (also dealing with Online Choice Architecture and Dark Patterns), to be published by mid-2026. The need to protect against so-called dark patterns has also been highlighted in other jurisdictions, such as: India, which has ordered all e-commerce platforms to conduct self-audits within three months to identify and eliminate dark patterns; and the US, which in recent decisions has fined businesses for using dark patterns to deceive consumers into making unwanted purchases and unauthorised charges. Actions taken by overseas regulators may indicate trends, developments and enforcement priorities in the UK.
10. Remember that this is only the start, with further changes on the horizon
The current provisions represent just the beginning of the DMCCA's implementation. New requirements for consumer savings schemes (prepayment schemes allowing consumers to make payments to traders as savings to be used to redeem goods, services or digital content) will take effect from 1 January 2026. Subscription contract and alternative dispute resolution provisions will not apply until spring 2026 at the earliest. Additionally, the Secretary of State retains authority to expand the list of "banned practices", with harmful Online Choice Architecture practices (such as defaults, sensory manipulation and information overload) which are potential candidates for future inclusion, based on past CMA enforcement action. This phased approach gives your business breathing room to adapt but requires ongoing vigilance. As additional provisions come into force over the next few years, it is never too early to implement new compliance measures – but all too easy and, as we are all aware, costly to be too late – not just in terms of the sanctions you may face from the CMA, but the potentially significant impact on all-important consumer goodwill.
Drip pricing
With its new strengthened consumer law powers effective from 6 April 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (the CMA) intends to focus its early enforcement action on more egregious practices that clearly infringe the law, including "drip pricing". With the risk of substantial fines of up to 10% of their global turnover, businesses should act now to ensure that their pricing practices comply with the CMA's latest guidance published on 4 April 2025.
What is drip pricing?
Drip pricing occurs when consumers are shown an initial price for a product or service and additional mandatory fees are introduced or "dripped" later in the checkout process. Consumers are "baited" into choosing a product because of the low base price but must pay a higher price to complete the purchase because they do not become aware of the hidden fees until later. Research undertaken by the Department for Business and Trade in 2023 suggests that drip pricing is a common strategy used by online providers in certain sectors, including amongst the entertainment, hospitality, retail, transport and communication sectors. Consumer enforcement in this area is not new. Drip pricing practices prohibited under the old consumer law were the subject of several consumer law enforcement cases, including airlines charging additional card payment fees that were not included in the headline price and car hire quotes that did not include fuel surcharges, out-of-hours pick up charges and young driver fees.
Phased approach to enforcement
Drip pricing is one of the areas where the CMA received the most substantive feedback in response to its initial consultation on unfair consumer practices. Following that process, the CMA announced a phased approach to enforcement and signalled that further consultation will take place in summer 2025 on the aspects of the drip pricing guidance that created most uncertainty, such as fixed-term periodic contracts. Specific drip pricing guidance is expected to be published in autumn 2025. As previously reported, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the DMCCA) gives the CMA the power to take direct action against drip pricing (and other unfair) practices. Despite the phased approach to drip pricing enforcement, the CMA has indicated that it may take enforcement action over the coming year in relation to the type of drip pricing practices that were already prohibited under the old consumer law. The CMA has released guidance on what this means and how businesses can comply. In the first phase (from 6 April 2025), the CMA will only take enforcement action against drip pricing which results in genuinely unexpected and untrailed charges being added on at checkout that clearly breach the new law as set out in the April 2025 guidance.
Key takeaways from the guidance
Consumers should be given the key information they need to make an informed transactional decision. The prohibition on drip pricing applies to all stages of the consumer journey, including the advertising stage. Businesses must tell consumers the total price of the product, including any fees, taxes, charges or other payments that the consumer must pay to buy the product. Businesses must disclose optional delivery/postal charges or set out that such charges may apply when the charges cannot be calculated in advance. For mandatory charges that cannot be calculated in advance, businesses must clearly set out how the charges will be calculated with equal prominence to the headline price, enabling consumers to work out these additional costs themselves.
Mandatory v. optional charges
If a consumer cannot purchase a product without the payment of a charge, then that charge is mandatory and needs to be included in the headline price. A business may wish to offer an optional service in addition to the product being sold. If a charge is genuinely optional, then it does not need to be included in the headline price. However, merely presenting a charge separately to the headline charge or describing it as a service does not make it optional. The CMA gave the following examples of lawfully provided optional charges: the option to pay for breakfast in a "room only" rate at a hotel; and the option to pay for an extended warranty when purchasing a television. As these are genuinely optional, in that consumers can decide not to pay for them whilst still purchasing the original product, they do not need to be included within the headline price.
Examples of drip pricing
In contrast, the guidance provides the following examples of prohibited drip pricing – failure to include in the headline price: a "weekend surcharge" when a consumer inputs the dates of their two-night weekend stay into a hotel's website; an "enrolment fee" to access course content, which is separate to the cost of the course; an additional "long hair" fee where the pricing list does not indicate that different lengths of hair are charged at different prices; and a "pick-up" fee to collect a car from a car hire company, which is separate to the cost of hiring a car. These charges all have to be paid in order to purchase the original product and so they are mandatory charges and must be included in the headline price.
What can businesses do to ensure compliance?
Businesses should test consumer journeys to ensure that sales processes comply with the new guidance, including: considering whether a charge is mandatory or genuinely optional; ensuring all mandatory charges are included in the headline price; if a mandatory charge cannot be calculated in advance, setting out how the charge will be calculated; and setting out optional delivery charges or stating that charges may occur (if they cannot be calculated ahead of checkout). Please contact a member of the Dentons team if you would like to discuss drip pricing or any of the other changes to UK consumer law.
Drip Pricing Alerts
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CMA consults on price transparency guidance
On 3 July 2025, the CMA published draft guidance on price transparency to help businesses comply with the new consumer law provisions under the DMCCA. This follow the CMA's statement earlier this year that it would consult separately on drip pricing and other pricing practices, as part of its enhanced consumer law powers. The CMA will be consulting on the guidance until 8 September 2025.
Actions for consumer-facing businesses
Check how draft guidance applies to products and purchasing processes. Test consumer journeys to ensure there are no surprises or hidden fees. Consider which costs and charges need to be included upfront in the total price. Explain variable costs clearly when they cannot be calculated in advance. Ensure all staff, especially in sales and marketing, are aware of the new requirements. The CMA acknowledges that requirements might differ depending on the nature of specific products and stages in purchasing processes. It highlights examples in specific sectors, such as travel, retail, entertainment and hospitality. However, businesses in all sectors should consider the implications of the draft guidance and respond to the consultation, if appropriate.
Drip pricing and partitioned pricing
Drip pricing occurs when consumers are shown a headline price which excludes mandatory charges that are introduced later in the purchasing process (e.g. not including a mandatory "pick-up fee" in the headline price for car hire). Partitioned pricing occurs when consumers are shown a breakdown of fees and charges without being shown the total price (e.g. a hotel listed as £100 a night + £20 mandatory cleaning fee. This should be listed as £120 a night – the hotel can choose to specify that the price includes a cleaning fee.)
Prices must be clear, include all mandatory fees and be "realistic, meaningful and attainable". Adding surprise fees at a later stage in the checkout process is prohibited (drip pricing). Showing a breakdown of fees and hcarges without also showing the total price is prohibited (partitioned pricing). "Per-transaction" charges e.g. one-off administration or booking fees should be included in the headline price, where reasonable calculable. Local taxes and charges (pay now/pay later) must be disclosed at checkout. For periodic pricing, either the total monthly price and commitment period, of the total cumulative price payable, must be displayed.
Key takeaways from the draft guidance
Price shown must be what most consumers will actually pay for the product or service. Prices must include all madatory fees, taxes and charges. Prices should match the product or service as described (e.g. features, size or version). "From" prices should be used appropriately. Advertised price must be genuinely available and not just a theoretical minimum.
"Realistic, meaningful and attainable" prices
Mandatory charges must be included in the headline price. If a charge is genuinely optional (e.g. the option to pay for breakfast in a "room-only rate" at a hotel, or to buy an exteded warranty), then it does not need to be included in the headline price. Examples of mandatory charges include VAT, administration fees, delivery charges (where collection is not an option), cleaning fees, local taxes, joining fees and certain fees for car rental. Taxes such as vehicle tax, TV licences and council tax do not need to be included in the total price. Headline prices should include optional charges where reasonably foreseeable that most consumers will pay them. While prices must include mandatory delivery charges, the question of whether a delivery charge is mandatory or optional will depend on the context. If delivery is the only option, the cheapest delivery option must be included in the headline price. Where products are subject to legislation that mandate inclusion of specific charges, these must also be inlcuded in the total price advertised.
CMA investigates companies for misleading sales practices
November 2025
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced a major package of action aimed at tackling potentially misleading online pricing and sales practices. This includes launching investigations into eight businesses, issuing advisory letters to 100 firms across multiple sectors, and the publication of finalised price transparency guidance to help businesses comply with consumer law. To reduce the risk of enforcement action, companies should review their pricing structures and ensure compliance with the CMA’s price transparency and unfair commercial practices guidance.
New guidance on price transparency
The CMA’s finalised guidance on price transparency, published alongside the enforcement activity, explains how businesses should present prices to consumers in accordance with the law. This guidance is relevant to all consumer-facing businesses, particularly those that use digital sales tools. Businesses operating through third-party platforms or intermediaries remain responsible for how their prices are displayed. They should therefore consult their current pricing displays, checkout processes and promotional materials to ensure they are in line with the CMA’s broader transparency strategy.
The CMA’s latest enforcement activity
Following a review of more than 400 businesses in 19 sectors to assess compliance with the rules on pricing transparency, the CMA identified potential compliance concerns in 14 areas, including drip pricing and the use of pressure selling tactics such as potentially misleading countdown timers. The CMA has opened investigations into the following eight businesses in the sectors of live events, driving schools, fitness and homeware: Check how draft guidance applies to products and purchasing processes. StubHub and viagogo – in relation to mandatory additional fees in ticket sales. AA Driving School and BSM Driving School – concerning the presentation of mandatory fees to learners. Gold’s Gym – over how one-off joining fees are presented in the sign-up process. Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical – regarding the use of misleading time-limited sales and default opt-ins for additional services. These investigations are the first enforcement cases under the CMA’s direct consumer protection powers, allowing it to determine breaches of consumer law without recourse to the courts. Where infringements are found, the CMA can order redress and impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover. We explored this in a previous update.
Advisory letters and wider compliance expectations
Alongside enforcement, the CMA has stated that it will be issuing advisory letters to 100 businesses, outlining concerns about their use of additional fees and online sales tactics. The sectors where the CMA has indicated it has identified potential concerns include: holidays (including package travel) driving schools homeware retailers rail travel parking and airport parking bus and coach travel luggage storage providers cinemas live event tickets food and drink delivery companies letter and parcel delivery gyms and fitness fashion online vouchers As opposed to a warning letter, an advisory letter only requires the recipient to acknowledge receipt. The recipient and other businesses operating in their sector should ensure that their practices are compliant with competition and consumer law.
Prices must be clear, include all mandatory fees and be “realistic, meaningful and attainable". Adding surprise fees at a later stage in the checkout process is prohibited (drip pricing). Showing a breakdown of fees and charges without also showing the total price is prohibited (partitioned pricing). “Per-transaction” charges e.g. one-off administration or booking fees should be included in the headline price, where reasonably calculable. Local taxes and charges (pay now/pay later) must be disclosed at checkout. For periodic pricing, either the total monthly price and commitment period, or the total cumulative price payable, must be displayed.
The key principles include:
Please contact a member of the Dentons team if you would like to discuss sales practices or any other aspects of UK consumer law.
Fake reviews (1) – submitting and commissioning
May 2025
Whilst the Competition and Markets Authority (the CMA) has indicated that it will not investigate businesses for fake reviews before July 2025, businesses should take steps now to make sure they hit the ground running. Failure to comply with the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the DMCCA) provisions means that a business is at risk of being fined up to 10% of global turnover.
Overview
The DMCCA introduces a number of different practices in relation to consumer reviews that are automatically deemed to be unfair and unlawful. These practices cover the entire review supply chain, namely: the submission and commissioning by traders of "banned reviews"; their publication by traders; and their procurement by traders. In the first of our "Fake Reviews" updates, we highlight what businesses need to know about submitting/commissioning "banned reviews" i.e. "fake reviews" and "concealed incentivised reviews". We will address banned practices concerning the publication and procurement of consumer reviews in a separate update.
Types of banned reviews
There are two types of banned consumer reviews: "fake reviews" and "concealed incentivised reviews". Fake Reviews – a fake review is a consumer review that purports to be, but is not, based on a genuine experience. It may: be a positive or negative review; take any number of forms e.g. text, speech or image (such as a star rating); and be seen by consumers online or in analogue materials (such as marketing letters). Concealed incentivised reviews – these are where: the person receives: a monetary payment for commissioning the review (i.e. money or commissions); or receives some other form of incentive (such as discounts or vouchers, leases or loans free of charge or on more favourable terms than those offered to the public, free products or invitations to events); this fact is not made apparent because e.g. the incentivisation is missing, obscure or hidden. It is not unlawful to post an incentivised review, provided the review is clearly labelled as such, so that consumers are aware of this. Any such review must still reflect the reviewer's genuine experience (otherwise it would be a fake review).
What are the banned practices?
As noted above, the banned practices cover the entire customer review supply chain. This update covers the banned practice of submitting or commissioning a banned review. Anyone who engages in the commercial practice of either submitting or commissioning banned reviews will be in breach of consumer law. This includes professional reviewers, journalists, content creators (such as bloggers, influencers, online streamers, celebrities, social media personalities), marketing companies, and individuals acting on behalf of traders. Submitting a banned review means supplying it with a view to publication by a trader, or by the reviewer themselves. Commissioning another person to submit or write/create banned reviews includes incentivising by any means. It is also unlawful to: offer to submit or commission banned reviews for traders, including acting as a broker (e.g. offering a search engine optimisation (SEO) service that includes the generation of fake reviews); or offer services to traders for facilitation of the submission, or commissioning, of banned reviews, e.g. a service that bypasses a platform's, or website's, banned review detection measures.
Our fake reviews enforcement strategy mirrors the new banned practice. We are looking across the fake reviews value chain and thinking about when and how to take enforcement action all across it. We are using the most up to date tech to help us to identify potential infringements at scale."
- Emma Cochrane, Acting Executive Director, Consumer Protection, Competition and Market Authority
Please contact a member of the Dentons team if you would like to discuss fake reviews or any of the other changes to UK consumer law.
Prior to the DMCCA, the CMA investigated several cases involving fake reviews. These cases led to undertakings being given, for example, by: an SEO and online marketing company to stop writing fake positive reviews for their clients and to remove the online fake reviews; two SEO marketing companies to ensure that all advertising and other marketing in online articles and blogs was clearly labelled or identified so that it was distinguishable from the opinion of a journalist or blogger; a marketing company not to post or arrange undisclosed advertising on social media and to clearly label paid-for content, after using social media personalities to promote products without disclosing that this was paid-for advertising; trusted trader schemes and care home review sites to improve their online practices, including improved review verification processes and transparency in how reviews were collected, checked and presented.
Previous CMA consumer investigations
Do: Encourage marketing staff and third parties, such as advertising or SEO agencies, to use appropriate language when collecting feedback on products/services by clearly stating there is no obligation to leave positive reviews and any form of incentivisation must be disclosed. Create and publish a clear review moderation policy, building in appropriate checks of all reviews (positive and negative) before submission/publication. Explain to site users the difference between leaving a review and making a complaint. Put in place appropriate detection measures to identify banned reviews, including using automated software to spot anomalies or other patterns. Promptly remove banned reviews. Don't: Pretend to be a customer and write reviews about your own products or services or other businesses' products/services. Commission third parties to write fake reviews. Offer incentives for positive reviews or collect reviews only from customers you know are satisfied (unless these are disclosed as testimonials). Where there is an issue, dissuade customers from leaving a review including after an initial issue has been resolved. Block reviews which the business does not like. Attempt to persuade customers to submit a complaint instead of a review, or treat a negative review intended for publication as a complaint. Conceal the fact that a review is incentivised.
Examples of banned reviews and practices
Making a video that claims to demonstrate the results of using a specific product, but in fact using a different product. Posting a positive review about a product, which does not tell readers that the reviewer received the product for free unless they click on a link labelled "learn more" in the review. Requesting a customer to give a review of a free or discounted product without explaining to that customer that they must clearly disclose the incentivisation. Asking consumers to buy items on the basis that they will be reimbursed in exchange for a five-star review. Buying reviews purporting to be written by individual consumers but which have been generated by software applications, such as bots.
Fake Reviews (2) – Publishing
In our first "Fake Reviews" Consumer Spotlight, we outlined the steps businesses should take to comply with the Competition & Markets Authority's (the CMA's) new UK consumer enforcement powers under the Digital Market Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the DMCCA) – in particular, those that apply to traders (and their service providers/agents) submitting or commissioning fake reviews for their own or a third-party website/platform. In this second "Fake Reviews" update, we highlight how traders – as well as third-party intermediaries/platforms – need to take proactive compliance steps to ensure that they do not fall foul of rules preventing publishing fake reviews, ahead of formal CMA enforcement action anticipated from July 2025.
All firms involved in "publishing" consumer reviews must take steps to comply
The CMA makes clear that "publishing" of consumer reviews and consumer review information is broadly defined, such that it covers a variety of media, such as platforms (e.g. search engines, online marketplaces and social media), specialist review sites and trader recommendation sites, as well as print forms. It is therefore the responsibility of not just the trader, but of all parties involved in the publishing of a review, including websites hosting third-party reviews of third-party products (together the publishers), to ensure compliance with publishing rules – not just the main party involved in generating the review content. For example, "publishing" could include hosting consumer review information originally generated by a third-party platform (e.g. aggregated star ratings provided by a specialist review website) but incorporated into a trader's own website via an API.
Banned review and presenting genuine consumer experiences in a misleading way
As noted in our last alert, the two types of banned reviews are fake reviews (consumer reviews that falsely claim to be based on genuine experiences) and concealed incentivised reviews (when reviewers receive an incentive in any form for writing reviews, but this incentivisation is deliberately hidden from consumers). It is, however, important to note that the rules against publishing are not just limited to taking steps to tackle these banned reviews, but also extend to ensuring even genuine reviews and related "consumer review information" (e.g. review summaries and aggregated scores/ratings) is not presented in a misleading way. Examples of such misleading practices include: Suppressing and cherry-picking reviews – e.g. limiting negative reviews through editing or removal; selectively promoting positive reviews; or interfering with negative feedback through threats or incentives. Omitting relevant information as to how/why reviews have been written – e.g. the reviewer's incentives, financial or commercial interests (e.g. an employee/shareholder/supplier relationship), or limiting negative content (e.g. through editing). "Catalogue abuse" – e.g. artificially boosting a product's overall rating by categorising it as being part of a broader product suite. However, where the two products or services are very similar, and the consumer's experience is materially the same, "merging" reviews in this way may be acceptable (e.g. for two devices where the only difference is the colour). Outdated genuine reviews – when products evolve over time, traders should assess whether such changes materially impact consumer experience. If they do, they should consider how pre-change reviews should be presented, even where newer reviews address these modifications. Artificially boosting aggregated review statistics – e.g. by failing to address the impact of fake reviews which may have impacted the overall star rating given to a product; or artificially boosting the prominence of positive feedback on a review platform in exchange for commission paid by the trader.
A number of proactive compliance steps are required – regardless of the firm's role in "publishing"
The CMA has made it clear that all publishers, in order to comply with the new rules, must: have a clear policy on preventing and removing banned reviews, or false or misleading consumer review information; conduct regular assessments, both to identify the risks of infringing material appearing in publications and to measure the effectiveness of the prevention and removal processes; and take reasonable and proportionate steps to address risks, or take corrective action, where issues are identified. These steps, designed to prevent the publication of banned and misleading reviews, apply regardless of the firm's role in publishing review content. All firms in the review supply chain must take some form of action – a failure to take any compliance steps cannot be justified by reference to a firm's indirect role in disseminating review content, or its lack of resources (as compared to, for example, large online review platforms).
Risk of enforcement action going forward
The CMA has indicated that, under the new regime, it will look across the entire consumer reviews value chain and consider enforcement action at all levels. However, the CMA will be prioritising assisting businesses with their compliance efforts, rather than formally investigating businesses for banned reviews before July 2025. With that in mind, the CMA has published various guidance materials, including short form guidance for businesses publishing reviews and consumer review information (which supplements previous compliance advice for improving Trader Recommendation Platforms). Nevertheless, this does not mean that the CMA will not take enforcement action where the law is clear in the intervening period. Indeed, the CMA has indicated that where it has previously laid down a marker (taking action under its previous, more limited consumer law powers), it will take action to ensure businesses are clear as to their obligations. Businesses should therefore take note of undertakings given in previous cases (see box above) and incorporate these measures into their own practices, where reasonable and proportionate to do so. Overall, businesses should now take action to assess and implement the compliance steps outlined above. Not only are there significant legal and administrative costs associated with a CMA investigation, the CMA now has enhanced powers to impose fines (technically, up to 10% of global turnover). Please contact a member of the Dentons team if you would like to discuss fake reviews or any of the other changes to UK consumer law.
While the CMA decides what steps are reasonable and proportionate on a case-by-case basis, it has accepted a number of undertakings from parties in previous cases (many of which have focused on online platforms), which include: Taking an enhanced approach to tackling fake reviews by committing to rigorous steps to detect and remove fake reviews. Sanctioning rogue reviewers who repeatedly post banned reviews through account suspension and review removal. Identifying businesses found to be benefitting from banned reviews and posting prominent warning alerts to consumers on business profiles. Implementing robust reporting to allow consumers to report both fake reviews and incentivised reviews.
Previous cases:
What counts as "reasonable and proportionate" compliance will vary from firm to firm
The CMA has made it clear that businesses must take "reasonable and proportionate steps" to prevent and remove banned reviews and consumer review information that is false or misleading. While this will be determined on a case-by-case basis, the CMA has indicated that it may consider the following factors in determining what is "reasonable and proportionate": the publisher's business model – e.g. whether the trader operates a search platform publishing user reviews on third-party products or their own website; the source of consumer reviews and consumer information – e.g. whether the trader is a "first-party publisher" (i.e. the trader is directly responsible for obtaining, verifying, or managing reviews and information) or a "second-party publisher" (i.e. the trader is displaying website ratings for its business given on a first-party publisher's site); the publication medium's functionality – e.g. the extent to which users have control over how the site presents review information (e.g. where the site enables users to recycle or merge reviews, the risk of catalogue abuse increases); the type of content – e.g. where publishers use reviews to disseminate information about reliability and trustworthiness of traders, it would be reasonable to take more significant steps prior to publishing such information; and the potential impact of the trader's activity on third parties – as well as any additional risks posed to consumers. Realistically, this may mean that first-party publishers will face more extensive compliance requirements than second-party publishers, although both must implement a risk-based approach to handling review content. When second-party publishers reference reviews from first-party sources, they should evaluate the first-party's policies to ensure the content meets required standards as set out in the DMCCA. In practice, how thorough that evaluation will likely need to be will depend on various factors, such as the second-party publisher's own resources and (possibly limited) access to detailed information regarding the first-party publisher's own compliance systems, and the extent to which the first-party publisher has an established track-record for combatting banned reviews.
Social media platforms, endorsements and fake reviews
October 2025
At the end of summer 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published updated guidance for social media platforms (SMPs) to help them comply with their consumer law obligations relating to incentivised endorsements and fake reviews. The updated guidance reflects the CMA's fake reviews guidance, which we reported on earlier this year here and here. To reduce the risk of future enforcement action, SMPs should at the very least implement the updated guidance, which takes the form of six key principles. Failure to do so may result in direct enforcement action, including fines (up to 10% of global turnover), directions from the CMA as to future conduct, loss of revenue and reputational damage.
The six principles for social media platforms
As an SMP, you should: Principle 1 – Educate platform users. You should publish a clear and readily accessible policy for social media users, so they are aware that hidden advertising (where a content creator has been paid, or otherwise has an incentive to endorse a product, but does not clearly identify the content as advertising) and fake reviews are not allowed on the platform. Principle 2 – Provide content creators with effective labelling tools. You should make it easy for all content creators to label their content as advertising in a way which is clear and prominent. Principle 3 – Proactively prevent hidden advertising and fake reviews on the platform. You should be able to prevent, detect and remove hidden advertising and fake reviews, and hold content creators to account. This is likely to involve the use of technology and algorithms to identify problematic content. Principle 4 – Set up a reporting mechanism. Such a mechanism must allow users and regulators to easily and effectively report suspected hidden advertising and fake reviews. Principle 5 – Facilitate legal compliance by brands. You should provide brands with your terms, policies and other information relating to incentivised endorsements and fake reviews, and encourage brands to check compliance of relevant content on the platform. Principle 6 – Enforce terms and conditions. You should take appropriate action in relation to breaches of consumer law, including removing content, putting in place effective sanctions (such as blocking content for a defined period), carrying out regular assessments and maintaining records. The CMA's updated guidance provides details about the ways in which SMPs can implement the principles in practice. The CMA is clearly expecting SMPs to take a risk-based approach and be as proactive as possible in putting in place robust measures now, which should be updated as necessary as practices and technology develop.
Suite of guidance and enforcers
The updated guidance for social media platforms forms part of a suite of guidance published by the CMA and other enforcers. As well as its more general guidance, such as on fake reviews and unfair commercial practices, the CMA has published specific guidance for each of the following: content creators; brands; businesses (whose products are being reviewed) and agencies (such as PR, marketing or search engine optimisation companies); and online review sites. Enforcement of hidden advertising under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is by the CMA and the Trading Standards Services. These regulators have wide enforcement powers against content creators, brands, SMPs and agencies. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), on the other hand, can take action only against content creators and brands under the Advertising Codes. The ASA holds brands and content creators responsible for the actions of their intermediaries, such as agencies. It has published a number of rulings against brands and content creators in relation to hidden advertising. It also monitors the advertising activities of social media influencers and maintains a public list of those who are non-compliant.
What steps should social media platforms be taking?
As an SMP, if you have not already done so: make clear your policy on hidden advertising and fake reviews; provide detailed guidance illustrating how your policy can be complied with (with examples); make sure you are aware of, and make use of, available technology to identify problematic content; communicate with content creators and brands (for example, about the use of labelling tools and remedial action required for content that has been identified as potentially problematic); regularly test and update your systems and processes including, for example, the technology and algorithms you are using and your sanctions regime; collate and act on user (and other) reports of suspected hidden advertising and fake reviews; and impose sanctions on parties who breach your policy. Please contact a member of the Dentons team if you would like to discuss hidden advertising or any other aspects of UK consumer law.
A turbocharged approach to tackling "greenwashing" in the UK and beyond
June 2025
If you are using words like "eco-friendly" or "sustainable" with no or limited evidence to support the claims, your business could be guilty of "greenwashing". A global review led by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and other competition regulators found that 40% of green claims made online could be misleading to consumers. It is now more important than ever for businesses to ensure that they are not making misleading green claims. The CMA's new broader powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the DMCCA) mean that businesses who fall foul of greenwashing could face fines of up to 10% of their global turnover and/or be subject to other corrective measures (e.g. offer of compensation to affected consumers).
A turbocharged approach to tackling green claims
Misleading environmental claims are caught by the restated and amended UK consumer protection law provisions in the DMCCA that prohibit certain misleading actions and omissions. Whilst these provisions are not new, the DMCCA significantly increases enforcement risk for businesses. The CMA has already indicated that greenwashing will be a priority area for enforcement action. Therefore, we can expect to see increased scrutiny of companies who make unsubstantiated environmental claims, present environmental data in a misleading manner or overstate their commitments to operate sustainably. The CMA's powers will also give teeth to the CMA's Green Claims Code. The CMA's Green Claims Code provides six key principles that businesses should follow when making environmental claims. Claims must: be trustful and accurate; be clear and unambiguous; not omit or hide important relevant information; be fair and meaningful; consider the full life cycle of the product or service; and be substantiated. Misleading green claims are not unique to the UK. There is increased global scrutiny of environmental claims, with implications for businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions. Regulatory scrutiny of green claims is also ramping up in the EU. The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive amends the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive to add "eco-friendly", "climate-friendly", "green" and "carbon-friendly" to the list of claims that are considered unfair in all circumstances if they are unsubstantiated. A Green Claims Directive is also being negotiated which aims to establish a verification and pre-approval system for environmental claims. This is expected to be finalised by the end of 2025. Italy has also intensified its efforts to combat misleading green claims, including in the energy, fashion and logistics sectors. Fast fashion companies have been under scrutiny from the Italian Competition Authority for their sustainability communications on environmental benefits and recyclability. An energy company also faced challenges over its environmental marketing, receiving a fine for promoting its diesel fuel as "green". In the US, green claims are also under scrutiny through a combination of regulatory initiatives and legal challenges. The US Federal Trade Commission is seeking to tackle greenwashing with its Green Guides that are designed to help businesses avoid making misleading green claims. A US airline has been the subject of a challenge over its unsubstantiated "carbon neutral" claims, while clothing brands have also been under scrutiny over potentially exaggerated climate claims.
What areas are of interest to the CMA?
Businesses in all sectors should ensure that their environmental claims are verified and substantiated. Based on historic activity, the CMA is likely to focus its efforts on tackling green claims in the following sectors: household essentials; fashion (see previous CMA guidance on making green claims in the fashion sector); transport; financial services; and energy and utilities.
Looking back to look forwards
Greenwashing claims in the UK have historically been investigated by the CMA and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Prior to the DMCCA coming into force, enforcement tools were limited and regulatory investigations were primarily focused on bringing non-compliant behaviour to an end. With its new direct enforcement powers, the CMA is expected to take a more robust approach to tackling greenwashing, which is likely to substantially increase enforcement risk for businesses from both a financial and reputational perspective. Whilst the CMA is the primary consumer enforcement body, the DMCCA regime reinforces the ongoing relevance of consumer law investigative activity undertaken by designated enforcers under the DMCCA (such as Ofgem) and the ASA. For example, CMA enforcement guidance indicates that previous infringements of consumer law or regulatory codes (e.g. an ASA adjudication), and previous warnings by the ASA, will be taken into account as aggravating factors when determining the level of culpability and calculating the appropriate level of penalties. Historically, the CMA's investigative efforts in the greenwashing space have focused on sectors like fashion, household essentials and boiler heating systems, whilst the ASA has investigated across sectors like energy and utilities, transport, financial services, food and drink, and cosmetics. Examples of previous green claims subject to investigation across the UK and EU include: using terms such as "eco", "responsible" or "sustainable" without further explanation or substantiation; claiming that a product is "environmentally friendly" without being able to evidence a lack of environmental damage over the product's full life cycle; offering "sustainable aviation" and "eco-friendly aviation" when there are no initiatives or commercially viable technologies in the industry that can adequately substantiate such absolute green claims; suggesting a product is "good for the planet" where the basis of the claim is unclear; presenting oneself as a "carbon neutral business" where the basis of the claim is unclear; implying that purchasing a product positively impacts the environment by showing images of the planet being "fixed"; and inviting consumers to "join us in creating a more sustainable future" without making it clear how the business could achieve this. Importantly, the DMCCA also empowers the CMA to provide investigative assistance to overseas regulators on infringements of overseas consumer protection laws. There are also various cooperation mechanisms to encourage regulators to work together on consumer protection. One of these mechanisms is the Consumer Protection Partnership (CPP), which brings the CPP partners, including the ASA and the CMA, together to more effectively tackle consumer protection issues.
Conduct an audit to check whether existing environmental claims can be substantiated with robust evidence – including slogans, adverts, sustainability mission statements and other consumer-facing materials. Avoid vague and unqualified environmental claims – be specific about the product attributes (e.g. packaging), timeframes and green targets relevant to the claim. Only make general/absolute claims such as "eco-friendly" if you can evidence a net positive environmental effect over the product's whole production/life cycle. Avoid self-generated "green" logos which suggest claims have been independently verified. Think carefully about how carbon offsetting strategies are presented, particularly if the business is not/cannot make other efforts to reduce emissions. Ensure strong governance processes are in place for reviewing and approving new environmental claims involving legal and marketing input. Businesses should also ensure that they stay informed of developments in this area, including any emerging regulatory divergence across jurisdictions. Further enforcement/decisions may also help clarify what proportionate efforts businesses are expected to make to verify green claims (e.g. relying on credible third-party verification services) in circumstances where a product's underlying manufacturing process and supply chain can be complicated and involve multiple third parties.
What can businesses do to avoid greenwashing?
