Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the ‘Act’) was given royal assent in May 2024 and represents a significant overhaul of the UK’s competition and consumer protection framework going forward.

Key elements of the consumer law provisions came into force on 6 April 2025 via the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Commencement No.2) Regulations 2025. Alongside this, the Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’), which regulates consumer protection, has also now published its final guidance on unfair commercial practices.

These provisions update previous requirements and prohibitions in relation to unfair commercial practices, and introduce new prohibitions of practices such as drip pricing (where an initial headline price is set and then further charges are added later in the transaction) and fake reviews. The Act also increases the CMA’s enforcement powers.

The Act replaces and updates the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and previous consumer law guidance.

We set out the key provisions below.

Empowerment of the Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’)

For the first time, the CMA is now able to directly enforce consumer protection laws in the first instance without needing to obtain a court order. If the CMA determines that a business has violated consumer law, it can impose remedies such as offering compensation, imposing fines for both individuals and entities (if an offence is attributable to neglect of an individual, or the individual consented to such an offence), or other forms of redress for consumers. This streamlines the enforcement process, allowing for swifter action against non-compliant businesses. With this new approach penalties can be imposed by the court or by the CMA, depending on the enforcement procedure applied.

The Act further empowers the CMA to designate firms with “Strategic Market Status” for specific digital activities. Once designated, the CMA can impose conduct requirements to achieve positive outcomes for UK consumers and businesses, ensuring that dominant firms do not abuse their market position.

Implications for businesses contracting with consumers

For businesses contracting with consumers, some of the provisions of the Act are likely to have significant implications including those relating to:

• Drip pricing (in force as at 6 April 2025 under the revised list of commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair)

• Fake reviews (in force as at 6 April 2025 under the revised list of commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair)

• Subscription contracts (not yet in force but expected to be in Spring 2026)

• Alternative dispute resolution (‘ADR’) procedures, replacing the Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015. These provisions include a requirement that only accredited or exempt ADR providers can handle consumer disputes and consistency with regards to associated fees.

Businesses should also be aware of the updated list of unfair commercial practices which are prohibited at all times. The updated list can be found here which includes the provisions relating to fake reviews, updated definitions of misleading actions and omissions (which includes drip pricing) and aggressive practices, and consumer rights of redress.

Drip pricing (a new unfair commercial practice which is prohibited at all times)

The Act states that omitting material information from an invitation to purchase (e.g. an advert) is a prohibited, unfair commercial practice. The material information which should be included in all invitations to purchase has been set out in the Act, and includes information regarding the total price of the product (unless it cannot reasonable be calculated in advance).

This is to prohibit additional mandatory fees from being disclosed to consumers only at the final stages of a transaction, making prices initially shown at the invitation to purchase stage redundant (known as drip pricing).

Businesses must therefore ensure that pricing is made clear to consumers from the point at which services or goods are advertised to a consumer.

Fake reviews (a new unfair commercial practice which is prohibited at all times)

To maintain the integrity of consumer feedback, the Act bans the creation and facilitation of fake reviews by deeming this an unfair commercial practice. This prohibition requires that businesses must not publish reviews without taking reasonable steps to ensure they are genuine. The ban on fake reviews spreads to the publication of consumer reviews that conceal the fact they have been incentivised, and review information that is false or misleading.

In light of this, businesses should work towards setting up processes for carrying out consistent, reasonable and proportionate checks to establish whether published reviews are indeed genuine. If the results of such checks come back negative or raise doubt they should be removed. Businesses must also ensure that when working with brands or taking advantage of the new ‘influencer’ culture as a marketing tool, they have clear policies and guidelines on how such collaborations are to be executed.

Subscription contracts (new consumer protections - not yet in force)

The Act introduces new protections for consumers in subscription and savings schemes. Subscriptions are defined as contracts for automatically recurring supplies of goods and services including where payments become automatically payable by a customer (subject to certain exclusions). Many mobile applications now operate on subscription-based models and these rules will also apply to them.

The Act requires that consumers receive clear pre-contract information as close to the time of entering into the subscription contract as practicable in a manner that is clear and does not labour the consumer with the onerous task of taking further steps than necessary to locate such information.

Businesses must also ensure that cancellation processes are straightforward and accessible, providing consumers with a clear and simple method to terminate their subscriptions. When a contract ends, the business must refund any overpayments for goods or services not received.

Additionally, the Act has built on the concept of an initial “cooling-off period” whereby consumers are given the chance to cancel any subscription within 14 days of entering a contract (subsequent to any free trial period, where applicable). Under the new provisions of the Act, consumers will benefit from a “renewal cooling-off period” which provides a similar period of 14 days to cancel a subscription before any auto renewal provisions come into effect (starting on the day they become liable for the next renewal payment).

Businesses are also now required to provide reminder notifications six months ahead of any automatic renewals for monthly subscriptions (or within a reasonable timeframe towards the end of annual subscription terms) in order to ensure that the consumer has sufficient opportunity to consider whether or not they wish to continue with the subscription. Any such timeframes should be included within the pre-contractual information provided when the contract is entered into.

It is anticipated that subscription reforms will not come into force before Spring 2026, which will allow businesses to review their current practices and bring their subscription contracts into line with the requirements of the Act.

Looking forward

The DMCC Act 2024 represents a significant shift in UK digital market regulation and consumer protection. A further consultation will take place later this year, and further provisions will come into effect on 1 January 2026, specifically in regard to consumer savings schemes.

Businesses should proactively assess and adapt their practices to mitigate non-compliance risks, maintain consumer trust and avoid any reputational harm. Staying informed about the implementation timelines and ensuring adherence to the new regulations as they are enacted will be crucial.

We will be publishing further guidance on the new provisions as they come into force in due course.