Unfair commercial practices
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Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA)
Since 6 April 2025, unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices have been regulated under Chapter 1 of Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (known as the DMCCA).
The DMCCA revokes and replaces the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 for all unfair commercial practices that occur or continue on or after that date, though the old regulations continue to apply to unfair commercial practices that occurred before then.
Where unfair commercial practices happen after 6 April, consumers can also continue to ask for things to be put right according to what they're entitled to under the old regulations, until the new entitlements under the DMCCA come into effect.
The DMCCA largely recreates the legal effect (with minor amendments) of the old regulations. It has the same core objective of protecting consumers from unfair commercial practices.
Unfair commercial practices under the DMCCA
Unfair commercial practices include:
- Omitting material information from an invitation to purchase (ITP), which includes a ban on drip pricing.
- The 32 commercial practices that are specified in Schedule 20 of the DMCCA, which includes as paragraph 13 new banned commercial practices relating to fake and misleading consumer reviews.
- Promoting unfair commercial practises in codes of conduct.
They also include any commercial practices that are banned because they're likely to cause the average consumer to make a transactional decision they would not otherwise have made. E.g.
- Misleading actions
- Misleading omissions
- Aggressive practices
- Failing to meet professional standards.
See our section on the DMCCA for a comprehensive discussion on the commercial practices it bans.
Consequences of breaching the DMCCA
If you sell to consumers, you should review your business practices to ensure that you comply with the DMCCA's rules about unfair commercial practices.
The purpose of the DMCCA is to ensure you as a business behave fairly and with professional diligence when dealing with consumers. If you mislead them by what you do or fail to do, or by behaving aggressively towards them, you will be in breach of its rules.
Before the DMCCA came into force, only a court could decide whether a commercial practice was unfair. Now, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can do so itself and, if so, take action against you directly.
It can impose a fine of up to 10% of your global turnover or £300,000, whichever is higher.
Therefore, non-compliance can have serious consequences for your business.
The following unfair commercial practices are also criminal offences under the DMCCA:
- Misleading actions
- Misleading omissions
- Aggressive practices
- Failing to meet professional standards
- Omitting material information from an invitation to purchase
- Engaging in any of the unfair practices listed in Schedule 20 to the DMCCA, except for those in paragraph 12 (disguising paid-for promotions as editorial content), paragraph 13 (fake consumer reviews or reviews that do not reveal that they have been 'paid for'), and paragraph 30 (making a direct appeal to children).
Guidance
The CMA has published guidance to help businesses comply.