On 24 May 2024 Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill 2024 received royal assent and became law. The Act will bring about a plethora of changes – it runs to 340 sections – however, in this article we will briefly reflect on changes concerning consumer protection in the UK.
Of particular note is the chapter dedicated to regulating subscription contracts. You would be forgiven for thinking that this only relates to media streaming services; however, subscription contracts are much broader and can include any arrangement where the trader provides automatically recurring or continuing supply of goods, services or digital content to the consumer. The Act imposes various duties on the trader, such as the duty to provide key pre-contract information and the duty to send prior reminder notices to consumers in respect of, for example, the end of a free trial.
Further, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 aims to tackle the so-called ‘drip pricing’. This is a somewhat misleading technique in which a company advertises only a portion of a product’s price, whilst revealing other charges such as delivery or processing fees at the end of the checkout. Such practice is effectively banned as the firms will now be required to state the total price in the product listing or, if that is not possible, explain how those additional fees will be calculated.
To ensure strict compliance with various duties the Act bolsters consumer regulators by introducing new fining powers. For instance, the Act entitles the Competition and Markets Authority to inquire into businesses’ trading practices, require changes to such practices if needed and impose fines directly through administrative proceedings (that is, without recourse to the courts).
This is just one aspect of the many changes that the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is poised to bring into the retail sector. Our Dispute Resolution team regularly advises clients when it comes to their rights as consumers and we have a proven track record of securing a fair compensation for our clients. If you need advice on your rights as a consumer or if you are thinking of commencing court proceedings against a trader, please contact us for further advice.
This article is not designed to provide legal or other advice and you should refrain from taking action based on its content.
