Consumer Protection

Recent Articles

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  08/07/2025

  EU, UK

  Ecodesign: A new standard for sustainable products, with a focus on toy safety

  Ecodesign refers to the systemic integration of environmental considerations into the design and development of products, with the aim of minimising their environmental impact throughout their entire lifecycle. The EU Ecodesign Framework for Sustainable Products, established by Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (the “Ecodesign Regulation” 2024), sets out an approach to tackling the environmental sustainability of products placed on the EU market. It encompasses the need for products to be durable, repairable, recyclable and contain less hazardous substances.Against this backdrop the...

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  07/07/2025

  United Kingdom

  Draft price transparency guidance for con­sumer-fa­cing businesses: is it clearer how to comply?

  On 3 July 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a consultation on draft guidance which is intended to assist consumer-facing businesses to comply with provisions in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) that aim to achieve price transparency and prohibit drip pricing. For more about these provisions, see our previous article here.This consultation may rightly cause some readers to have strong feelings of déjà vu: in December 2024, the CMA published draft guidance in relation to the unfair commercial practices (UCP) provisions of the...

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  20/05/2025

  United Kingdom

  The other DMCC consumer law changes no-one is talking about

  Introduction On 6 April 2025, landmark new consumer protection provisions under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the “DMCC”) came into force, including those giving enhanced enforcement powers to the Competition and Markets Authority (the “CMA”) and provisions which protect consumers from unfair trading practices, which (mostly) replace the previous Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (“CPUT”).As well as the headline grabbing changes (see here for our previous articles on the consumer law provisions of the DMCC...

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  17/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  No more faux five-stars: The DMCC Act bans fake reviews

  New rules banning fake online reviews came into force on 6 April, breach of which could lead to hefty penalties of up to 10% of annual global turnover.Most of the consumer law provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (the “DMCC Act”) are now in force, and on 4 April 2025 the CMA published guidance on many of the provisions, including those relating to fake reviews: Fake reviews: CMA208 - GOV.UKA key change that the DMCC Act makes to the previous legislation (the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations) is that the DMCC Act includes  prohibitions...

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  10/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  No hidden charges: Clamping down on drip pricing

  Parts of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (“DMCC Act”) came into force on 6 April 2025, including provisions to protect consumers from unfair trading. These (mostly) replace and update the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.Whilst many of the same or similar rules will apply to commercial practices as under the previous regulations, there are some important changes introduced by the DMCC Act, including in relation to drip pricing.What is drip pricing?Drip pricing is a practice that involves adding unavoidable hidden fees to the advertised...

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  08/04/2025

  United Kingdom

  Game-changing consumer protection provisions under the DMCC Act come into force – are you prepared?

  IntroductionAs of 6 April 2025, landmark new consumer protection provisions under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (the “DMCC”) have come into force, including those giving enhanced enforcement powers to the Competition and Markets Authority (the “CMA”) and provisions which protect consumers from unfair trading practices, which (mostly) replace the previous Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (“CPUT”).Accompanying GuidanceWith the new consumer protection provisions coming into effect, the CMA has now also published...

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