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Compliance advice for trader recommendation platforms
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The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) purpose is to help people, businesses and the UK economy by protecting competition and tackling unfair behaviour.
Final compliance advice published
12 November 2024: The CMA has published its final compliance advice to help trader recommendation sites stay on the right side of consumer protection law.
A trader recommendation site is a business that:
operates a website or app that consumers may use to find a trader, either in the form of a ‘matchmaking’ service in which consumers can post the work they require and traders can respond, or a database, search engine
recommend traders, by which we mean represent (implicitly or explicitly) or otherwise create the perception or expectation, that the traders listed or hosted on the platform, or with whom matches may be made, are of a particular quality and/ or are trustworthy, reliable or suitable for the consumer’s requirements
Our advice sets out important principles for trader recommendation platforms in relation to:
representations to consumers
vetting practices
complaints process
monitoring activities
approach to investigations and sanctions
approach to the collection, moderation and publication of consumer reviews
It also provides some illustrative examples of practices that are more likely to uphold the principles, and practices that would be unlikely to uphold them.
We produced this advice together with National Trading Standards, Trading Standards Scotland, The Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland, and Northern Ireland Trading Standards. It follows concerns we identified about some businesses in this sector.
Response to consultation feedback
We consulted on our draft advice from 11 July to 16 August 2024 and have now published our response to your feedback. We’ve also incorporated some of this feedback in the final version.
Tips for consumers
12 November 2024: We have also published some tips to help consumers understand what to look for and what to consider when using trader recommendation sites.
When handling personal data (like contact details), we comply with data protection law, as set out in the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and other law designed to protect sensitive information.
your rights relating to that personal data (including your right to complain)
Section 4 of the consultation document (which you can find in the document section on this webpage) provides more information.
The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) purpose is to help people, businesses and the UK economy by protecting competition and tackling unfair behaviour.
Final compliance advice published
12 November 2024: The CMA has published its final compliance advice to help trader recommendation sites stay on the right side of consumer protection law.
A trader recommendation site is a business that:
operates a website or app that consumers may use to find a trader, either in the form of a ‘matchmaking’ service in which consumers can post the work they require and traders can respond, or a database, search engine
recommend traders, by which we mean represent (implicitly or explicitly) or otherwise create the perception or expectation, that the traders listed or hosted on the platform, or with whom matches may be made, are of a particular quality and/ or are trustworthy, reliable or suitable for the consumer’s requirements
Our advice sets out important principles for trader recommendation platforms in relation to:
representations to consumers
vetting practices
complaints process
monitoring activities
approach to investigations and sanctions
approach to the collection, moderation and publication of consumer reviews
It also provides some illustrative examples of practices that are more likely to uphold the principles, and practices that would be unlikely to uphold them.
We produced this advice together with National Trading Standards, Trading Standards Scotland, The Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland, and Northern Ireland Trading Standards. It follows concerns we identified about some businesses in this sector.
Response to consultation feedback
We consulted on our draft advice from 11 July to 16 August 2024 and have now published our response to your feedback. We’ve also incorporated some of this feedback in the final version.
Tips for consumers
12 November 2024: We have also published some tips to help consumers understand what to look for and what to consider when using trader recommendation sites.
When handling personal data (like contact details), we comply with data protection law, as set out in the UK Data Protection Act 2018 and other law designed to protect sensitive information.
