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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.
About this consultation
We consulted on draft guidance on the unfair commercial practices (UCP) provisions in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024. These provisions replace and update the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
We have provided an update about this consultation and next steps in the CMA’s new consumer enforcement regime. Final revised guidance will be published before 6 April 2025, alongside an approach document which will set out the CMA’s enforcement priorities for the first 12 months of the new regime.
The UCP provisions apply to a wide array of commercial practices with the potential to affect consumers, prohibiting:
acting contrary to the requirements of professional diligence
misleading actions
misleading omissions
aggressive practices
the omission of material information from an invitation to purchase (which includes a prohibition of ‘drip pricing’ of mandatory charges)
32 commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair (including a new banned practice in relation to fake consumer reviews)
promoting unfair commercial practices in codes of conduct
The draft guidance illustrates how the UCP provisions may apply in practice and is intended to help traders to comply with them.
Your personal data
Any personal data you provide to us through CMA Connect (such as your name and contact details) will be handled in accordance with our obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Our personal information charter set out the standards you can expect from us when we collect, use or share personal data and provides details of your rights in relation to that personal data and how to contact us.
The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) purpose is to help people, businesses and the UK economy by protecting competition and tackling unfair behaviour.
About this consultation
We consulted on draft guidance on the unfair commercial practices (UCP) provisions in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act 2024. These provisions replace and update the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
We have provided an update about this consultation and next steps in the CMA’s new consumer enforcement regime. Final revised guidance will be published before 6 April 2025, alongside an approach document which will set out the CMA’s enforcement priorities for the first 12 months of the new regime.
The UCP provisions apply to a wide array of commercial practices with the potential to affect consumers, prohibiting:
acting contrary to the requirements of professional diligence
misleading actions
misleading omissions
aggressive practices
the omission of material information from an invitation to purchase (which includes a prohibition of ‘drip pricing’ of mandatory charges)
32 commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair (including a new banned practice in relation to fake consumer reviews)
promoting unfair commercial practices in codes of conduct
The draft guidance illustrates how the UCP provisions may apply in practice and is intended to help traders to comply with them.
Your personal data
Any personal data you provide to us through CMA Connect (such as your name and contact details) will be handled in accordance with our obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Our personal information charter set out the standards you can expect from us when we collect, use or share personal data and provides details of your rights in relation to that personal data and how to contact us.
