The CMA has fined three businesses a total of £6 million for misleading sales tactics. All three were among the eight businesses investigated in the CMA’s first wave of DMCCA enforcement cases on online pricing.
In summary:
- Wayfair (£4.8 million): ‘Daily Deals’ and 24-hour ‘Flash Deals’ were promoted with countdown timers and messages such as ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow’. Many products were still available at the same price or lower after the deadline had passed, so the time-limited offers were misleading.
- Appliances Direct (£1.2 million, plus around £432,000 in refunds): customers were automatically opted into paid removal and recycling of old appliances and paid installation on delivery. The business also used pop-up countdown banners for ‘limited time’ discounts, even though the same discount codes kept appearing over many days.
- Gold’s Gym (£45,000, plus £9,220 in refunds to customers): the joining fee was left out of the total membership price, or the total price was shown in a way that was unclear and unlikely to be seen.
All three businesses admitted the infringements and settled early, so each received a 40% reduction in its fine. Wayfair’s settlement terms included agreeing not to appeal the decision.
The CMA says it has now imposed more than £12 million in fines and secured nearly £2.4 million in refunds in the 18 months since its new powers took effect.
Comment
The CMA’s enforcement momentum continues apace. This latest set of fines comes six months after the CMA’s first under the DMCCA regime, and the method is the same: thorough investigation, early settlement and a 40% discount. That last point is vital: cooperating with the CMA is key to bringing down potentially huge fines. All three businesses in this round of actions engaged constructively, admitted the breaches and settled early, and each had its fine cut by 40% as a result.
More information about the DMCCA can be found on our tracker page here.