March 30, 2020

The CMA explains that the outbreak of COVID-19 is an unprecedented and rapidly evolving challenge that has prompted many concerns that businesses might exploit the situation to take advantage of people, for example by charging excessive prices or making misleading claims about their products.

In its statement of 5 March, the CMA urged retailers to behave responsibly and said that it would consider any evidence that companies may have broken competition or consumer protection law.

As the public health emergency worsens and its impact on the economy becomes more serious, the CMA is creating a taskforce, which will:

• scrutinise market developments to identify harmful sales and pricing practices as they emerge;
• warn firms suspected of exploiting these exceptional circumstances and people’s vulnerability through unjustifiable prices or misleading claims. The CMA has already contacted traders and platforms regarding excessive pricing of hand sanitizer;
• take enforcement action if there is evidence that firms may have breached competition or consumer protection law and they fail to respond to warnings;
• equip the CMA to advise the Government on emergency legislation if there are negative impacts for people which cannot be addressed through existing powers; and
• enable the CMA to advise the Government on how to ensure competition law does not stand in the way of legitimate measures that protect public health and support the supply of essential goods and services. It will also advise on further policy and legislative measures to ensure markets function as well as possible in the coming months.

Binding statutory deadlines apply to a significant proportion of the CMA’s work and it intends to continue progressing its cases, making decisions and meeting deadlines, helped in part by the adjustments it is already making, including remote working.

At the same time, it will continue to monitor timetables including, as permitted, extending statutory timeframes where necessary. It is reallocating resources to help ensure that the most urgent and the most critical work can be done on time. To read the CMA’s press release in full, click here.