Just Dropped #1 - The latest updates to the DMCCA

Welcome to Just Dropped, our brand-new newsletter providing you with bite-sized legal insights and updates on the latest developments from across the consumer brands & retail sector.

Following on from The Drop by RPC – our annual guide to the key issues, risks and opportunities facing the sector – Just Dropped brings you the key 'need-to-knows' in between editions, keeping you up to speed from month to month.

We're kicking things off with a look at the latest updates to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) as, since our last update, there have been numerous developments. Here's what you need to know.

What is the latest?

Lively CMA enforcement activity since its direct enforcement regime under the DMCCA

• Since we published The Drop just over six months ago, the CMA has opened investigations into a further six businesses and resolved five cases, imposing collective fines of just over £7m and nearly £1.1m in compensation to consumers.

• While enforcement activity has been rife, we have also seen the CMA reward early settlement with substantial discounts. Of the investigations concluded so far, all resulted in a 40% fine reduction for early settlement so for businesses facing investigation, early settlement should be given serious consideration.

The CMA concludes its investigations into the following businesses:

• Wayfair. The CMA found the use of time-limited offers – "daily deals" and 24-hour "flash deals" – to be false as many discounted products stayed available at the same or lower prices after the stated deadline to purchase. The homeware retailer was ordered to pay a fine of £4.8m as a result.

• Appliances Direct. The retailer was found to have used false time-limited offers, this time via the presentation of pop-up countdown banners. The CMA also found that customers were automatically opted into additional paid services for removing and recycling old appliances and installing new appliances on delivery without giving their express consent. Appliances Direct was fined £1.2m and ordered to pay c. £432,000 in refunds to consumers.

• Gold's Gym. The CMA found that mandatory one-off joining fees were not included in the total membership price and were not shown sufficiently clearly. The gym was ordered to pay a fine of £45,000 and to issue consumer refunds totalling £9,220. This case is one of the few in which the CMA has published its final infringement notice giving us a steer as to its approach to penalties.

• Assessing whether fines are proportionate is a crucial step in the CMA's five-step approach to calculating penalties. The CMA has regard for the number of consumers affected by the infringing conduct, the value gained by the infringing conduct and how much of the business's overall turnover was tied to the infringing conduct. It has also confirmed that the penalties issued in the first year of the regime are likely to be on the lower side because it can only fine conduct from April 2025 onwards, meaning the "duration" element of the harm assessment is necessarily short. The suggestion is that future penalties, for longer-running infringements, will be higher. 

What's next on the horizon?

• As set out in the CMA's Annual Plan for 2026-2027, price transparency (including drip pricing and hidden mandatory fees), fake reviews and unfair contract terms (particularly cancellation and exit charges) will be the areas of focus going forward.

• However, with the new rules on subscription contracts now set to come into force in January 2027 and the publication of the CMA's guidance on complying with consumer law when using AI agents in March 2026, the CMA has indicated that businesses should also prioritise compliance in those areas. That said, the CMA has made clear that it's willing to investigate conduct outside of its priority areas if issues become apparent (as demonstrated by its current investigations into Adobe, Euro Car Parks, Ryanair and Microsoft).

Check out…

• The Consumer investigations at a glance section of our DMCCA Guide for a summary of the CMA's enforcement activity to date
• The Drop by RPC
• The DMCCA Guide
• Our Consumer Brands & Retail expertise