The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2025 made have been published and bring most consumer aspects of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024 into force.
The following provisions come into force with effect from 6 April 2025 (to the extent they are already in force:
The consumer law enforcement regimes
Part 3 of the Act introduces two regimes to enforce consumer protection law; a court-based regime, where enforcement authorities apply to court for action to be taken against a trader, and a direct enforcement regime operated by the CMA.
The unfair commercial practices regime
Part 4 of the Act updates and replaces the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. However, separate regulations are needed to clarify the rights and specify remedies, so the sections relating to rights of redress will not come into force until those regulations have been made. Until then, consumers will have remedies under the 2008 regulations.
The duty of expedition on the CMA and sectoral regulators
The Act amends the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 to oblige the CMA to exercise its consumer functions as soon as reasonably practicable.
Consumer savings schemes
The consumer savings schemes provisions come into force with effect from 1 January 2026. These establish new rules to protect consumers’ money paid into saving schemes, such as Christmas savings clubs.
The rules on subscription contracts are expected to take effect for contracts entered into from the spring of next year.
Speech on CMA’s enforcement priorities
Sarah Cardell has given a speech to TechUK in which she set out a summary of the CMA’s approach to the new rules coming into force. Guidance on the unfair commercial practices will be streamlined and will be enforced from April. However, the guidance on drip pricing will be reworked and there will be another consultation later this year. Until then, the CMA will only enforce the well understood rules. It will also delay enforcing the new fake reviews rules for the first six months. In terms of what it will enforce, it will look at the most egregious breaches. For example, aggressive sales practices that prey on vulnerability; providing information to consumers that is objectively false; and contract terms that are very obviously imbalanced and unfair.
