Another Costly Penalty As CMA Continues Its Drip Pricing Crackdown

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded its consumer protection investigation into StubHub UK, imposing a financial penalty of nearly £900,000 and requiring refunds of more than £590,000 to be paid to affected customers. This is the second financial penalty the CMA has issued so far for drip pricing using its strengthened consumer enforcement powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act). In April this year, the CMA fined AA and BSM driving schools £4.2 million for drip pricing and ordered approximately £760,000 to be returned to affected customers.

The CMA has also been looking at the practice of opting consumers into additional charges without the consumer's express consent and last week fined Marks Electrical £720,000 for this and ordered them to pay redress of £620,000. These cases underline the regulator's focus on online pricing practices.