The consumer aspects of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (“DMCCA”) came into force on the 6 April, overhauling the UK’s consumer protection enforcement regime and giving the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) real teeth when enforcing breaches of consumer law. In light of this, a proactive regulatory compliance audit is not just prudent, we consider it essential for our clients in the travel sector.
The new powers enable the CMA to:
- Decide for itself whether there has been a breach of consumer protection law;
- Order redress for affected customers; and
- Impose fines of between 7.5% to 30% of UK turnover, with a statutory cap of 10% of worldwide turnover (or £300,000).
These laws apply to a broad range of consumer protection law, including:
- Package travel;
- Unfair sales and marketing practices; and
- Unfair consumer contracts.
The CMA has confirmed that it will target behaviour that is particularly harmful to consumers and represents clear infringements of the law to ensure that harmful conduct is stopped quickly. It has highlighted the following six areas as susceptible to early enforcement action:
- Aggressive sales practices against vulnerable consumers;
- Providing false information to consumers;
- Fake reviews;
- Drip-pricing;
- Unfair contract terms; and
- Cancellation charges.
The CMA has also highlighted other areas where the law is clear and there is a risk of enforcement action because of previous action or guidance published by the CMA, CAA, Trading Standards or the Advertising Standards Authority. This includes:
- Countdown timers;
- Discount claims;
- Price comparison;
- 14-day refund obligations;
- Refund guarantees;
- Search result rankings;
- Resort fees; and
- Scarcity and popularity claims.
How we can help
We can help travel businesses conduct a consumer regulatory compliance audit covering the following areas:
1. Price transparency
- Total price disclosure: ensure all mandatory fees (including taxes, booking fees and resort charges) are included in the headline price.
- Optional extras: charges for add-ons (like luggage, transfers, meals, insurance) should be clearly optional, and not pre-selected.
- Currency clarity: where prices are quoted in foreign currencies, are conversion rates and payment fees transparent?
Why it matters: hidden costs and misleading pricing are high on the CMA’s enforcement radar. Drip pricing is a specific target under the DMCCA.
2. Urgency and scarcity claims
- “Only X rooms left” / “Booked 5 times in the last hour” / “Trending now” must only be used if they can be substantiated in real time.
- Is the inventory claim genuine, accurate, and based on objective data?
Why it matters: these types of messages can be seen as misleading commercial practices if not based on real availability, and such aggressive sales practices are a target area for the CMA.
3. Discounts and reference pricing
- Are discounted prices compared to a genuine previous price? The holidays must have been sold at the previous price for a meaningful period of time.
- Avoid false time-limited offers. For example, claiming that there is “20% off today only!” when the deal repeats regularly.
Why it matters: the CMA and ASA often challenge misleading reference prices and fake discount offers, and this will continue to be a focus area under the DMCCA.
4. Online reviews and endorsements
- Are customer reviews authentic?
- Is there a system in place to detect and manage fake or incentivised reviews?
- Are affiliate influencers or paid partnerships clearly disclosed as such?
- Is there transparency about how reviews are collected, filtered or moderated? This could be in the form of a policy setting out the travel company’s approach to reviews.
Why it matters: the DMCCA makes fake reviews and hidden influencer marketing explicitly unlawful.
5. Search results and rankings
- Is it clear when listings are ranked based on commission, sponsorship or payment terms, versus relevance or popularity?
- Do consumers understand what factors influence placement or prominence in the search results?
Why it matters: misleading the consumer about ranking criteria can amount to a misleading commercial practice.
6. Digital design and dark patterns
- Are booking processes fair and easy to understand?
- Are opt-ins genuine and clear: is consent genuinely informed and freely given, or are users steered into choices (e.g. via default settings or confusing wording)?
- Cancellation journeys: is it as easy to cancel a service (e.g. recurring travel insurance or subscriptions) as it is to sign up?
- Cookie consents / user tracking: review alignment with both DMCCA and UK GDPR.
Why it matters: the CMA is cracking down on design choices that manipulate consumer behaviour.
7. Pre-contractual information and T&Cs
- Are key features of the travel service (price, itinerary, cancellation rights, insolvency protection) clear, upfront and compliant with PTR pre-contract information requirements?
- Are the T&Cs drafted in plain English, and do they avoid hidden or one-sided clauses?
- Are the T&C’s compliant with the PTRs and ATOL regulations?
- Are cancellation terms fair and justifiable?
- Are cancellation terms compliant with consumer regulations, including the PTRs, Consumer Rights Act and CCR’s?
Why it matters: failure to provide essential information can invalidate your consumer contract terms or mislead consumers, and the CMA is targeting contract terms which are clearly imbalanced and unfair.
8. Alignment with ASA and CAP Code
- Are all ads and promotions compliant with advertising standards?
- Is there substantiation for claims like “best price guarantee”?
- Does your flight-product advertising comply with the ATOL regulations?
- Have recent ASA rulings (e.g. on environmental claims or misleading pricing) been reviewed and reflected?
Why it matters: ASA rulings feed into CMA investigations and misleading ads can become regulatory risks.
9. Record-keeping and internal governance
Audit focus:
- Internal documentation: are compliance procedures documented? Are complaints tracked and reviewed?
- Staff training: are marketing, sales and customer service staff trained on consumer law obligations?
- Third-party oversight: how are suppliers or affiliates (e.g. DMCs, comparison sites, review sites) vetted or monitored?
Why it matters: the CMA will have power to fine businesses directly – compliance governance will be a mitigating factor.
Please contact the travel team at Fox Williams for more information on how we can help your travel business.
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