UK consumer protection law bans 'hidden fees' and fake reviews
A new consumer protection law will come into force in the UK on April 6, 2025, prohibiting 'hidden fees' that occur just before or after a purchase, as well as the posting of false reviews. This will require companies to include administrative fees, booking fees, etc. in the initial displayed price, and will prohibit adding additional fees during the purchase process.
Fake reviews and sneaky hidden fees banned once and for all - GOV.UK
UK bans £2.2bn 'sneaky' fees and fake reviews for online products | Consumer affairs | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/apr/06/uk-bans-22bn-sneaky-fees-and-fake-reviews-for-online-products
The new consumer protection law was introduced as part of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, which was introduced into the UK Parliament on 25 April 2023. After several rounds of debate and amendments, the Bill was passed by Parliament in May 2024 and received Royal Assent, officially becoming law.
According to the UK government, in the past, administrative and booking fees that were not included in the displayed price of goods and services were often only disclosed at checkout, resulting in losses of approximately 2.2 billion pounds (approximately 418 billion yen) per year to consumers. Under the new consumer protection law, all such fees must be clearly stated from the beginning and cannot be added during the purchase process.
In addition, operators of websites and platforms will be required to take appropriate measures to ensure that reviews displayed on their sites are trustworthy, and false reviews will be made illegal. According to the UK Department of Commerce, 90% of consumers refer to online reviews, and the UK government says that cracking down on false reviews will prevent situations where a five-star rated restaurant is actually only one-star quality, or a highly rated seller delivers a poor quality product.
Companies that breach this consumer protection law can be fined up to 10% of their annual global turnover, while those who breach an order from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can be fined up to 5% of their annual global turnover, and those who fail to comply with an information order, destroy evidence, or provide false information can be fined up to 1% of their annual global turnover.
Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets Justin Madders said: 'From today consumers will be able to shop with confidence, protected from fake reviews and hidden fees. These changes will give people more control over their hard-earned money and put a level playing field for honest businesses by preventing unfair competition from those who don't play by the rules. And it's part of our plan for transformation to bring stability to the economy.'
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