Issued by: Competition and Markets Authority

A new online campaign is helping businesses in the UK make their pricing clearer – and avoid legal pitfalls.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today launched its Clear Pricing campaign, joining forces with TV and radio favourite Alexander Armstrong to encourage UK businesses to be upfront, transparent and fair with their customers. The campaign highlights the CMA’s new ‘3 Step Pricing Check’ which businesses can use to check that their pricing practices are within the law and customers aren’t faced with unexpected costs at the checkout.

Alexander Armstrong, said:

"Nobody likes hidden fees – we want the price we see to be the price we pay.

"The CMA is doing important work in this area – so if you’re a business owner, make sure you pass the CMA’s 3 Step Pricing Check.

"Clear prices just make life easier."

It’s illegal to hide additional mandatory fees (such as a booking fee or delivery fee), taxes or other charges until late in the purchase process – a practice known as drip pricing. The CMA’s campaign gives time poor businesses a way to check they’re compliant by simplifying the rules into 3 actionable steps when pricing their products:

1. Show the total price up front

2. Include all mandatory charges

3. If you can’t give a total yet, is it clear how customers can work it out?

The checks are designed to support businesses that want to do the right thing by making upfront pricing the new normal and building customer trust. The first price customers see should be the price they pay.

Alexander Armstrong, known for hosting quiz and radio shows, brings these steps to life in a campaign video – demonstrating how unclear prices can mislead customers and highlighting how easy it is for businesses to get it right. More details and examples are available on the campaign case page.

The campaign comes at a crucial time, as businesses should now be complying with the strengthened rules around price transparency and consumer protection under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA).

Emma Cochrane, Acting Executive Director of Consumer Protection and Enforcement at the CMA, said:

"Clear pricing is at the heart of building customer trust. We want businesses to stay on the right side of the law and compete on the strength of their products, not on hidden fees or confusing charges.

"We’ve shown we’re serious about supporting businesses and this three-step pricing check makes it even easier for businesses to understand their legal responsibilities as they navigate the new rules.

"We’re urging businesses to review their pricing practices now, because when companies play fair, everyone benefits."

To help businesses comply with the new law, the CMA has published guidance on price transparency [https://tinyurl.com/2uvupy2s] explaining how to present prices clearly. It sets out what traders should and shouldn’t do when displaying prices and offers practical examples covering delivery charges, administration and booking costs, and periodic payments, so customers know exactly what they are paying for.

Alongside helping businesses to comply, the CMA is also protecting consumers through enforcement action – and is progressing its first investigations into pricing practices under the new powers [https://tinyurl.com/43rw7pac].

Businesses can see whether they pass the 3 Step Pricing Check by visiting the Clear Pricing campaign page: [https://tinyurl.com/534cxz4h]

Notes to editors

1. Pictures of Alexander Armstrong, the 3 Step Pricing Check and access to the video can be found in the Clear pricing stakeholder kit [https://tinyurl.com/38vnjxnj].

2. The CMA’s enhanced consumer powers enable it to decide when consumer law has been broken without taking a case to court. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 empowers the CMA to fine those firms that break consumer law up to £300,000 or, if higher, up to 10% of their global turnover.

3. Drip pricing is the prohibited practice of not including mandatory charges in the initial price shown to consumers but instead introducing these as additional charges later in the purchase process.

4. For media enquiries, please contact the CMA press office by email at press@cma.gov.uk or telephone on 020 3738 6460.

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