The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published draft consumer law compliance advice for trader recommendation platforms. The advice aims to assist businesses understand and comply with their obligations under consumer protection law. The CMA has also launched a consultation into the published draft advice. The consultation will remain open until 5.00pm, 16 August 2024, whereafter a finalised version of the advice will be published, together with practical tips to consumers on how to safely use trader recommendation sites.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance to supplement the Green Claims Code. The guidance outlines what businesses need to know about responsibility for environmental claims within supply chains and how to manage associated legal risks. It also highlights practices that the CMA considers harmful to consumers and explains the factors it takes into account when addressing consumer concerns. The guidance is intended to support businesses at every stage of the supply chain, including manufacturers, brand owners, retailers and suppliers. The CMA states the guidance should be read alongside the Green Claims Code.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published its Direct Consumer Enforcement Guidance on 14 March 2025, outlining how it will use new powers granted under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The guidance, which takes effect from 6 April 2025, details the CMA's procedures for determining consumer law breaches, imposing penalties and accepting undertakings. Following consultation feedback, the CMA extended representation periods and added penalty calculation examples. The statutory instrument approving the CMA Consumer Rules was laid in Parliament on 7 March 2025 (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (CMA Consumer Enforcement Rules) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/267).

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its final report on the housebuilding market. The report has found that the current planning system and the limitations of speculative private development have seen too few homes built. The report has also revealed concerns around estate management charges and the build quality of certain new homes. Chief Executive of the CMA, Sarah Cardell, has said that in order to have good quality homes, significant intervention is required. Cardell also stated that the report recommends a new streamlining planning system and increased consumer protections to tackle the findings.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its final Markets Regime Guidance following a consultation on amendments intended to improve pace, predictability, proportionality and process. The consolidated guidance CMA3 sets out the CMA’s approach to market reviews, market studies, market investigations, and the monitoring and review of market remedies across the UK. It reflects changes introduced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, developments in CMA practice, and the application of the 4Ps framework. The guidance replaces earlier documents, including OFT 511, OFT 519, CC3, CMA3, CMA11 and CMA136, and explains how the CMA examines markets, gathers and assesses evidence, engages with stakeholders, designs and implements remedies, and monitors compliance. It applies to market work commenced on or after 3 February 2026, while matters already underway continue under the superseded guidance.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), following the conclusion of its consultation, has recommended that the Secretary of State replace the Assimilated Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (Assimilated TTBER) with a bespoke UK block exemption order (the Recommended TTBEO) when the current regime expires on 30 April 2026. The proposal—consulted on between 14 March and 11 April 2025—would keep the same scope and core conditions as the existing regime (adapted for UK law) while updating  some definitions and the treatment of technology-market thresholds. The CMA also proposes not to bring technology pools or licensing negotiation groups (LNGs) within the Recommended TTBEO, signalling that any treatment of those multiparty arrangements should sit in the guidance. The CMA recommended that the Recommended TTBEO be implemented over a 12-year period with a transitional period of one year. The CMA also plans to publish guidance in due course to help businesses understand the application of any block exemption order that might replace the Assimilated TTBER.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its final report on examining price transparency in fertility clinics. The report concludes that a voluntary initiative for standardising price information is not viable, while providing guidance on consumer law compliance under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The CMA is encouraging fertility clinics to respond to its consultation on new price transparency guidance by 8 September 2025, as part of broader efforts to improve price comparison capabilities for patients.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its provisional findings on phase two of the potential Vodafone/Three merger investigation. The CMA has provisionally concluded that the merger would lead to the lessening of competition in retail and wholesale mobile markets. While the merger could improve the quality of mobile networks and advance 5G services, it could lead to price increases for millions of customers or lead to reduced services for them. The higher prices and increased payments for improvements in network quality will negatively impact customers who are not able to afford these costs. The merger will also negatively impact Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) such as Lebara and Sky Mobile which rely on Vodafone and Three for their mobile services, for instance by reducing from four to three the major network operators on which they rely, making it increasingly difficult for these MVNOs to secure competitive terms, and thus preventing them from offering good deals to their customers.

The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has published the full text of its 19 July 2024 decision to clear the anticipated acquisition by Nationwide Building Society of Virgin Money UK PLC. The CMA found that the acquisition is a relevant merger situation that does not give rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a compliance document to assist fashion retail companies with adhering to the Green Claims Code when making environmental claims about their products. This guidance incorporates lessons from the CMA's recent probe into three fashion retailers, ASOS, Boohoo, and George at Asda, which resulted in them formally committing to alter how they make environmental claims, setting a precedent relevant for the entire fashion retail industry. The document emphasises the importance of ensuring claims are clear, accurate, and not misleading through the use of vague terms or imagery. It advises to provide clear explanations when claims require consumer action or are based on specific product lifecycles, describing fabric compositions precisely, and only referencing affiliations/accreditations that apply to the specific product. The guidance also stresses the need for clearly presenting details about environmental targets and strategies to achieve them, having robust processes and evidence to substantiate all claims made, and verifying the accuracy of claims made by suppliers about their products. The overall aim is to help businesses provide truthful information to consumers, avoid misleading environmental claims, and create a level playing field for fair competition in the fashion retail sector.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published new guidance for businesses that host online reviews, outlining how to comply with consumer protection law. The guidance highlights the importance of publishing all genuine, relevant and lawful reviews—positive or negative—and ensuring that moderation processes do not distort the overall picture. It warns that misleading practices may breach consumer protection law and refers businesses to further resources, including guidance on fake reviews (CMA208), unfair commercial practices (CMA207), and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute’s Business Companion guide on reviews and endorsements. The guidance follows the introduction of rules under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA 2024), which prohibit the commissioning, submission and publication of fake reviews. It applies to reviews of goods, services and digital content, whether user-generated or externally sourced.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance on 30 April 2025 on how it intends to implement the "4Ps", ie the four key principles it had announced in the context of its 2025–2026 annual plan in March 2025: pace, predictability, proportionality and process. The CMA's annual plan set out how the organisation intends to work with the new powers granted to it under the new Digital Markets Competition Regime by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The CMA aims to promote business trust and confidence through the 4Ps and encourage investment and innovation. The guidance sets out what the CMA has done previously to deliver on each principle, and what it intends to do in future.