As we hurtle through 2025, the implementation date of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)'s new consumer law enforcement powers approaches - now confirmed as 6 April 2025.
One of the first things that is likely to happen under these new powers is CMA gathering information, either in its "pre-launch" stage or as part of a case opening. It will usually do so by issuing an information notice.
The CMA can request information from a wide range of sources, such as customers, complainants and other third parties (such as service providers), and not just from businesses under investigation.
The information requested in such a notice can be extensive, and reach across all aspects of a business, such as: business records, reports and policies, details of relevant customers or transactions, copies of customer complaints, information about consumer research and testing and other internal data. The CMA can also require the recipient of a request to create documents and provide these to the CMA.
Time may be of the essence
The new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act gives the CMA a duty to have regard to the need to make a decision or take action as soon as reasonably practicable. The CMA will have regard to this duty when carrying out its direct consumer enforcement functions, including evidence gathering.
Because of this, we can expect to see punchier timetables set in information notices for a business to provide information to the CMA, and the CMA may be less willing to provide extensions of time.
So, what do YOU need to do?
It's advisable to have contingency plans for how to deal and comply with a CMA information notice, if one were to land.
The CMA has been given the power to impose monetary penalties for failure to comply with information notices. These fines can be substantial, and can quickly rack up. They include daily fines of up to 1% (or in some cases up to 5%) of a business's total daily global turnover.
The CMA knows that's enough to make anyone sit up and take 'notice'!
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
