United Kingdom: Consumer Protection

Two recent High Court judgments have illustrated the importance of public law in the food and consumer sector, highlighting the possibility of successful judicial review challenges to decisions made by public bodies.

The UK's long-awaited restrictions on advertising less healthy food and drink finally took effect in January 2025, but a parliamentary committee now argues they don't go far enough. Should advertising law expand to cover brand advertising, outdoor placements, and sports sponsorship, or should it also consider allowing responsible marketing of clinically proven weight-loss treatments?

This week, Kate sits down with Lindy Firstenberg, Co-Lead of the Beauty, Health & Wellness Practice at AlixPartners. From helping launch Louis Vuitton Fragrance to advising founders, retailers, investors, and global brands, Lindy has spent her career at the forefront of the industry's biggest shifts. Now, she's stepping into entrepreneurship herself, co-founding a science-backed scar repair company built around breakthrough biotechnology.

Ofcom has issued a fine of £28 million for systemic failures in the way a company handled customers seeking to cancel their contracts. The regulator's investigation, which covered the period from January 2022...

The Advertising Standards Authority has issued a series of rulings on advertisements for less healthy food products, examining compliance with regulations designed to protect children from exposure to unhealthy food marketing. These decisions provide important guidance for advertisers navigating the complex landscape of food advertising restrictions and demonstrate how the ASA interprets and applies current rules.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has introduced sweeping changes to consumer protection law, granting the CMA unprecedented enforcement powers including the ability to impose multi-million-pound fines directly. With the regulator already launching a market study into private dentistry and conducting spot checks across consumer-facing websites, dental practices face heightened scrutiny across pricing transparency, subscription contracts, online reviews and patient-facing terms. How sho

Following a commitment in the King's Speech in 2024, the government consulted about banning the sale of high-caffeine drinks to under 16s in England, receiving 1,095 responses. It has now confirmed that it will ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16s in England from April 2027.

Two recent High Court judgments have illustrated the importance of public law in the food and consumer sector, highlighting the possibility of successful judicial review challenges to decisions made by public bodies.

How can intellectual property rights protect innovations designed specifically for women and underrepresented groups in product safety? This article explores the intersection of inclusive design and IP strategy, examining patents, design rights, and trade marks as tools for safeguarding innovations that address long-overlooked safety gaps in consumer products.

The FCA's Director of Consumer Finance outlines an ambitious vision for modernising the UK's 50-year-old consumer credit regime through the Financial Services and Markets Bill. This transformation requires collaboration across industry stakeholders to create a flexible, outcomes-focused framework that accommodates emerging technologies like AI whilst maintaining robust consumer protections.

The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court decision allowing over 5,000 motor finance claims to proceed together using omnibus claim forms, despite the fact-specific nature of unfair relationship claims under the Consumer Credit Act. While emphasizing this was a decision on its own facts, the court's analysis of convenience factors and case management approaches offers important guidance for multi-party litigation.

HM Treasury has unveiled comprehensive reforms to the Consumer Credit Act 1974, marking the most significant overhaul of consumer credit regulation in decades.