United Kingdom: Consumer Protection

The Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation into Ryanair's practice of charging parents to sit with their children aged 2-11, examining whether these mandatory fees violate consumer protection laws.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act introduces sweeping changes to subscription regulations in the UK, with enforcement beginning Spring 2027.

Online retailers targeting EU consumers face a critical compliance deadline requiring implementation of a two-stage withdrawal and confirmation system for distance contracts. The new Article 11(a) of the EU Consumer Rights Directive mandates specific technical and procedural requirements that must be integrated across all consumer-facing interfaces by June 2026.

The Competition and Markets Authority has launched an investigation into Ryanair's practice of charging parents to sit with their children aged 2-11, examining whether these mandatory fees violate consumer protection laws.

The Advertising Standards Authority has tightened its enforcement on "clinically proven" beauty claims, requiring brands to substantiate such assertions with rigorous clinical trials rather than consumer use tests.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has launched formal investigations into eight companies over potentially misleading pricing practices, including hidden fees, fake countdown timers, and pre-selected extras. With new powers to impose fines up to 10% of global turnover without court proceedings, the CMA is signaling a major shift in how online pricing compliance will be enforced across all industries.

The UK pharmaceutical sector faces significant challenges from counterfeit medicines that threaten patient safety and undermine legitimate supply chains. This analysis examines the current landscape of pharmaceutical counterfeiting...

Unsafe products are a hot topic for the UK government. Last year, the UK Parliament passed the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 and has now launched three new product safety consultations.

The United Kingdom has launched its Self-Driving Vehicle Pilot Scheme, establishing the first lawful pathway for fully driverless commercial operations on British roads. Businesses seeking to deploy autonomous vehicles must navigate a multi-layered approval process involving vehicle certification, special orders, and passenger service permits. With the government forecasting 38,000 new jobs and a £42 billion industry by 2035, this regulatory framework marks a pivotal moment for automated driving system

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

HM Treasury has published its Policy Statement on reform of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA), setting out the planned policy direction following the Phase 1 consultation which closed in July 2025. The statement confirms the intention to repeal many provisions of the CCA, recasting these within the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Handbook (though not necessarily as a direct copy-out). 

The UK government has announced significant reforms to the Consumer Credit Act 1974, scrapping the phase two consultation and moving forward with changes that will remove automatic unenforceability sanctions while shifting many prescriptive requirements from statute to FCA rules.