Consumer Protection Law and Regulations

The Competition and Markets Authority has imposed six million pounds in fines against three businesses for misleading sales tactics, including fake time-limited offers and hidden fees. These enforcement actions demonstrate the regulator's increasingly robust approach under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, signaling heightened scrutiny for businesses employing questionable promotional practices.

The Law Commission has published its consultation on reforming UK product liability law, proposing significant changes including expanded definitions of products to cover AI and software, new liability frameworks for digital platforms, and revised defect determination principles. The consultation invites responses to 62 questions and runs until January 2027, with provisional proposals that could fundamentally reshape how product liability operates in Great Britain's post-Brexit legal landscape.

A county court ruling challenges the conventional understanding of limitation periods in consumer credit claims, finding that sections 140A-C of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 may not be subject to statutory time limits at all. Drawing parallels with the Supreme Court's decision on unfair prejudice petitions, the judgment suggests that unfair relationship claims address a 'state of affairs' rather than a breach of duty, potentially opening the door to historic consumer credit litigation. The decision carries