The UK Government’s response to its consultations on ‘Reforming competition and consumer policy’ (April 2022) confirmed the Government’s proposals to give the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) enhanced consumer law enforcement powers.
With its new powers, the CMA will be able, for the first time, to decide that a firm has breached consumer protection law and to levy significant fines of up to 10% of global turnover for such breaches. This is a significant change of role for the CMA. Under the current regime, the CMA must take a business to court to prove a breach of consumer law and can only bring about a change in practices by accepting undertakings from businesses who want to avoid court action. The CMA has no current powers to fine businesses for breaching consumer law. The proposed maximum fines are very high (at the same level as fines for breaches of competition law) and considerably tougher than the EU’s New Deal for Consumers, under which most EU Member States are likely to levy maximum fines of 4% of turnover within the relevant Member State.
Continue reading on the Cleary Antitrust Watch blog.