1 hour ago
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Michael Sheils McNameeBusiness reporter
Investigations have been opened into eight companies, including ticket resellers and driving schools, by the UK's competition regulator as part of a review of online pricing practices.
The cases are the first launched by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) under new consumer protection powers.
The companies being investigated are StubHub, Viagogo, AA Driving School, BSM Driving School, Gold's Gym, Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical.
The CMA is also writing to 100 businesses across 14 sectors to outline its concern about their use of additional fees and sales tactics.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: "At a time when household budgets are under constant pressure and we're all hunting for the best deal possible, it's crucial that people are able to shop online with confidence, knowing that the price they see is the price they'll pay, and any sales are genuine."
The announcement comes after a major review which has been ongoing since April, looking at more than 400 businesses across the economy, to review whether rules on price transparency are being met.
Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act introduced last year, the CMA has powers to tackle anti-competitive behaviour.
It can now decide if consumer laws have been broken - rather than having to go through the courts.
It can order businesses to pay compensation to affected customers, and fine companies up to 10% of global turnover.
The CMA has said it is looking into practices including pressure selling, drip pricing, and misleading countdown clocks as part of its investigations.
Drip pricing happens when shoppers are shown an initial price for an item or service on a website, only to find additional fees are revealed later in the checkout process.
The 100 companies the CMA has contacted operate in a range of sectors, including holidays (including package travel), homeware retailers, rail travel, parking and airport parking, bus and coach travel, luggage storage providers, cinemas, live event tickets, food and drink delivery companies, letter and parcel delivery, gyms and fitness, fashion, and online vouchers.
The CMA outlined the reasons for its investigation into the eight firms:
- StubHub and Viagogo are being investigated for "mandatory additional charges" applied when consumers buy tickets
- AA Driving School and BSM Driving School are being investigated over their presentation of mandatory fees on these sites - and if the fees are displayed at the start of the purchasing process
- Gold's Gym is under investigation for how it displays a one-off joining fee for its annual membership - and concerns about it introducing "it part way through the sign-up process and not including it in advertised membership costs", the CMA said
- Wayfair is being investigated over whether time-limited sales ended when it said they would. Marks Electrical is being investigated over whether customers are automatically opted-in to additional services, and Appliances Direct is being investigated for both of these practices
