CMA fines more businesses for failing to show ‘total’ prices

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has imposed fines on two more businesses for failing to display total headline prices including all mandatory charges.

Ticket marketplace StubHub received a near £890,000 fine for failing to display total prices, including mandatory delivery and service fees, in breach of rules against ‘drip pricing’, and the CMA ordered the company to refund more than £590,000 in fees to customers.

It also fined retailer Marks Electrical £720,000 for charging for services without customers’ express agreement and ordered the company to refund £600,000 to customers automatically opted into paying.

Both fines included 40% reductions because the businesses admitted the offences and settled the cases, agreeing not to appeal against the outcomes.

The latest penalties take the fines imposed by the CMA over pricing since it gained new powers of enforcement last year under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act to more than £5.7 million.

The regulator has also ordered businesses to repay more than £1.95 million in refunds for breaching consumer law on ‘drip pricing’.

The regulator launched its first investigation of a company in the travel industry under its new powers last month, targeting Ryanair over its pricing rules for parents travelling with children.

The CMA noted Ryanair’s terms “require parents to sit with their children” but charges them about £8 per flight to do so, describing this as a “potentially unfair” contract term and suggesting the charge should be included in the total price to parent customers.

Ryanair subsequently reported it had “reluctantly” adjusted its pricing policy while noting that families “opting for random allocation of seats beside each other are likely to be seated towards the rear of the aircraft”.

A CMA spokesperson said Ryanair’s reaction “shows the impact our new powers are having”, but said the airline’s policy change “doesn’t change the fact that families have been paying for mandatory family seats” and the investigation “remains ongoing”.

The CMA said it would “test thoroughly” Ryanair’s claim that its seating policy “now complies with the law”.

The ‘drip pricing’ rules for travel require all unavoidable charges be included in the total price at the point that a holiday or flight is offered for sale – and for travel retailers that includes taxes and fees payable in destination even though they do not invoice for or take payment of these.

Emma Cochrane, CMA consumer protection executive director, said: “Our message to businesses is: be transparent on costs or risk CMA action.”

The CMA’s latest fines were based on the conduct of both StubHub and Marks Electrical between April and November last year – its new powers having come into force in April 2025.

The regulator did not move immediately to regulate pricing in travel, issuing guidance for the sector only last November. However, it made clear in May this year that it is “now doing enforcement work” in travel when CMA consumer law director Jason Freeman addressed the Abta Travel Law Seminar.