New Consumer Enforcement Regime launched

Previously, the CMA’s consumer protection powers were primarily governed by the Enterprise Act 2002 which gave the CMA powers to investigate breaches of consumer law, agree undertakings with businesses to remedy the suspected breaches, and apply to courts to enforce such undertakings. With its new powers, the CMA can directly decide whether consumer protection laws have been infringed, order redress to customers, and sanction businesses that do not comply. In particular, the CMA will be able to (inter alia):

• Issue provisional infringement notices: After starting an investigation, the CMA can issue a "provisional infringement notice" (PIN), requiring a trader to stop infringing consumer protection law.
• Impose penalties: The CMA can issue a “financial infringement notice” requiring companies to pay a fine of up to £300,000 or 10% of the enforcement target’s turnover. Further fines can be imposed for ongoing noncompliance (£150,000 or 5% of turnover and further daily fines). Fines can also be imposed for withholding or providing misleading or false information.
• Accept undertakings: The CMA can accept undertakings (instead of imposing an infringement notice) and enforce a breach of those undertakings by imposing fines (up to £150,000 or, if higher, 10% of the enforcement target’s turnover). The CMA can also require traders to compensate consumers and take other remedial steps. 
• Claim substantiation: The CMA can require traders to produce evidence as to the accuracy of factual claims (the burden of proof for accuracy of sales and marketing sits with traders).

As well as the new enforcement powers, the DMCC also introduces new banned practices by adding to the list of already defined specific unfair commercial practices. The newly introduced banned practices include:

The DMCC also provides new rules around subscription contracts (albeit it is not anticipated that these rules will come into force until Spring 2026). Under the new rules, traders will need to:

• give consumers extended pre-contract information about a subscription and confirm it on a durable medium post-contract; 
• send consumers renewal reminders at specified intervals;
• give consumers cooling off rights on entry into the contract, expiry of any introductory period and on any renewal which commits the consumer to a further period of 12 months or more. Traders must alert consumers to their rights by sending them cooling-off notices;
•  provide easy mechanisms for termination; and
• give consumers an "end of contract notice" on termination.

Misleading product or service claims such as presenting goods as environmentally friendly or sustainable without adequate evidence, are expected to continue to attract regulatory attention. While the DMCC does not contain specific provisions on greenwashing, false or misleading claims about green credentials could fall in scope of the rules.This has been a significant target of the CMA in recent years. For example:

• In March 2024, the CMA obtained undertakings from three fashion labels in relation to their Green Claim practices, including:
  • Green Claims: Companies must ensure all green claims are accurate, supported by appropriate evidence and not misleading. Key information should be clear, easy to read, and prominently displayed for shoppers.
  • Statements About Fabrics: Claims about materials (e.g., 'organic' or 'recycled') should be specific and clear. Ambiguous terms like 'eco,' 'responsible,' or 'sustainable' need further explanation. The percentage of recycled or organic fibres must be clearly visible.
  • Criteria for Green Ranges: The criteria for including products in environmental collections must be clearly outlined, including any minimum requirements (e.g., percentage of recycled fibres). Products cannot be marketed as part of an environmental range unless they meet these criteria.
  •  Use of Imagery: Companies must not use misleading imagery (e.g., green leaves) or logos that imply a product is more environmentally friendly than it truly is.
  •  Product Filters: Search filters must be accurate and show only items that meet the filter's criteria (e.g., only recycled products should be shown under a 'recycled' filter).
  •  Environmental Targets: Claims about environmental targets must be supported by a clear, verifiable strategy. Consumers should have access to details on the target, its expected completion date, and the approach to achieving it.
  • Accreditation Schemes: Statements about accreditation schemes must be clear and not misleading, specifying whether the accreditation applies to specific products or the company’s overall practices.
• In December 2023, the CMA opened an investigation into a producer of household items, including cleaning products and toiletries. Specific concerns related to statements and claims that were vague and potentially misleading, exaggerations about how natural a product is, recyclability of a product, and use of imagery (e.g., green leaves indicating a product is more environmentally friendly than it actually is).
• In April 2025, the ASA cleared an energy company and a financial services firm of allegations of greenwashing, confirming that their advertisements marketing green initiatives did not breach advertising rules. The ruling in respect of the energy company has been heavily criticised by one of the complainants, who said that “with this ruling the ASA is essentially endorsing greenwash” demonstrating how even rulings in favour of companies in relation to green claims can still cause damage to corporate reputation. However, the ASA has upheld complaints challenging the advertisements of another energy giant as misleading because they omitted material information about the overall environmental impact of the company’s business activities, specifically its contribution to harmful emissions. It has ordered that the advertisement must not appear again in the form complained of.

The CMA has also issued a “Green Claims Code” to provide guidance on what is and is not acceptable under existing competition and consumer protection rules. In April 2025, the CMA published its Unfair Commercial Practices Guidance which includes examples of greenwashing.

The CMA has issued Guidance to ensure businesses have sufficient clarity around the implementation of the DMCC. It sets out the likely priority areas of enforcement and compliance activity, the CMA’s improvements to consumer protection work, and what stakeholders can expect in the first year under DMCC:

The changes imposed by the DMCC are far reaching and create exposure for businesses on multiple fronts. To identify exposure risks, businesses should review their current practices to identify exposure in relation to drip pricing, consumer reviews and subscription contracts, as well as consider possible risks from advertising or marketing practices, particularly in relation to potential ‘greenwashing’. In brief:

Please contact our KPMG Law team for further details:

• Lisa Navarro
• Annalie Grogan
• Amanda Coale
• Antoni Wasilewski