The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has published guidance on unfair commercial practices, giving organisations an indication on how to comply with the provisions in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (“DMCC Act”) that came into force on 6 April 2024.

The Guidance helpfully breaks down the various parts of the new provisions (what businesses will fall within their scope, what constitutes a “commercial practice”, and who counts as a consumer) before covering in detail the various forms of unfair commercial practices.

As the Guidance explains, commercial practice can be unfair on two grounds: (1) because it is one of the 32 commercial practices listed in the DMCC Act which are deemed to be unfair in all circumstances; and (2) because it is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision that they would not otherwise have taken.

As for the first category, the Guidance sets out the 32 commercial practices which are unfair in all circumstances alongside helpful illustrative examples of how they might arise. As for the second category, it provides advice on the ‘core concepts’ within the legislation, for example what constitutes a transactional decision and who is the average consumer.

The Guidance then expands in detail upon the various forms of unfair commercial practices as outlined in the DMCC Act, and offers advice on how to ensure that organisations fall on the right side of the law, including: setting out the material information that must be included in an invitation to purchase; how to avoid misleading actions or omissions; what constitutes harassment, coercion and undue influence for the purposes of the prohibition on aggressive practices; and what amounts to a contravention of the requirement of professional diligence.

Finally, the Guidance ends on a cautionary note, reminding organisations of circumstances in which the breaching of certain unfair commercial practices provisions constitutes a criminal offence, potentially resulting in a fine or imprisonment for up to two years.

To read the Guidance in full, click here.

Keep up with all the latest updates on the DMCC Act by bookmarking our tracker.