WIREDGOV

Customers will receive around £440,000 in refunds.

• Wayfair fined £4.8 million for false time-limited offers
• Appliances Direct fined £1.2 million and ordered to refund customers around £432,000
• Gold’s Gym fined £45,000 and ordered to refund customers around £9,000

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined 3 businesses £6 million for misleading sales tactics.

In the last 18 months, the CMA has imposed fines of more than £12 million and secured nearly £2.4 million in refunds for customers using its new consumer protection enforcement powers.

Wayfair and Appliances Direct were fined for misleading customers with time-limited offers that did not end when they said they would – and Appliances Direct for also automatically opting customers into paid-for extras. Gold’s Gym was fined for not giving the total price for memberships, including the joining fee, in a clear and timely way.

Appliances Direct and Gold’s Gym will contact affected customers about their refund. Customers do not need to take any action.

All 3 parties engaged constructively with the CMA. Having admitted to breaking the law and agreeing to settle the case early with the CMA, which allows the CMA to resolve cases faster and get refunds back to consumers more quickly, all 3 businesses received a 40% reduction in their fine.

Hayley Fletcher, Senior Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA, said:

Whether buying a new sofa, a washing machine, or joining a gym, people should see genuine, accurate prices and offers – and decide for themselves whether they want optional extras. At a time when many households are carefully managing their budgets, people shouldn’t lose out because of misleading sales tactics.

The time is up for this kind of behaviour. Businesses must treat their customers fairly and make sure they comply with the law – or risk hefty fines.

Wayfair: time-limited offers

The CMA’s investigation found that products were advertised on Wayfair’s website through ‘Daily Deals’ and 24-hour ‘Flash Deals’, alongside messages such as ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow’ and countdown timers, which implied customers needed to act quickly to get the best deal. But the CMA’s investigation found that many products remained available at the same price or lower after the stated deadline – so the time-limited offer was false. By stating these were one-day offers, people could have felt pressure to make a quick purchase so as not to lose out.

Wayfair must pay a penalty of £4.8 million.

Appliances Direct: time-limited offers and pre-ticked checkboxes

The CMA’s investigation found that Appliances Direct customers were automatically opted into one or both of the following services:

• ‘Remove & Recycle Your Old Appliance’ service: removing the customer’s old appliance at the time of delivery, which is then recycled
• ‘Installation on Delivery service’: installing the new appliance at the time of delivery

Under consumer law, businesses must get customers’ express agreement before charging them for optional extras. Pre-ticked boxes and other forms of automatic opt-in are not allowed. The CMA has published guidance to help businesses get this right.

Appliances Direct also used pop-up countdown banners on some product pages which claimed that discounts of £10 to £25 were available for a limited time, but the CMA found that the same discount codes appeared repeatedly over many days. This meant customers could have been unfairly pressured into buying an appliance.

The CMA has fined Appliances Direct £1.2 million and ordered it to pay around £432,000 in refunds to customers affected by opt-ins – with average pay outs being £25 per customer.

Gold’s Gym: mandatory joining fee

The CMA found that Gold’s Gym, a UK franchise that operates 4 gyms in London, failed to include the joining fee in the total price shown to consumers for their annual and Direct Debit memberships, or the total price was shown in a way that was unclear and unlikely to be seen.

This practice is illegal. Businesses must show customers the total price, including any mandatory fees, clearly and from the outset.

The CMA has ordered Gold’s Gym to refund a total of £9,220 to the 726 affected customers. The amount repaid to each customer will depend on the type of membership they bought, but it will be either £50 or £10. Gold’s Gym has been fined £45,000.

More information can be found on the Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Gold’s Gym case pages.

CMA cost of living work

Today’s investigations form part of the CMA’s wider work to help ease cost of living pressures. Since its strengthened consumer powers came into force – which allow it to fine companies for breaches and secure refunds – the CMA has launched investigations across ticketing, gyms, homeware, online reviews and air travel.

Notes to editors

1. Appliances Direct and Gold’s Gym are managing all refunds. Affected consumers will receive a letter or email. Refunds will be issued via the method customers used or via an appropriate alternative, such as a cheque, if that is not possible.
2. Gold’s Gym (UK) Limited is a franchise operator of Gold’s Gym, operating independently and autonomously from Gold’s Gym International, which is part of the RSG Group.
3. The CMA used its powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) to impose these penalties and to secure redress from Appliances Direct and Gold’s Gym.
4. Opting consumers into making extra payments for optional goods or services under a contract without obtaining their express consent is prohibited by the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
5. Total price – the obligation to include all mandatory charges in the initial price shown to consumers, instead of introducing them as additional charges later in the purchase process – is required under Section 230(2) of the DMCC Act.
6. Under the DMCC Act, it’s illegal to mislead consumers by falsely stating that a product will only be available for a limited time, or only available on particular terms for a limited time, in order to elicit an immediate decision and deprive them of sufficient opportunity or time to make an informed choice. This commercial practice is considered unfair in all circumstances.
7. The CMA collects payments on behalf of HM Treasury relating to penalties imposed by the CMA. All payments collected are transferred to HMT’s Consolidated Fund.
8. If a business infringes consumer protection law, the CMA can fine it up to 10% of its global turnover (or £300,000 where this is higher than the 10% figure).