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Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024: your rights as a consumer — Articles

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) is the most significant piece of consumer protection legislation since the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Its consumer protection provisions — in Part 3 — came into force in April 2026. This article explains what changed for consumers.

Subscription traps: banned

The Act bans "subscription traps" — the practice of making it deliberately difficult to cancel a subscription. From April 2026, businesses offering subscription contracts must: give a clear pre-contract summary; send a reminder before a free trial ends or an annual subscription renews; provide a straightforward cancellation mechanism (a "cancel" button must be as prominent as the "subscribe" button); and process cancellations immediately (not at the end of a billing period where the consumer chose to cancel before then). Failure to comply with the reminder requirement gives the consumer the right to a refund for the period after the renewal the consumer was not warned about. The DMCC Act, Part 3 sets out the detail. The CMA actively enforces these rules — see the CMA enforcement action news.

Fake reviews: prohibited

The Act makes it a commercial practice for a trader to commission, incentivise, or submit fake consumer reviews, or to remove genuine negative reviews selectively. This is now an unfair commercial practice under the DMCC Act, enforceable by the CMA with fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover. Consumers who rely on fake reviews and suffer loss can bring a civil claim. The DMCC Act, Sch.20 lists specific prohibited fake review practices.

Stronger CMA enforcement powers

The CMA no longer needs to obtain a court order to enforce consumer protection law — it can now directly impose fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover on businesses that breach consumer protection rules, using its own administrative enforcement process. Fines for non-compliance with CMA investigation requirements can reach 1% of global turnover plus daily penalties. This is a fundamental shift from the previous court-based enforcement model. Businesses of all sizes are now at significantly greater risk of direct CMA action for consumer law breaches.

What to do if you are affected

If you cannot cancel a subscription easily, document your attempts (screenshots, email timestamps). Report the trader to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline (which refers to Trading Standards) and to the CMA. For existing consumer rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, see the faulty goods refund guide and the online purchase return guide. For digital content specifically, see the digital content rights article.

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Always check the official source and consult a qualified lawyer for your situation.

Subscription traps: banned

Fake reviews: prohibited

Stronger CMA enforcement powers

What to do if you are affected

Questions about this article