UK PM Burnham pledges crackdown on fake discounts and subscription traps
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced measures against misleading retail pricing and hard-to-cancel subscriptions, aiming to ease cost-of-living pressures. The changes are expected to save consumers around £400m a year.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has unveiled new rules targeting so-called "rip-off" business practices as part of an effort to ease the cost-of-living burden on households. Writing for the Guardian, he said tackling everyday financial pressures would be central to his government's agenda.
The government plans to ban misleading pricing tactics used by retailers to make discounts look bigger than they actually are, including artificially inflated "was" prices, invented price cuts and misleading recommended retail prices. Ministers will consult in the autumn on exactly which practices will be covered, with changes to follow through secondary legislation rather than a lengthy parliamentary process.
Faster action on subscription traps
The government is also accelerating new protections against subscription traps, moving their introduction forward from next spring to January. Businesses will be required to give clearer information when customers sign up, send regular reminders about active subscriptions, and make cancellation easier. A 14-day cooling-off period will also be introduced after a free trial ends or a long-term contract renews.
According to government figures, the average person holds about three subscriptions and spends roughly £500 a year on them. Across the UK there are around 155 million active subscriptions, with about £1.6bn spent annually on unwanted ones. Ministers estimate consumers could save an average of £14 a month for each unwanted subscription they manage to cancel early.
Citizens Advice welcomed the announcement but said it could not be the end of the effort. Burnham said further measures would follow in the coming months, alongside broader long-term plans that have not yet been detailed. He is expected to spend the rest of the summer travelling around Britain to hear directly from voters about what further action they want to see on the cost of living.
