CMA Fines Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Gold's Gym a Combined £6 Million for Misleading Pricing Tactics Under New Consumer Powers

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued Final Infringement Notices against the three businesses between 29 September and 12 October 2026, and announced a combined £6 million in penalties on 14 October 2026, marking one of the most significant exercises of its strengthened consumer enforcement powers to date. Wayfair received the largest fine, £4.8 million, for running 'Daily Deals' and 24-hour 'Flash Deals' on its furniture website accompanied by countdown timers and 'Here Today, Gone Tomorrow' messaging, while the CMA found that many products remained available at the same or lower prices after the stated deadline. Appliances Direct was fined £1.2 million and ordered to pay around £432,000 in refunds to customers who were automatically opted into paid-for delivery and installation services via pre-ticked checkboxes, a practice explicitly prohibited under consumer law. The retailer also used pop-up countdown banners displaying discount codes that in fact recurred over many days. Gold's Gym, a franchise operator of four London gyms, was fined £45,000 and ordered to refund £9,220 across 726 affected customers for failing to include its mandatory joining fee in the total price displayed to consumers. All three businesses admitted to breaking the law and agreed to settle early, each receiving a 40% reduction on the headline fine. The CMA used its powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) to impose the penalties and secure customer refunds. Since its strengthened consumer powers came into force, the CMA has now imposed fines exceeding £12 million and secured nearly £2.4 million in refunds, across investigations spanning ticketing, gyms, homeware, online reviews and air travel.

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