CMA Opens Formal Drip-Pricing Investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic, and RED Driving School on 19 August 2026

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched three formal consumer protection investigations on 19 August 2026, targeting Trainline, Virgin Atlantic, and RED Driving School over suspected drip pricing: the practice of presenting a low headline price and adding mandatory charges only later in the buying process. For Trainline, the CMA is examining whether booking fees of between £0.59 and £2.79 on train tickets and a £1.50 fee on coach bookings are being hidden from consumers at the point of first display. The Virgin Atlantic probe focuses on mandatory resort fees and local taxes added to package holiday prices, which the CMA notes can amount to hundreds of pounds. The RED Driving School investigation concerns a mandatory booking fee and a 'digital' fee totalling more than £7 per booking. All three businesses had previously received advisory letters under the CMA's first consumer protection drive using its strengthened enforcement powers. Those powers, which came into force more recently, allow the regulator to fine companies up to 10% of global turnover and to order compensation for affected consumers without requiring a court order. The CMA has reached no conclusions yet on whether the law has been broken. Emma Cochrane, the CMA's Executive Director for Consumer Protection, stated that clear pricing helps people compare offers and that the first price a consumer sees should be the price they pay. The investigations form part of the CMA's broader cost-of-living programme, which has previously targeted ticketing, gyms, homeware, online reviews, and air travel.