91Ï㽶»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵ

Any description of a product, including goods, services and digital content, a trader (either yourself or another trader) or any other matter connected to a consumer’s transactional decision must not mislead them or contain false or untruthful information.

You must also not omit details about products, including goods, services and digital content, or omit any information that is legally required, such as information required from an invitation to purchase or information required in consumer contracts, to ensure your customers are able to make a fully informed decision about whether to buy or not.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) makes it an offence to engage in an unfair commercial practice. This includes anything a trader does or fails to do when promoting or supplying a product, including goods, services and digital content, to consumers.

Dishonest practices could include untruthful advertising, omitting important information, or providing deceptive after-sales information. Using these unfair practices, known as a misleading action and a misleading omission, breach the act. and are potentially a criminal offence.

Any business that trades in goods or services must comply with the act. Directors, managers and other employees can also be liable to follow the rules.

Transactional decision

The misleading information given or information not provided to a consumer must cause, or be likely to cause, a consumer to make a different transactional decision.

A transactional decision is any decision a consumer makes in relation to a product. It can be taken before, during or after a purchase is made or a contract is agreed. There doesn’t have to be an actual transaction for there to be a transactional decision.

Examples of transactional decisions include:

• decision to visit a shop, click on a website, view a property or attend a sales presentation
• decision to buy a product like goods, services, digital content
• decision to sell a product (to a trader or another consumer)
• decision to sign a contract
• decision to exercise their rights, for example use their right to cancel or seek a repair or replacement of faulty goods
• decision to pay a debt

What is a misleading action under unfair trading law?

A misleading action occurs when information relating to a product or a practice contains false information or is in some way untruthful, or its overall presentation deceives or is likely to mislead the consumer.

A false or untruthful product description can mislead a customer with information relating to things such as the price or how the price is calculated, or the need for a service, part, replacement or repair. For example, a customer pays £50 for a product, without being told the price does not include VAT. As this was not explained in the advert, the advert is misleading.

For more information on practices that could be misleading actions, see the .

What is a misleading omission under unfair trading law?

A misleading omission is when a trader omits or hides material information or provides it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous, or untimely way. For example, to make an informed decision about whether to buy or how much to pay, the consumer buying a car needs to know whether the vehicle has previously been an insurance write-off; you, as the trader, have to disclose this information, whether or not the consumer asks for it.

For a practice to be unfair, the trader's misleading action or omission must be likely to cause a consumer to take a transactional decision that they would not have taken otherwise - as above, this could be, for example, to buy as opposed to not buy, having work done or not, or paying a different amount for goods.

How can a misleading action or omission be given?

When selling, a misleading action or omission can be provided in several ways, including:

• verbally
• in writing (for example, in an advert, a brochure, or on an invoice or order form)
• by illustration (for example, in advertisements or on packaging)
• by implication

What does the law require?

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act does not cover insignificant inaccuracies. Only a court can decide whether the actions of a trader would adversely affect a consumer.

You can check which laws apply to the goods and services you trade in by asking your local .

Avoiding committing an offence

In the first instance, you should ensure that all descriptions are not misleading. This means that not only should they be accurate, but they should be presented in a way that would not mislead - for example, by being understood in the wrong context.

To avoid committing misleading omissions, traders should ensure that they are open and honest with customers, including anything that might make the product or the offer less attractive.

A consumer’s right to redress

If a consumer has been the victim of misleading actions or aggressive selling, there are regulations which give them a right to redress through a civil court order. The customer may be entitled to claim compensation, a price reduction or cancel the contract. These rights do not apply to misleading omissions.

The rights of redress for affected consumers are currently provided for by the .