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Short-term car lease market review concludes
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been looking into the short-term car lease market since last year, and the investigations have now come to a head.
Last month, the review into the practises of five major car rental companies came to a conclusion. The review had been conducted by the EU Consumer Protection Co-operation Network, which is coordinated by the CMA. Big-name firms have previously agreed to undertakings, and further changes to online booking processes are now set be made.
The review has been a follow-on from the big 2015 action involving Avis-Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and Six. Regulators considered that more could still be done to ensure that some EU-facing websites were complaint with important consumer laws.
Further action set for the CMA’s secondary ticketing and Viagogo case?
There’s more news in the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) secondary ticketing and Viagogo case. And it could be huge.
You may recall that we’ve been tracking this case for a while now. At the start of 2019, a Viagogo, StubHub and Ticketmaster were all required to undertake serious changes to their business behaviour. This came in to effect as of midnight on 17th January 2019.
However, the CMA conducted some simple checks on 24th January 2019. They say that they found that Viagogo had failed to comply with the court order against them. Now, Viagogo is potentially facing further legal action for contempt of court.
Online hotel booking investigation update
Here’s the latest in the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) online hotel booking investigation that has been focused on consumer law compliance.
The initial investigation was launched back in October 2017, with enforcement action taken in June 2018. It’s an important one given the breadth of the online hotel booking market, and how confusing it can be. Competition in this key sector should always be healthy, and any infringements of the law cannot go unpunished.
We’re pleased to see that the latest developments in the online hotel booking investigation has seen undertakings agreed by numerous parties involved.
Crackdown after social media influencer investigation
A crackdown has been launched after a social media influencer investigation raised concerns that some product endorsements may be breaching vital competition law.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has reportedly written to a number of high-profile celebrities about their social media influencing habits. As a result of the warning letters, some social medial influencers have promised to clearly state if they’re being rewarded for endorsing products. Among those who have made the formal commitments are singers Rita Ora and Ellie Goulding.
We welcome this move and the cooperation of those involved so far.
Hotel booking sites watchdog investigation calls for changes
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the hotel booking sites watchdog, has called for changes in to the way rooms and ranked and displayed online.
According to the investigations initiated by the CMA , concerns are being raised about potentially false or misleading discounts, and false representations about room availability to pressure people into making booking decisions.
With the majority of people using online booking sites nowadays, any potential infringement of competition law must be closely scrutinised.
Venntro Media Group complaints leads to CMA warning
Venntro Media Group complaints has led to a warning issued from the UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
According to the recent report, Venntro had the profiles of users of some of their online dating platforms appear on other website platforms, including websites containing explicit adult content. The CMA found that users’ information was being held on a central database, making their profiles visible on websites they hadn’t signed up to.
Venntro Media Group complaints were received by the CMA by people who were not happy that they had been signed-up to websites without realising or being properly informed; especially when some of those were adult websites.
Amazon adverts under fire for being misleading
Amazon adverts have come under fire for being ‘misleading’ in relation to advertised price savings for four electronic products. Each advert reportedly received at least one complaint, and a subsequent investigation by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) reportedly upheld the complaints.
The Amazon adverts in question were for savings of £220 that could be achieved for an LG Smart TV; £193 on a ViewSonic monitor; £300 on an MSI laptop; and £185 on a Philips electronic toothbrush.
Despite protestation from Amazon, the ASA found that there was a lack of evidence to support the advertised savings.