Enforcement Watch: Who the CMA Is Investigating Right Now
The UK's competition watchdog has now opened 20 consumer investigations under its new powers, including airlines, a car park operator, Microsoft and Trainline.
Welcome to Enforcement Watch, our weekly look at what regulators are doing about companies that treat customers unfairly. This week: an update from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), published on 14 October 2026.
What the CMA Has Done Since April 2026
- Opened 6 new investigations: Ryanair, Euro Car Parks, Microsoft, Virgin Atlantic, Trainline and Red Driving School.
- Settled 7 cases.
- Imposed fines of over £11.8 million and ordered refunds of over £2.3 million.
- Secured compensation for heating oil customers whose contracts were cancelled. The most recent fines, against Gold's Gym, Wayfair and Buy It Direct (Appliances Direct), came to over £6 million. We covered them in our £6 million fines article.
Investigations Still Open
Pricing
Under investigationVirgin Atlantic, Trainline and Red Driving School, over whether customers are shown the full price they will pay.
Reviews
Under investigationAutotrader, Feefo, Dignity, Just Eat and Pasta Evangelists, over concerns that the law on misleading reviews may have been broken.
Individual Practices
Under investigationAdobe, Euro Car Parks, Ryanair and Microsoft. The Microsoft case looks at how it told customers about changes to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans, including AI features such as Copilot.
What It Means for You
- Watch the total price. The CMA says the full price must be clear from the start, and extras must not be pre-ticked.
- Be wary of countdown timers and "today only" deals. The CMA says it is watching for misleading discounts ahead of the busy shopping season.
- New subscription rules start in January, to make plans easier to cancel.
- If the CMA orders refunds in a case that affected you, GOV.UK explains how to get your money back.
- Direct consumer enforcement: 18 months on (Competition and Markets Authority, 14 October 2026)
- Getting money back if the CMA orders refunds or compensation (GOV.UK)
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