{"id":1466,"date":"2026-10-13T12:47:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T12:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosmarts.co\/en\/guidebooks\/uk-consumer-protection-compliance-guidebook\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T12:47:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T12:47:02","slug":"uk-consumer-protection-compliance-guidebook","status":"publish","type":"guidebook","link":"https:\/\/autosmarts.co\/en\/guidebooks\/uk-consumer-protection-compliance-guidebook\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Consumer Protection Compliance Guidebook for Automotive Companies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"overview\">What this guidebook covers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act lets the CMA decide consumer law breaches itself and fine directly, up to 10% of global turnover, without going to court. Its first fine, in April 2026, was \u00a34.2 million over a \u00a33 hidden fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This guidebook covers 6 consumer standards with 18 checkpoints: all-in pricing with no drip fees, honest reviews, accurate vehicle descriptions, the right to reject and repair, 14-day cancellation for distance sales and no pressure selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"standards\">The 6 consumer protection standards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table as-papertable as-gbtable\"><table><thead><tr><th>Code<\/th><th>Standard<\/th><th>Ideal fix time<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>CON-01<\/td><td>All-in pricing, no drip fees<\/td><td>72 hours<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CON-02<\/td><td>Honest reviews<\/td><td>Immediate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CON-03<\/td><td>Accurate vehicle descriptions<\/td><td>72 hours<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CON-04<\/td><td>Right to reject and repair honoured<\/td><td>72 hours<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CON-05<\/td><td>Distance sales: 14-day cancellation<\/td><td>7 days<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>CON-06<\/td><td>No pressure selling<\/td><td>72 hours<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"steps\">How to run a UK consumer protection audit, step by step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list as-gbsteps\">\n<li><strong>Confirm what applies.<\/strong> Sales to consumers and sole traders are covered; business-to-business sales such as fleet are outside most of these protections.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Walk the site, standard by standard.<\/strong> Score each of the 18 checkpoints Pass, Fail or N\/A. N\/A only where the standard rules it out, with the reason recorded. Compare advertised prices with what customers pay at the desk, and check how reviews are collected and shown.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Capture the evidence.<\/strong> A pass counts only with proof captured at the time of the audit: adverts and price lists, invoices, the review process, vehicle descriptions and cancellation records.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Give every fail an owner and a fix time.<\/strong> Record what you saw and who owns the fix. Each standard carries an ideal fix time, from immediate to 7 days, counted from audit submission (see the table above).<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Fix it, then prove it.<\/strong> The site fixes the cause and uploads proof of closure; the auditor checks the proof before closing the finding.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Re-check at the next audit.<\/strong> Confirm closed findings stay closed, and look for the same fail at your other sites so one gap doesn&#039;t repeat across the network.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"who\">Who this guidebook is for<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list as-gbwho\">\n<li>Dealer principals<\/li>\n\n<li>Sales and marketing managers<\/li>\n\n<li>Auditors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"as-gbnote wp-block-paragraph\">A reference document, not legal advice. Fines and rules change: check the current text with the regulator or your legal adviser before acting.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All-in pricing, honest reviews, accurate descriptions and statutory rights: what the CMA and Trading Standards check at UK car dealers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1853,"menu_order":22,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_as_region":"UK","_as_topic":"Consumer protection","_as_edition":"Edition 1 \u00b7 2026","_as_standards":"6","_as_checkpoints":"18","_as_pages":"11","_as_language":"","_as_law":"DMCCA 2024 \u00b7 Consumer Rights Act 2015 \u00b7 Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013","_as_regulator":"Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Trading Standards","_as_facts":"10% | of global turnover: the CMA's direct fining power (Apr 2025)\n\u00a34.2M | first CMA fine, over a \u00a33 hidden fee (Apr 2026)\n100 | businesses warned in the CMA's pricing sweep","_as_pdf":1467,"_as_checklist_1":872,"_as_checklist_2":803,"_as_checklist_3":0,"_as_guide":0,"_as_solution":557},"class_list":["post-1466","guidebook","type-guidebook","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/autosmarts.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guidebook\/1466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/autosmarts.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guidebook"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/autosmarts.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/guidebook"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/autosmarts.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guidebook\/1466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1468,"href":"https:\/\/autosmarts.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guidebook\/1466\/revisions\/1468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/autosmarts.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/autosmarts.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}