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Wayfair and other firms fined £6m by competition watchdog for misleading sales tactics
Overview
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined Wayfair, Appliances Direct, and Gold's Gym a total of £6m for using misleading sales tactics, with customers set to receive refunds totalling £440,000. Wayfair received a £4.8m fine for false time-limited offers, Appliances Direct was fined £1.2m for deceptive urgency claims and automatic service add-ons, and Gold's Gym was fined £45,000 for failing to display clear total pricing for memberships.
Key points
- Wayfair was fined £4.8m for using false time-limited offers and countdown timers.
- Appliances Direct received a £1.2m fine for misleading customers and automatically opting them into extra services like recycling.
- Gold's Gym was fined £45,000 for failing to disclose the total price of memberships upfront.
- Appliances Direct and Gold's Gym have been ordered to issue refunds totalling £440,000 to affected customers.
- All three firms cooperated with the CMA investigation and received a 40% reduction in their fines after settling early.
- Representatives from Wayfair and Appliances Direct criticised the fines as disproportionate or excessive.