Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take steps to bring forward legislative proposals to prevent charges in addition to the cost of a product from being imposed through online transactions.

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (CCRs) require that traders must give full information about the price of the product including any unavoidable extra charges before purchase. These must be given in a clear and comprehensible manner.

The Government has commissioned research on some of the wider issues around ‘drip pricing’ - i.e. traders who unfairly add fees late in the purchasing process. This looks at how widespread the practice is, and the various steps that could be taken to tackle those practices. As part of our review, the Government will consult on ‘drip pricing’ during passage of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill to seek views on which elements of ‘drip pricing’ might need tackling and if further action is required.