Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether he plans to ask the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate whether existing consumer protection legislation is being complied with in cases where consumers using online accommodation booking platforms have experienced duplicate transactions, fraud losses and difficulties obtaining refunds.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the UK’s independent competition and consumer protection authority. The CMA operates independently of Government in carrying out its enforcement functions and decision making. This independence helps ensure that enforcement decisions are impartial and based on evidence and the law, giving businesses and consumers confidence in the fairness of the system.

The Government has strengthened consumer enforcement powers through Part 3 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, including tough fines and new powers for the CMA to act more swiftly and directly.