Total Price And Hidden Fees

The Short Version

The CMA says the total price shown to customers should include mandatory fees, delivery charges and taxes such as VAT. Hiding extra charges until later in the purchase is called drip pricing, and the CMA says it is not allowed. The CMA's summary says breaches can bring a fine of up to 10% of turnover or £300,000, whichever is greater, and possible compensation for customers.

What Goes In The Total

• Mandatory charges, such as compulsory delivery, booking fees and taxes, belong in the total.
• Optional extras, such as next-day delivery, may be shown separately.
• "From" prices are allowed if they include all mandatory charges and do not mislead about what they cover.
• If the total cannot be worked out in advance, the information needed to work it out should be as prominent as the headline price.
• Per-transaction fees, such as a flat booking fee, go in the headline price, even in early advertising.
• Monthly contracts should show the monthly total. Contracts with a minimum term should show the cumulative price, or the monthly price plus the number of months.
• Foreign-currency charges should be converted to pounds, or the total shown in that currency with the exchange rate stated.

The CMA's Own Examples

• A £100 monitor, £50 headphones and £5 mandatory delivery give a £155 total.
• Shoes at £90 that "include standard delivery", with an optional £5 next-day delivery shown separately.
• A gym at £70 a month for 12 months plus a £30 joining fee, shown as a total annual membership of £870.

A Quick Self-Check

• Go through to the final payment step. Does the total match what you showed at the start, plus only the extras the customer chose?
• Do your ads, emails and marketing pages show the same price your checkout charges?

Our checkout price checklist turns this into ten questions you can print.

What We Do

SiteAudit looks for price changes through your checkout journey and ranks them as possible risks, with screenshots as evidence and a reviewer's sign-off.

Back to Resources · Enquire