Provisions the documents cite: Part 4 Chapter 1: ss.224–230 (unfair commercial practices; misleading actions; misleading omissions; aggressive practices; professional diligence; material information in an invitation to purchase, including s.230(4) total price), s.231 (enforcement), ss.232–235 (consumers' rights of redress — ss.232, 234 and 235 NOT in force; s.233 power to make regulations), s.251 (revocation of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008), s.252 (transitional and saving provision, keeping Part 4A of the 2008 Regulations), Schedule 20 (practices unfair in all circumstances) — in force 6 April 2025 except ss.232, 234 and 235; Part 4 Chapter 4: s.308 (duty of trader to notify consumer of ADR arrangements), s.310 (transitional provision), Schedule 27 para 10 (revocation of the ADR Regulations 2015) — in force 6 April 2026
What it requires
Unfair commercial practices are prohibited (s.225(1)). A commercial practice is an act or omission by a trader relating to the promotion or supply of a product to a consumer, before, at or after the time of supply (s.225(3), (5)). It is unfair if it is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision they would not otherwise have taken because it involves a misleading action, a misleading omission, an aggressive practice or a contravention of professional diligence; if it omits material information from an invitation to purchase; or if it is listed in Schedule 20 (s.225(4)). A misleading action includes false or misleading information, including true information presented in a misleading way, about a product, the trader or any other matter relevant to a transactional decision, or an overall presentation likely to deceive (s.226). A misleading omission includes omitting material information (information the average consumer needs to take an informed decision), omitting information another enactment requires, or giving it in a way that is unclear, untimely or unlikely to be seen (s.227). An invitation to purchase — information indicating the product's characteristics and price that enables the consumer to decide whether to buy — omits material information if it leaves out, where not apparent from the context, the main characteristics, the total price (or, where it cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, how it will be calculated, set out as prominently as a total price would be), the trader's identity and business address and business email address, any optional delivery charges, the existence of any right of cancellation, and information another enactment requires; the total price includes any fees, taxes, charges or other payments the consumer will necessarily incur (s.230). The consumer rights of redress in ss.232–235 — rights to unwind, to a discount or to damages where a misleading action or aggressive practice is a significant factor in the decision to contract or pay, enforced in civil proceedings — are NOT in force: ss.232, 234 and 235 are shown as prospective, and S.I. 2026/284 records Chapter 1 as commenced "except sections 232, 234 and 235". Until the first regulations under s.233 come into force, s.252 keeps Part 4A of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 in effect, and that saved Part 4A is the private redress route (register entry cputr-2008-part-4a). Schedule 20 practices include displaying a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without authorisation (para 3), claiming an approval, endorsement or authorisation that is false or not complied with (para 4), falsely stating a price or terms are available only for a limited time (para 7), presenting rights given to consumers by law as a distinctive feature of the trader's offer (para 11) and fake or concealed-incentive consumer reviews (para 13). Chapter 1 came into force on 6 April 2025 (S.I. 2025/272), except ss.232, 234 and 235. s.251 revoked the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 from that date, but s.252 keeps them in effect for acts or omissions before 6 April 2025 and keeps their Part 4A (and the provisions relating to it) until the first s.233 regulations come into force. Part 4 Chapter 4 (alternative dispute resolution for consumer contract disputes) came into force on 6 April 2026 (S.I. 2026/284 reg 2(2)). s.308 — where a trader responds to a complaint from a consumer about any matters relating to a consumer contract between them (including the making of the contract, anything done by the trader before or after making it, and the trader's obligations under or relating to it and their performance), the trader must, when communicating the outcome of its consideration of the complaint, also inform the consumer about any ADR or other arrangement that is available if the consumer is dissatisfied with the outcome; that means a scheme or arrangement available to the consumer because the trader is obliged to participate in it by legislation, by the terms of the consumer contract or by other contractual arrangements to which the trader is party, under which ADR will be carried out or other action taken with a view to a resolution; the s.302 enforcement-notice regime applies to a trader who contravenes the duty, and other duties to give information are unaffected (s.308(1)–(6)). s.308 does not itself require a trader to join or use an ADR scheme. The duty does not apply to a complaint received by the trader before s.308 came into force (s.310(8)). For ADR started from 6 April 2026 to 5 October 2026 (or, where the provider applies for accreditation before then, until that application is granted, refused or withdrawn) the prohibitions on carrying out ADR in s.293(1) and on charging fees to consumers in s.294(1) do not apply (S.I. 2026/284 reg 3). The Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/542) were revoked on 6 April 2026 by s.339(1) and Schedule 27 para 10 (S.I. 2026/284) and must not be cited as current law. Extends to the whole United Kingdom.
The instrument itself: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/13/part/4/chapter/1. The summary above is our plain-English reading, not the text of the instrument — always work from the source.
How this entry is kept current
- Citation status: read in full at the primary source.
- Watched by: legislation.gov.uk "Changes to Legislation" tab — not just the text view.
- Source last checked by the automated scan: not yet — first scan pending.
Every source is re-checked monthly and the result is published in the scan log. A change that alters what a document should say raises a revision, and past buyers of that document are told.
The 5 documents that cite it
Every KubitDocs document prints its statutory basis on the form itself, so the person signing can verify the citation rather than take our word for it.