A high street retailer has been dragged into a probe by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over suspicions it misled customers with "time-limited" sales offers. Appliances Direct, trading name of Buy It Direct Ltd, is being investigated for allegedly using these promotions to add extra charges to purchases without explicit consent from consumers.
The CMA investigation, which started on 17 November 2025 and will conclude by Summer 2026, centres on whether the company's advertised sales actually ended as stated. Additionally, it looks into whether customers are being automatically enrolled in purchasing supplementary services without their permission. During this phase, the regulator is gathering evidence from Appliances Direct to assess compliance with consumer protection laws.
While no conclusion has been drawn at this point, and it should not be assumed that Appliances Direct has breached consumer law, the probe reflects a wider drive by the CMA to safeguard online consumers. This year alone, it has taken action against several companies for their pricing practices, focusing on price transparency and clear promotional offers.
The Enterprise Act 2002 grants the CMA powers to conduct such investigations under Part 8. Personal data collected during this investigation will be handled in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.