CMA fines Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Gold's Gym £6m for misleading sales tactics

Jurisdiction

United Kingdom

Case number

unknown

Posture

Decided; appeal status unknown (as of 15 October 2026)

Finality

Unknown

ID

CASE-GB-3-P1

Timeline

1. 14 October 2026 (decision date · day precision)

   Authority announcement: CMA fines Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Gold's Gym £6m for misleading sales tactics

   Actor: Competition and Markets Authority · Posture after: Decided; appeal status unknown · latest recorded event

   approximately GBP 6,000,000 (aggregate fines as reported); GBP 4,800,000 (administrative fine); GBP 1,200,000 (administrative fine); GBP 45,000 (administrative fine); approximately GBP 432,000 (distribution to claimants); GBP 9,220 (distribution to claimants); approximately GBP 440,000 (distribution to claimants)

   CMA fines Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Gold's Gym £6m for misleading sales tactics

   • CMA fines firms £6 million for misleading sales tactics - GOV.UK
     United Kingdom · Official / primary · AuthorityPressRelease · published 14 October 2026 · en · checked 15 October 2026Cited at: Press release headline and opening paragraph: "CMA fines firms £6 million for misleading sales tactics" / "The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined 3 businesses £6 million"; Press release, Wayfair section: "Wayfair must pay a penalty of £4.8 million."; Press release, Appliances Direct section: "The CMA has fined Appliances Direct £1.2 million and ordered it to pay around £432,000 in refunds to customers affected by opt-ins"; Press release, Gold's Gym section: "The CMA has ordered Gold's Gym to refund a total of £9,220 to the 726 affected customers... Gold's Gym has been fined £45,000."; Press release, opening narrative: "Having admitted to breaking the law and agreeing to settle the case early with the CMA... all 3 businesses received a 40% reduction in their fine."; Press release, 'Wayfair: time-limited offers': "the CMA's investigation found that many products remained available at the same price or lower after the stated deadline – so the time-limited offer was false."; Press release, 'Appliances Direct: time-limited offers and pre-ticked checkboxes'; Press release, 'Gold's Gym: mandatory joining fee'; Press release, 'Notes to editors': "The CMA used its powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) to impose these penalties and to secure redress from Appliances Direct and Gold's Gym."; Press release, 'Notes to editors': "If a business infringes consumer protection law, the CMA can fine it up to 10% of its global turnover (or £300,000 where this is higher than the 10% figure)."; Press release, second paragraph: "In the last 18 months, the CMA has imposed fines of more than £12 million and secured nearly £2.4 million in refunds for customers using its new consumer protection enforcement powers."; Press release, 'Notes to editors': "The CMA collects payments on behalf of HM Treasury relating to penalties imposed by the CMA. All payments collected are transferred to HMT's Consolidated Fund."