CMA to investigate British Airways and Ryanair over lockdown flight refunds June 9, 2021 The UK’s markets watchdog has begun an investigation into British Airways and Ryanair today, to find whether they broke the law in not offering refunds for flights struck by lockdown laws. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will be looking at a potential breach in consumers’ legal rights when they were left out of pocket [...]
Anti-virus firm Norton taken to court amid competition investigation March 23, 2021 The UK competition watchdog is taking anti-virus software firm Norton to court after it refused to provide information relating to an ongoing investigation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has identified concerns that Norton’s practices for automatically renewing contracts result in customers paying for services they no longer want or need. It asked the company [...]
Green light: Competition watchdog clears Uber’s Autocab takeover March 29, 2021 The competition watchdog has given the green light to Uber’s takeover of taxi tech firm Autocab, giving the ride-hailing giant a much-needed boost for its UK operations. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened a phase one investigation into the merger in January to examine how the deal could harm the private hire vehicle market. [...]
Tesco and Co-op among British supermarkets joining forces to sell fair trade bananas, coffee and cocoa May 20, 2024 A cohort of British supermarkets are reportedly planning to join forces to buy ethically sourced food such as bananas, coffee and cocoa from farmers in developing countries, entering talks with Fairtrade to carry out the move.
On the Beach calls for CMA to stop low cost carriers’ ‘aggressive tactics’ as long-running feud heats up October 24, 2023 A long-running feud between online travel groups and low-cost carriers is heating up, after On the Beach called on the CMA to step in.
Facebook hit with double data crackdown as UK and EU open competition probes June 4, 2021 Facebook is facing a two-pronged attack after UK and EU regulators both opened investigations into alleged monopolistic behaviour in the tech giant’s use of advertising data. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will examine whether the social media platform has gained an unfair advantage over rivals through how it gathers and uses data for classified [...]
Payment firms welcome government focus on open banking and competition November 23, 2023 Payment firms have welcomed Jeremy Hunt’s plans to legislate on open banking next year and follow recommendations of a government-backed review calling for more competition.
FCA and UK payments regulator launch inquiry into ‘risks’ of Paypal, Apple and Google Pay July 16, 2024 It follows previous work by the PSR on contactless mobile payments and the FCA’s examination of big tech’s role in financial services.
Competition watchdog set to block £140m Seedrs and Crowdcube merger March 24, 2021 The competition watchdog has provisionally blocked the planned £140m merger between Seedrs and Crowdcube over concerns it would lead to less choice and higher fees. The two crowdfunding platforms announced plans to merge in October, saying the deal would create one of the world’s largest private equity marketplaces. But following an in-depth investigation, the Competition [...]
CMA teams up with Australian and German authorities to tackle problematic mergers April 20, 2021 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has teamed up with its Australian and German counterparts to better enforce mergers, with healthy competition crucial to post-pandemic economic growth. The CMA, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Germany’s Bundeskartellamt have signed up to a statement which said that “without strong merger control regimes, there is a [...]