The Competition and Markets Authority issued its first financial penalty under new consumer enforcement powers on 15 April 2026, fining AA Driving School and BSM Driving School, both owned by Automobile Association Developments Limited, £4.2 million for illegal drip pricing. The CMA also ordered the AA to directly refund more than £760,000 to over 80,000 affected customers, bringing the total cost of the action to nearly £5 million.
The investigation, launched in November 2025 as part of a broader CMA consumer protection drive targeting eight businesses and online pricing tactics, found that customers booking lessons between April and December 2025 were not shown the total price upfront. A mandatory £3 booking fee was instead added later in the checkout process after customers had already selected lesson times and entered personal details. This practice constitutes illegal drip pricing under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which came into force in April 2025. The Act requires businesses to display the full price from the very first step of any purchase journey.
The original penalty was set at £7 million but was reduced to £4.2 million after the AA admitted to breaking the law and agreed to settle early, triggering a 40% discount under the CMA’s settlement procedure. Affected customers do not need to take any action; refunds will be applied automatically to the card used at the time of purchase or sent by cheque where that is not possible. The average individual payout will be around £9.
CMA CEO Sarah Cardell said the case sends a clear message: “If a fee is mandatory, the law is clear: it must be included in the price from the very start, not added at checkout.” For UK marketers and digital teams, the ruling carries significant practical implications. The CMA has six further investigations ongoing into similar pricing practices at companies including StubHub, Viagogo, Gold’s Gym, Appliances Direct, Wayfair and Mark’s Electrical, signalling that this is the beginning of sustained enforcement rather than an isolated case.
