Sneaky fees banned in the UK from today

[andha-21]

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/apr/06/uk-bans-22bn-sneaky-fees-and-fake-reviews-for-online-p...

The CMA are in charge of the crackdown

Fingers crossed. We may have some light at the end of the tunnel now.

[action_man]

It's interesting how we can all view things from different perspectives.

Sneaky fees to me would be something like a company with a fee which switches from seller to buyer at the same time as being advertised on TV as "free to sell" for the seller and then months later as a "protection" for the buyer. Same fee, just shifted from one place to the other, but called different names and marketed as being a benefit, when it isn't. Plus with the added benefit that you can say it's "free to sell" because technically it is when there is no longer a seller fee. Although, saying "free to sell" on a TV advert omits the part where you actually need "visibility" which comes at a cost, negating the whole "free to sell" lie. But they say nothing about the fact that if you don't promote, you won't be seen and even if you do promote there is no guarantee you'll be seen either.

For me that isn't just "sneaky", which sounds far too sweet. It's deceptive, misleading, underhanded, manipulative, unethical, or even crooked. But that's just one perspective.

The CMA may find it to be perfectly within the law for all we know, or they may consider it to be a violation of the legal standards. We'll have to wait and see.

Whatever it is, it's a P.R. disaster.

Edit: At the same time making the fee massively more expensive on low value items, where something priced at £0.99 becomes approximately £1.78

[leighbayuk]

Whilst the new Buyer Protection Fees are not hidden , they are not as clear and upfront as they could be. Often only display when you click a small link alongside the price.

However, I think there are two area which the CMA may wish to take a look at with regards to the DMCC.

1. Only applying BPF to UK consumers.
2. Simple Delivery not offering the lowest cost option.

Issues can be reported here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/contact-the-cma

[fantailsforme]

Also with this  new law, a company can be fined £300,000 or 10% of their profits if false reviews are given. 

Well eBay will soon be bringing in automatic positive feedbacks when an item is delivered by SD.  That could be classed as a false review as the buyer might not have even opened the package before the positive feedback has been given and feedback is a review of the seller's track record.

[papso22]

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@fantailsforme wrote:

Also with this  new law, a company can be fined £300,000 or 10% of their profits if false reviews are given. 

Well eBay will soon be bringing in automatic positive feedbacks when an item is delivered by SD.  That could be classed as a false review as the buyer might not have even opened the package before the positive feedback has been given and feedback is a review of the seller's track record.

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I understand that buyers will be able to override any automatic positive feedback with their own.

[leighbayuk]

I think the fees are rather hidden and clearly only target UK consumers. 

[4_bathrooms]

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@fantailsforme wrote:

Also with this  new law, a company can be fined £300,000 or 10% of their profits

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The maximum fixed penalty for a final infringement notice is 10% of global turnover (not profit). However, a final infringement notice would only be issued after an initial infringement notice had already been issued that afforded the platform an opportunity to stop the infringing practice before any penalties were imposed.

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@fantailsforme wrote:

Well eBay will soon be bringing in automatic positive feedbacks when an item is delivered by SD.  That could be classed as a false review as the buyer might not have even opened the package before the positive feedback has been given and feedback is a review of the seller's track record.

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The announcement states positive feedback will be left 7 days after tracking indicates delivery provided the item arrives on time and the buyer hasn't already left feedback nor reported an issue with their order. The automated positive feedback will state: "Order completed successfully - tracked and on time". This would be factually correct however I'm surprised eBay chose not to wait at least until the end of the MBG period before leaving automatic positive feedback.

eBay go on to state: "This feedback will remain unless the buyer reports a negative experience, such as opening a return request, reporting non-receipt, or cancelling the order. Any positive or negative feedback subsequently left by the buyer will replace the automated positive feedback". So the automated positive feedback isn't guaranteed to remain should the buyer subsequently have an issue with their order.

Anyway, I gather @andha-21  believes the buyer protection fee somehow falls foul of the DMCCA but it clearly doesn't. The DMCCA means any price shown to a consumer must include any mandatory fees at the moment the consumer chooses to enter into a transaction. The BPF is included in any price the buyer sees - including any offers the buyer makes - before they reach the checkout stage so it is most certainly not a "hidden" fee.  

Interestingly the DMCCA does seem to have had an effect on eBay where automatic negative feedback removal is concerned.

[action_man]

The BPF is included in any price the buyer sees - including any offers the buyer makes - before they reach the checkout stage so it is most certainly not a "hidden" fee.
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Except in all the examples in the post directly above yours.

[4_bathrooms]

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@action_man wrote:

The BPF is included in any price the buyer sees - including any offers the buyer makes - before they reach the checkout stage so it is most certainly not a "hidden" fee.
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Except in all the examples in the post directly above yours.

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The BPF is part of an eBay UK-specific buyer protection policy. If an item sells on an international eBay site the seller has agreed the buyer can use whatever buyer protection is offered on the buyer's site of registration; that is why the (eBay UK) BPF isn't shown on international eBay websites.

However, it does seem eBay have made an oversight on the UK website. The BPF is shown in search results, on the listing page and is broken down at checkout but it is not shown in the basket - this appears to be an oversight rather than a deliberate omission. Even so an eBay UK registered buyer cannot add an item to their basket without first having seen the price including the BPF (where a private seller is concerned). 

[leighbayuk]

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@4_bathrooms wrote:

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The BPF is part of an eBay UK-specific buyer protection policy. If an item sells on an international eBay site the seller has agreed the buyer can use whatever buyer protection is offered on the buyer's site of registration; that is why the (eBay UK) BPF isn't shown on international eBay websites.

The BPF is also not added on eBay UK when buying from an international seller. So it is not completely clear if the list price includes BPF or not. This is only revealed on the final checkout.

[4_bathrooms]

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@leighbayuk wrote:

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@4_bathrooms wrote:

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The BPF is part of an eBay UK-specific buyer protection policy. If an item sells on an international eBay site the seller has agreed the buyer can use whatever buyer protection is offered on the buyer's site of registration; that is why the (eBay UK) BPF isn't shown on international eBay websites.

The BPF is also not added on eBay UK when buying from an international seller. 

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As per eBay:

"When purchasing from UK-based private sellers, the Buyer Protection fee is calculated as"

There is no BPF when purchasing from international sellers, private or otherwise.

[action_man]

Keep clutching those straws..........

[the_book_seekers]

'Sneaky fees' seems to be an invention of some areas of  the press/media. The practice that's been banned is known as Drip Pricing - 

Drip pricing is a pricing technique where only part of an item's price is advertised, with the total amount revealed at the end of the buying process. Drip pricing may initially withhold mandatory fees, such as local hotel taxes, booking fees, or resort fees, or may not include add-ons that are required to use a product or service, such as internet access, certain facilities, or amenities.  These additional, often mandatory costs are disclosed one by one or "dripped."

[sml192]

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@the_book_seekers wrote:

'Sneaky fees' seems to be an invention of some areas of  the press/media. The practice that's been banned is known as Drip Pricing 

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Yes, using 'Sneaky fees' instead of 'Drip pricing' is far more likely to get people to read the article, a typical click bait tactic which in itself could be considered sneaky. 

[leighbayuk]

Here is a bit of fun. Can you identify which prices include the BPF?

[leadhills_scot]

Well for starters no 1 is a business so no BPF is added and no 3 is from Lithuania so again BPF do not apply. As for the rest would not have a clue and to be honest I really don't care.

[jonat_broad]

What is being banned is drip pricing. That is a price is shown but more fees are added on in the checkout (that cost more money).

I agree ebay could be a heck of a lot clearer with how they are presenting BPF - but they don't appear to be doing anything that is drip pricing. Unless only showing that the price you have always been shown includes a fee in the price is wrong.