UK Consumer Protection Gaps: Ticket Fees, Energy Direct Debit Hikes, Shrinkflation and Parking Fines

Commentators argue that the government could tighten rules in four key areas. First, a ban on “booking fees” added to event tickets would stop promoters from levying extra charges despite retailers not charging transaction or order-processing fees. Second, legislation could prevent energy suppliers from raising direct-debit payments when a household already has a credit balance, limiting hikes to the amount of a price-cap change. Third, mandatory “new pack size” labels on products would make shrinkflation – smaller quantities sold at the same price – obvious to shoppers, following rules already used in France and Austria. Fourth, the government could enforce the long-drafted parking-code of practice and revive a unified parking-app plan, ensuring drivers are not billed for alleged violations they did not commit.

The Guardian

Ticket buyers still encounter add-on fees even though the consumer-protection laws introduced last year have made those fees more transparent. Energy customers face direct-debit increases of around £50 despite holding an average credit of £135; the regulator Ofgem reports that providers held £3.2 billion of customers’ money in the year to March. Shrinkflation remains common, with smaller packs often sold at unchanged prices, leaving shoppers to pay more per unit. In parking, drivers report fines for electric-car charging, erroneous debt notices and app-related payment failures, while a nationwide app intended to consolidate disparate parking-company platforms was scaled back.

The Guardian

The recent consumer-protection legislation clarified ticket-fee disclosures but did not eliminate the fees themselves. Ofgem’s data on held customer balances underpins calls to restrict direct-debit hikes. The government’s parking code of practice, drafted several years ago, has yet to be introduced; a consultation on the code concluded last September, and the original plan for a unified parking app was watered down.

The Guardian

If implemented, the proposed bans and labeling requirements could reduce hidden costs, improve price transparency and prevent unnecessary financial strain on households already managing tight budgets. Clear pack-size information would help shoppers compare unit prices, while stricter controls on direct-debit adjustments would protect consumers from unexpected bill increases. Enforcing the parking code could eliminate wrongful fines and simplify payment processes.

The Guardian

Policymakers are urged to bring forward the pending parking-code enforcement and revisit the unified parking-app proposal. Further regulatory guidance on direct-debit adjustments and mandatory shrinkflation labeling would likely follow any legislative action, though no specific timetable has been announced.

The Guardian