英国首相Andy Burnham宣布推行一系列消费者保护措施，以应对日益加重的生活成本问题。[1]这些改革措施预计每年将为消费者节省4亿英镑。[1]
政府计划禁止误导性定价行为，包括虚假"曾经价格"、虚构折扣和误导性建议零售价。[1]Burnham表示，"如果广告说半价，就应该是真正的半价"。[1]政府还将强化订阅保护，要求企业提供更清晰的信息、定期提醒消费者，并为新订阅提供14天冷静期。[1]这些订阅新规将从明年春季提前至1月实施。[1]
当前，英国平均每人拥有约3个订阅，年支出约500英镑。通过取消不必要的订阅，消费者平均每月可节省14英镑。[1]政府计划在秋季进行咨询，通过次级立法尽快推进这些改革的具体细节。[1]公益组织Citizens Advice对这些改变表示欢迎，但指出"这不能是故事的结束"。[1]
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a comprehensive package of consumer protection measures designed to combat rising living costs, with particular focus on eliminating deceptive pricing practices and strengthening safeguards against subscription schemes.[1] The government estimates these reforms will save consumers approximately £400 million annually.[1]
The crackdown will prohibit misleading pricing tactics, including false "was" prices, fictitious discounts, and deceptive recommended retail prices.[1] Burnham stated that transparency must be non-negotiable: "If an advertisement says half price, it should be genuinely half price."[1] On subscriptions, the government is accelerating protective measures from a previously planned spring implementation to January of next year.[1] The new rules will require companies to provide clearer information, send regular reminders to customers, and offer a 14-day cooling-off period for new subscriptions.[1]
According to the policy briefing, the average British consumer maintains approximately three active subscriptions at an annual cost of around £500, with an estimated £1.6 million spent collectively across the UK each year on unnecessary subscriptions.[1] Individual consumers could save an average of £14 per month for each unwanted subscription they cancel.[1] The government plans to launch autumn consultations on legislative details, with implementation of the reforms to proceed through secondary legislation.[1]
While Citizens Advice has welcomed the proposed changes, the organization cautioned that these measures "cannot be the end of the story" regarding consumer protection.[1]