- Chancellor introduces tougher measures to protect people from
unjustified price hikes
- Consumer watchdogs to gain new rapid investigatory
powers to target firms taking advantage of crises to
unfairly raise costs
- Regulators to highlight price gouging firms to
customers
Working people will be protected from unfair price rises as the
Chancellor clamps down on firms who rip off their
customers.
A new framework will give the Competition & Markets Authority
(CMA) and other regulators stronger, more targeted powers to act
quickly to tackle excessive and unfair price rises.
Price gouging is when a company puts prices up to an unfair and
unjustifiably high level during a crisis. When a major supply
shock hits, these powers will
help regulators spot trouble early, move faster,
and protect consumers.
Where regulators identify concerning practices, they could ‘name
and shame' by publicly sharing information on how
individual firms have changed their margins in response
to an economic shock, and the reasons behind this.
The Chancellor has today confirmed the Government will bring
forward these changes to strengthen the current system.
Chancellor of the Exchequer
said:
“When global events drive up costs, working families feel it
first. I will not tolerate anyone exploiting a crisis to make a
quick buck off the back of hard working people.
“We are backing families, backing fairness, and building a
stronger and more resilient economy through our long-term
economic plan.”
The Chancellor will also make it clear
she won't hesitate to go further if needed. Should the
CMA or other regulators observe price gouging in an emergency and
conclude that they needed further powers to tackle it to support
consumers rapidly, the Government stands ready to act, including
with highly targeted enforcement powers to give them the ability
to direct firms to stop exploitative pricing practices and where
necessary, impose penalties if needed.
The Government will bring regulators together regularly through a
new working group under the Regulators Council to share
intelligence and monitor the response to the conflict. That means
faster detection, sharper scrutiny and stronger protection for
consumers.
These actions build on the existing strong powers the CMA and
other regulators have to deal with anti-competitive
behaviour. The CMA has already stepped up its work on road
fuel and moved swiftly to launch a market study into heating
oil supplies. The CMA is examining concerns from consumers and
has made clear it will take enforcement action if it finds
potential breaches of consumer law.
