CMA secures over £4 million in refunds for Wowcher customers

Following CMA action, Wowcher will change the way it promotes products and services to customers – as well as providing over £4 million in refunds.

The CMA was concerned about ‘urgency’ claims being used by Wowcher which risk giving the misleading impression that products shortly won’t be available, when this is often not the case. These claims, particularly when used with countdown timers, may pressure shoppers to buy quickly for fear they’ll ‘miss out’ – potentially leading to rushed purchases or people spending more than they planned to bag a perceived bargain.

In particular, the CMA was concerned that the overwhelming majority of products on Wowcher’s site continued to be available at a similar price once the daily countdown timer had ended.

As a result of CMA action, Wowcher has agreed to change its sales practices to avoid potentially misleading or unfairly pressuring consumers into making quick purchases. Over £4 million in total has been refunded to 870,000 customers who were signed up to Wowcher’s ‘VIP membership’ via a pre-ticked box, in credit with the option to convert to cash

CMA secures over £4 million in refunds for Wowcher customers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)