Nothing in UK law stops a small business discounting for Black Friday or Christmas. What the law requires is that every crossed-out price, "up to" claim, countdown and headline price is true, and that you can prove it. This is the first Christmas under the new rules: the DMCC Act 2024's unfair trading provisions apply to practices "which happen from 6 April 2025 onwards", the amended Price Marking Order took effect on 6 April 2026, the ASA ruled on the Black Friday 2025 "was" prices of Boots and John Lewis on 20 May 2026, and the High Court gave judgment in the CMA's case against Emma Sleep on 30 July 2026. Which? says Black Friday is on Friday 27 November 2026 and many retailers now discount from the start of the month. This is general information, not legal advice.
Which three regulators are you dealing with, and what can each one do?
| Who | What they enforce | What they can do |
|---|---|---|
| The CMA and Trading Standards | The DMCC Act, including the 32 banned practices in Schedule 20 | Civil penalties of up to £300,000 or 10% of worldwide turnover, whichever is higher (CMA207, footnote 39); most are also criminal offences |
| Trading Standards | The Price Marking Order 2004, amended from 6 April 2026, for goods | Fines "of up to £300,000 or 10% of the trader's global turnover (whichever is higher)" |
| The ASA | The CAP Code, rules 3.17 to 3.22 on prices, for ads and websites | A published ruling and an order not to repeat the ad |
Fake and cherry-picked reviews are on the same list; our guide to Google reviews covers them. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute's pricing guidance (CTSI, updated April 2026) is "not statutory guidance", but the CAP Code tells advertisers to take it into account.
"Was £X, now £Y": what must be true before you print it?
The ASA's advice, dated 6 October 2026, says a reference price must "represent a genuine established usual selling price" and that the ASA "expects advertisers to provide at least three months of pricing history". In the Emma Sleep judgment the company accepted that a reference price is misleading if the product "has not been offered for sale at the Reference Price for at least as long as it is being offered for sale at the discounted price". Boots' Yankee Candle claim passed (£60 for 54 days, then £29.50 for 41); its BOSS fragrance claim failed (£80 for 21 days, £64 for 26, £60 for 40) (Boots ruling).
Black Friday is four weeks away, so a "was" price used then should have been your actual, unbroken price since the end of August. If it has not, use a plain Christmas price with no crossed-out figure, or label a new line's launch price as an introductory offer, since "Introductory offers must be clearly described as such" and the CTSI says it is likely to be unfair if the price "is not, in fact, increased at the end of the promotional period". When the sale ends, it ends: "Promotional offers should not normally be extended beyond their closing dates".
"Up to 50% off" and "from £9.99": how many lines must carry the saving?
CAP Code rule 3.22 says "up to" and "from" claims "must not mislead by exaggerating the availability or amount of benefits". The CTSI expects the maximum reduction to apply to "a significant proportion of the range of products", and the ASA says "Less than 10% is unlikely to be considered a significant proportion". Passing that figure is not enough: HGVT Ltd lost in April 2026 because it "did not provide documentary evidence to demonstrate how the saving was calculated". "Up to 50% off everything" above a list of exclusions fails too: "a qualification that excludes certain items is likely to contradict this headline claim".
Countdown timers, "only 3 left" and "ends tonight": what is now banned?
Schedule 20, paragraph 7 of the DMCC Act bans "Falsely stating that a product will only be available for a limited time". The CMA's example is a countdown clock that runs out while the offer carries on, and a true closing date is unlikely to be a problem unless "a substantially similar offer appears within a short period". Emma Sleep admitted in a court order of 22 May 2026 that its countdown timers and "high demand" messages broke the law. So before Sunday, switch off any shop-platform or booking-app timer or "people viewing" badge that does not use real data (the CMA's open letter also covers those offering "apps, plug-ins, extensions") and file the stock figure behind every "only 3 left". Our seasonal ad strategy post covers the ads.
Delivery, booking fees and service charges: what is drip pricing?
Section 230 of the DMCC Act says the total price "includes any fees, taxes, charges or other payments that the consumer will necessarily incur". The CMA's summary says "It's illegal to hide additional fees, taxes or other charges", that mandatory per-transaction charges belong in the total price "even in early-stage advertising", and that a "from" price is allowed "as long as it includes all applicable mandatory charges". On 15 April 2026 the CMA fined the AA £4.2 million because "a mandatory £3 booking fee was not included in the upfront price". On that guidance, a salon's compulsory booking fee belongs in the advertised treatment price, a restaurant's compulsory service charge goes in the headline party-menu price (see our Christmas party bookings post), a tradesperson's "from £X" includes everything every customer pays, and prices include VAT, since CAP rule 3.18 allows VAT-exclusive prices only where all those addressed "pay no VAT or can recover VAT".
Price tickets and sale notices in a shop: what changed on 6 April 2026?
The Price Marking Order covers goods, not services, in shops and online. Since 6 April 2026 a blanket "20% off all gifts" notice instead of re-ticketing is allowed only where "it is not reasonably practicable" to mark each item, which the guidance calls "a high threshold, not to be relied upon where individual repricing is merely inconvenient". A member or loyalty price means article 7A applies: show "each selling price" with the condition "in close proximity to the product".
Returns, gifts and refunds at Christmas: what does the customer get by law?
Online or by phone, the customer can cancel for any reason until 14 days after the day the goods arrive, and you must refund "without undue delay" and within 14 days of getting the goods back or proof of posting, refunding standard delivery, with no fee. If you do not tell them about the right, they can cancel at any time in the next 12 months. The right does not cover personalised goods, perishable goods or dated "catering or services related to leisure activities", such as a party booking.
In a shop you need not refund a customer who has simply changed their mind (GOV.UK), and "You only have to accept returns from the person who bought the item". Faulty goods can be rejected for a full refund within 30 days from the day after delivery. We found no UK statute setting a minimum gift voucher validity period, and the CMA's unfair contract terms guidance, updated 22 July 2026, does not mention vouchers; an expiry date is a written term, so section 68 says it must be "transparent", and it must be fair.
VAT on discounts, bundles and gift vouchers: what changes in your return?
If you are VAT-registered: for a basic discount, "charge VAT on the discounted price"; for a multi-buy where every item has the same rate, "charge VAT on the combined price"; where rates differ, say a hamper of zero-rated food and standard-rated wine, Notice 700/7 says "you will usually have to apportion in the normal way". A single-purpose voucher (VAT rate and place of supply known at sale) has VAT accounted for at sale; for a multi-purpose voucher, "Any VAT due is only payable when the voucher is redeemed". Our salon Christmas bookings post covers voucher offers.
What should you keep on file for every promotion?
The CMA's open letter tells businesses to "keep adequate records to show that these claims genuinely reflect selling conditions". One page per promotion will do:
- The standard price, the unbroken dates it applied, and units sold at it.
- Offer price, start and end dates, and the price on the day after.
- For "up to" claims, the lines, the saving on each and the share at the maximum.
- The stock figure or calendar entry behind any stock or time claim.
- VAT treatment, voucher type, and who signed it off.
What could we not verify?
- A "28-day rule" for "was" prices circulates online. It is not in the ASA's advice or the CTSI guidance, so do not rely on it.
- On 9 August 2026 the government said "A consultation will launch this autumn" on adding fake "was" prices, invented discounts and misleading RRPs to the banned list. It had not launched when we checked on 12 October 2026.
If you would rather not do this yourself
Three months of pricing history cannot be bought in October. This week we can check each planned offer against the rules above, settle the wording and evidence sheet, and build the ads and landing page around it. That is part of our performance marketing service. For a second pair of eyes before a promotion goes live, email Sales@britbunch.co.uk.