The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the United Kingdom opened on 19 August 2026 three formal investigations against Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and Red Driving School for failing to display the full price upfront when purchasing train and bus tickets, holiday packages, and driving lessons, according to the regulator's press release.
The action is part of a broader offensive against 'drip pricing', the practice of separating mandatory charges from the advertised price and adding them later during the checkout process. All three companies had previously received warning letters under the first use of the CMA's new powers, but subsequent monitoring sustained the regulator's concerns, The Independent reported. The case is relevant to Mexico because the policing of undisclosed charges falls to the Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE) and the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (PROFECO), and the British model describes a tiered enforcement framework: warning, monitoring, and formal investigation.
The CMA detailed which charges it is examining at each company. At Trainline, it observed fees of between £0.59 and £2.79 on train tickets and a £1.50 booking fee on bus tickets. At Virgin Atlantic, it is examining mandatory resort fees and local taxes on holiday packages, costs that can add up to hundreds of pounds. At Red Driving School, it is investigating a booking fee and a 'digital' fee of more than £7 per appointment. If non-compliance is confirmed, the CMA can order consumer redress and fines of up to 10% of global turnover; since bolstering its powers, the regulator has secured refunds of more than £1.95 million and fines of close to £6.2 million, including those imposed on driving schools AA and BSM and the StubHub platform.
The CMA has no statutory deadline to conclude the investigations, which are currently in the evidence-gathering phase. The outcome will determine the scope of fines and redress, and will serve as a reference point for the enforcement of hidden charges, a matter that in Mexico falls to PROFECO and COFECE.
This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.