Last updated 5 October 2026
Are Pre-Ticked Paid Extras Legal in the UK?
No. Under UK consumer law, businesses cannot use pre-ticked boxes or equivalent automatic opt-ins to charge consumers for optional paid extras — genuine, express consumer consent is required.
- 01The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply.
- 02The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 strengthened enforcement.
- 03Express agreement is required for additional paid services.
- 04Pre-ticked boxes and equivalent automatic opt-ins are not permitted.
- 05The CMA now has direct civil enforcement powers, including fines.
The legal framework in plain English
When a consumer buys something, any extra paid product or service must be a genuine, active choice. The seller cannot default the customer into the charge and require them to opt out. This principle is set out in the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which require that consumers must expressly consent to any additional payment.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 substantially strengthened the regime. It gave the Competition and Markets Authority direct civil enforcement powers — including the ability to impose financial penalties without going to court — for breaches of consumer protection law. The CMA's strengthened powers commenced in April 2025, which is why the relevant conduct period in the Marks Electrical case began on 6 April 2025.
Why express consent matters
Express consent protects consumers from being quietly charged for things they did not actively choose. It places the burden on the business to obtain a clear "yes" rather than relying on the customer to notice and say "no".
What counts as an "automatic opt-in"
An automatic opt-in is any mechanism where an optional paid extra is added by default — for example a pre-ticked checkbox, a pre-selected radio button, or a charge bundled into the total without a separate, active confirmation. The specific interface does not matter; what matters is that the consumer did not expressly agree to the additional charge.
What the CMA can now do
- §Open investigations directly into suspected breaches.
- §Issue Final Infringement Notices setting out findings of law breach.
- §Impose financial penalties (as in the Marks Electrical case: £720,000).
- §Order consumer redress and refunds.
- §Require businesses to report on remediation.
How this applies to Marks Electrical
The CMA applied these principles to Marks Electrical Limited, finding that the "Recycle Old Appliance" and "Unwrap & Recycle Packaging" services were pre-selected without express agreement. The case is one of the early enforcement actions under the CMA's strengthened direct consumer-enforcement powers.
Read the Marks Electrical CMA case