Trainline’s shares fell 15% on Wednesday after the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened a formal investigation into the ticketing platform’s pricing practices.
The probe centers on whether Trainline concealed mandatory fees from consumers by displaying upfront prices that did not include all compulsory charges. The CMA’s action is part of a wider enforcement drive targeting so-called drip pricing, where businesses separate mandatory fees from headline prices or add them later in the purchase process.
The investigation into Trainline was announced alongside parallel probes into Virgin Atlantic’s resort fees and local taxes for package holidays, and RED Driving School’s booking and digital fees. All three firms had previously received advisory letters from the CMA as part of its Clear Pricing campaign, which urges businesses to present all mandatory costs upfront. The campaign provides a three-step checklist to ensure transparency in pricing.
The CMA has not yet concluded whether any of the firms have breached consumer protection laws. If an infringement is found, companies could face fines of up to 10% of their global turnover and be ordered to compensate affected customers. Since enhanced enforcement powers were introduced, the watchdog has secured over £1.95 million in refunds for UK consumers and levied fines totaling nearly £6.2 million.
Trainline’s share price decline of 15% followed the announcement, with the drop representing a market value reduction of approximately £150 million based on the company’s reported trading range. The CMA’s executive director for consumer protection, Emma Cochrane, stated that the first price customers see should be the final price paid, adding that unexpected mandatory charges undermine transparency.
The investigation into Trainline comes amid broader scrutiny of pricing practices across sectors. Earlier enforcement actions have already resulted in fines and refunds for driving schools AA and BSM, as well as ticketing platform StubHub UK, following separate drip pricing investigations. The CMA’s latest probes signal an intensification of its efforts to enforce clearer pricing standards in the UK market.
