SNEAKY checkout costs added to online shopping bills will be banned, Rishi Sunak has hinted.
The PM has launched a review into “drip pricing”, a technique where charges are gradually put on an item so it becomes dearer as people click through the steps to buy it.
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He has tasked Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch with determining “how widespread and damaging” the practice is.
On a trip to Washington DC, Mr Sunak took aim at vendors who get punters to fork out more than they bargained for.
He said: “We’re all probably anecdotally and individually aware of this practice — you just get more and more things added on to the cost of something.
“There’s just not the kind of price transparency that you’d expect.
“So we’re concerned about that. We want to make sure we keep helping people with the cost of living.
“And this is a practice we’re looking at, to see how harmful it is and if we need to take further action.”
It comes after publication of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, which aims to protect online buyers from scams and rip-offs.
