"Was" prices explained: how UK pricing rules protect you when shopping sales

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Quick answer

A “was” price is a claim that the shop used to charge more. Under UK consumer law, that claim must not mislead you. Industry guidance from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), updated in August 2025, says a reference price should be genuine, recent, and one the trader actually sold a meaningful number of items at. Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act) has let the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fine businesses directly for misleading consumers.

What is a “was” price?

When you see “Was £50, now £30”, the £50 is called a reference price. It’s there to show you how much you’re saving. Reference prices come in a few forms:

• “Was” prices, the price the shop says it charged before.
• RRP, a recommended retail price set by the manufacturer.
• “Compare at” or “worth” prices, which compare against something else.
• Introductory prices, such as “introductory offer, price will go up”.

The problem is that a reference price is only meaningful if it’s genuine. If the shop barely ever charged the “was” price, the saving is overstated.

The law in plain English

The DMCC Act 2024

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is the main UK law on unfair commercial practices. Its consumer protection rules came into force on 6 April 2025 and replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

In simple terms, the law says businesses must not:

• Give you false or misleading information, including about price, that’s likely to change your decision to buy.
• Leave out or hide important information you need to make a decision.
• Use aggressive practices, such as undue pressure.

It also lists 32 practices that are always unfair, whatever the circumstances. These include things like fake reviews and drip pricing.

What changed for enforcement

The big change is enforcement. The CMA can now decide for itself whether consumer law has been broken and fine businesses directly, without going to court first. The maximum fine for a serious breach is 10% of global annual turnover or £300,000, whichever is greater. That gives businesses a strong reason to get pricing right.

The CTSI pricing guidance

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute publishes Guidance for Traders on Pricing Practices, updated in August 2025 to reflect the DMCC Act. It’s guidance rather than law, but it explains how traders can avoid misleading price comparisons. In summary, it says a reference price should be:

• Genuine, meaning the trader actually charged it.
• Recent, and ideally the last price the item was sold at before the promotion.
• Backed by real sales, with a meaningful number sold at that price.
• Not out of season or inflated, for example by briefly raising the price before a sale.

Older guidance used a “28-day rule” of thumb. That fixed rule is no longer in the guidance. Instead, traders are expected to judge whether a comparison is fair based on the full picture.

Common pricing tricks to watch for

Practice	Why it can mislead	What to check
Inflated “was” price	Item rarely sold at that price	Look up recent price history
RRP far above real prices	RRP may never be charged by anyone	Compare with other recent prices
Price raised just before a sale	Saving looks bigger than it is	Check price history over a few months
Highest price from one store used for all	Not the price most people paid	Note whether the “was” price applies where you shop
Drip pricing	Fees added at checkout raise the total	Look at the final total, not the headline price
Fake urgency	Pressure stops you comparing	Ignore timers, compare first

How to check a “was” price yourself

1. Look at price history. Many browsers and shopping tools show how a price has changed over time.
2. Check what “was” means. Is it the shop’s own previous price, or an RRP?
3. Read the small print. Some sites explain where their reference price comes from.
4. Compare the total. Include delivery and any compulsory fees.
5. Ask yourself if you’d buy it anyway. If you would, a genuine discount is a bonus. If you wouldn’t, the saving doesn’t matter.

Unit pricing: another way to compare

In shops and supermarkets, the unit price (such as price per kilogram or per 100 ml) helps you compare different pack sizes. This is required under the Price Marking Order 2004 for many products. A “bigger pack” or “multibuy” isn’t always cheaper per unit, so the unit price is worth a glance.

What to do if you think a price is misleading

• Raise it with the retailer first. Many will explain or correct a pricing error.
• Get advice from Citizens Advice. Its consumer helpline can advise on your rights and passes information to Trading Standards.
• Report it. You can report concerns about misleading pricing through Citizens Advice, which shares reports with Trading Standards. The CMA also takes information about wider consumer problems.

A single misleading price doesn’t automatically give you a right to a refund, but if a misleading practice affected your decision to buy, you may have rights to remedies under the DMCC Act. Citizens Advice can help you work out where you stand.

Your other rights when shopping sales

Right	What it means	Where it comes from
Satisfactory quality	Goods must be fit for purpose and as described	Consumer Rights Act 2015
Short-term right to reject	Usually 30 days to reject faulty goods for a refund	Consumer Rights Act 2015
Cooling-off period	Usually 14 days to cancel most online orders after delivery	Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013
Credit card protection	Possible claim against the card provider for items between £100 and £30,000	Section 75, Consumer Credit Act 1974

These rights apply to sale items too.

How we handle prices on Daily Offer Deals

We don’t show prices, discount percentages or ratings for the Amazon deals we feature. Instead, we link to each deal page so you can check the current details for yourself. We’d always encourage you to look at recent price history before buying, whatever the “was” price says.