Drip pricing crackdown: Could Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED customers get refunds?
7 min read
August 26, 2026
Have you ever chosen what looks like the cheapest deal, only to find extra compulsory charges appearing before you can pay? The competition watchdog is investigating three major brands over concerns that customers may not have been shown the full price upfront, and refunds or compensation could follow if the law was broken.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched formal investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School over their online pricing practices. The watchdog is looking at whether compulsory charges were left out of the prices you initially saw when shopping for train and coach tickets, package holidays or driving lessons. This practice is commonly known as “drip pricing”. It’s when a business advertises one price, then adds unavoidable fees as you move through the booking process.
You’ve probably encountered it before, you spot a promising price, spend time entering your details and then, just as you’re ready to pay, the total price creeps up.
What is the CMA investigating?
The investigation covers different markets, but the concern is generally whether the first price shown to you accurately reflects the amount you would ultimately have to pay.
Trainline
The CMA is investigating whether Trainline included all mandatory fees in the upfront prices shown to people booking advance train and coach tickets through its website and app.
During its monitoring, the watchdog observed fees of between 59p and £2.79 on train bookings, as well as a £1.50 booking fee on coach tickets.
A couple of pounds might not sound that much in isolation. But if you travel regularly, those charges can quickly add up. They can also make it harder to compare Trainline’s price with the cost of booking somewhere else.
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic is being investigated over the way it displays the cost of package holidays. The CMA will consider whether mandatory resort fees and local taxes were included in the prices customers saw at the start of the booking process.
These charges vary between destinations and properties, but they can run into hundreds of pounds. That’s not a minor extra and for larger bookings particularly, could make a significant difference to whether a holiday actually fits your budget.
RED Driving School
The RED Driving School investigation concerns a mandatory booking fee and “digital” fee charged when you book driving lessons. The CMA says these charges can total £7 or more per booking. It will investigate whether they were properly included in the total price shown upfront.
Again, the issue isn’t simply that a fee exists, it’s whether you were given a clear and accurate price before investing time in the booking.
Why does drip pricing matter?
Drip pricing doesn’t just leave you paying more than you expected. It can stop you from making a fair comparison in the first place. Imagine one business advertises a service for £40 and another advertises it for £44. You naturally assume the first is cheaper. But if a compulsory £7 fee appears later, the supposedly cheaper option actually costs £47.
By that point, you may have already created an account, entered personal information or spent time navigating the booking process. You might decide it’s easier to carry on than start again elsewhere and that’s exactly why transparent pricing is important, you should be able to compare the real totals, not a collection of headline prices that may or may not survive the journey to checkout.
Have the companies broken the law?
The CMA is at the beginning of its investigations and has stressed that it has reached no conclusions yet about whether Trainline, Virgin Atlantic or RED Driving School broke consumer law. All three businesses had previously received advisory letters reminding them of their obligations. The watchdog says it remained concerned after continuing to monitor their practices, which is why it has now opened formal investigations.
What could happen if customers were misled?
If the CMA finds that a company broke consumer law, it has the power to impose a fine of up to 10% of the business’s global turnover. It can also order the company to change the way it displays its prices so that mandatory fees are included upfront in future.
Crucially, the CMA can require businesses to compensate affected customers. That could mean refunds for compulsory charges that should have been included in the original advertised price.
However, a refund or compensation payment is not guaranteed simply because an investigation has opened. The CMA must first gather evidence and decide whether the law was broken. If it finds an infringement, it will then decide what action is appropriate, including whether customers should receive money back.
We also don’t yet know:
- Which bookings or purchase dates might qualify
- Whether every affected customer would be eligible
- How any refund would be calculated
- Whether refunds would be issued automatically
- Whether you would need to submit a claim
- What evidence you might need to provide
Those details would normally be announced after the investigation concludes or as part of an agreement or enforcement decision involving the company. There is no legal deadline for the CMA to finish these investigations, so don’t assume money will be returned immediately.
The possibility of refunds is real, though. The CMA says its strengthened consumer powers have already helped secure more than £1.95 million in refunds for UK consumers. AA Driving School, BSM and ticketing site StubHub UK have previously been told to refund customers following drip-pricing investigations.
Could you be entitled to a refund?
Potentially, but it is too early to know.
You may ultimately be affected if you booked through one of the three businesses during the period examined by the CMA and paid a compulsory charge that wasn’t properly included in the first price you saw.
For now, you should keep hold of any relevant evidence, including:
- Your booking confirmation
- Your receipt or payment statement
- A breakdown of the fees you paid
- Emails or messages from the company
- Screenshots of the advertised and final prices, if you have them
- The date you made the booking
Don’t worry if you didn’t take screenshots at the time. Your receipt and booking confirmation may still show the additional fee, and the company should retain records of your transaction.
If the CMA orders refunds, check the official announcement carefully. Scammers often take advantage of compensation stories, so be suspicious of unexpected messages asking you to pay a fee or provide bank details to receive your money.
Should you complain now or wait?
You don’t necessarily have to wait for the CMA. If you believe you were shown a misleading price and then charged an unavoidable fee, you can raise your complaint through Resolver now. Resolver is free to use and can help you find the correct contact details, set out your complaint clearly and keep your messages and evidence together in one case file. It also gives you a record of when you contacted the business and the responses you received, which can be helpful later need when the investigations are complete.
When making your complaint through Resolver, explain:
- The first price you were shown
- The compulsory fee added later
- When and where you made the booking
- Why you believe the pricing was unclear
- What you want the company to do
You could write:
“The initial price shown to me did not include a mandatory fee that was added later in the booking process. This meant the headline price did not reflect the total amount I had to pay. Please refund the compulsory additional charge.”
Attach any receipts, confirmations, screenshots or fee breakdowns that support your complaint. Avoid including sensitive financial information that the business doesn’t need.
The company may reject your complaint while the CMA’s investigation is ongoing, but raising it through Resolver creates a clear written record and gives the business an opportunity to put things right. If you receive a refund offer, check whether accepting it would settle your complaint in full and take time to read the terms carefully before agreeing.
Don’t let the small amount put you off complaining
It’s tempting to shrug off an extra pound or two. Businesses know that many people won’t go through the effort of challenging a relatively small amount. But small fees multiplied across regular bookings, or thousands of customers can become very large sums. More importantly, you deserve to know the real price before you decide to buy. You shouldn’t have to complete half a booking, hunt through small print or reach the payment screen to discover what something actually costs.
The investigations are ongoing, and no findings have yet been made. You can follow developments through the CMA’s GOV.UK announcement. If you believe you’ve been affected, use Resolver to raise and manage your complaint.
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