The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has ordered the AA to pay nearly £5mn in penalties and refunds after the motoring giant failed to include a mandatory £3 booking fee in upfront prices for driving lessons. The £4.2mn fine and £760,000 refund order marks the first financial sanction under new consumer protection laws introduced in April 2025.

The case is part of a wider CMA crackdown on "drip pricing," where companies advertise low initial prices then add mandatory fees later. Drip pricing cost UK consumers an estimated £3.5bn extra in online purchases during 2023, with nearly half of online businesses using such techniques. The CMA opened investigations into eight firms last November.

Over 80,000 customers of AA and its subsidiary BSM driving schools will receive refunds averaging £9, after the AA admitted the practice and cooperated with investigators. The company stated that while the fee was clear before purchase, it should have been displayed at the start of the online booking process.