Consumer law enforcement remains top priority at ACM

In the 2025 agenda of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (“ACM”), consumer protection is again referred to as one of the spearheads of ACM’s supervision. ACM thereby appears to be focussing in particular on the digital economy and digital consumers. In 2025, for instance, it specifically wishes to protect (vulnerable) online users and to investigate computerised and personalised pricing. ACM summarises its 2025 focus as follows:

• take action against abuse, misleading practices and manipulation in online sales and in the gaming sector;
• enforcing rules against dissemination of disinformation and hate speech on social media (in cooperation with other regulators in the Netherlands and Europe);
• educating people and businesses about their rights and obligations under new legislation in the digital domain, such as the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the Data Act; and
• taking action against businesses that take advantage of the dependency of buyers of their software or their platform.

In light of these ambitions of ACM, we will address in this blog recent examples of enforcement by ACM in the field of consumer law. These examples again demonstrate that (online) sellers are well advised to comply with consumer rules. Although ACM is increasingly open to informal settlements, businesses still run the risk of high fines, claims for damages from consumers, and reputational damage.

Past years

ACM’s focus on consumer law forms part of a trend in recent years. In 2022 already, ACM announced that it would be intensifying its supervision of consumer law. Now, more than 2.5 years later, this has proven not to be an empty threat. In 2023 and 2024, ACM was more active than ever in terms of enforcement in response to breaches of consumer law. This is shown in the table below.

ACM enforcement	2022	2023	2024
Number of investigations launched	104	186	106
Number of investigations completed	99	104	178
Number of orders subject to periodic penalty payments	4	1	4
Number of interventions using other instruments	106	101	117
Number of businesses and de facto managers fined	6	5	9
New fines imposed (in euros)	€2.3M	€1.9M	€2.2M
Number of enforcement requests	22	31	64

Source: ACM Annual Report 2024

Although the total amount in fines has remained relatively low, it is obvious that ACM is increasingly launching (186 in 2023) and completing (178 in 2024) investigations. It is becoming apparent in practice that ACM is increasingly willing to settle investigations informally. This (usually) means that a business commits to make certain changes, after which ACM decides not to impose a sanction. This also partly follows from the increase in the number of interventions using other instruments (117 in 2024). Finally, the number of enforcement requests doubled between 2023 and 2024, demonstrating that consumers and businesses are increasingly turning to ACM to complain about businesses that are (or allegedly are) in breach of the rules.

Focus on specific sectors

Practice shows that ACM is currently exercising its enforcement tools primarily in a number of specific sectors.

Energy sector

ACM supervises the energy sector in a broad sense, but also increasingly focusses on breaches of consumer law. These breaches include the (misleading) sale of energy contracts, but also the obligation for energy suppliers to clearly inform consumers about the sustainability of their products and services.

• In March 2024, ACM imposed a total of € 515,000 in fines on Global Marketing Bridge and its directors for misleading sales in energy contracts. According to ACM, sellers failed to clearly inform customers at the start of a sales call that they were calling to sell an energy contract. They also failed to tell them who they were and on behalf of which company (and which energy supplier) they were calling. The court ruled in favour of ACM on 19 June 2025, but reduced the fine by 5% because the handling of the case took a long time.

• Energy supplier Qwint gave commitments to ACM on 13 March 2024. Qwint intended to exit the market and had therefore not been accepting customers for some time. ACM nevertheless detected a delay in sending out annual statements. Qwint committed to sort out its invoicing and to guarantee the refund of balances (notably, Qwint will guarantee this by means of an independent foundation).

• At the end of 2024, ACM revoked the licences of energy supplier HEM. This was due to serious financial problems as a result of which HEM was no longer able to reliably supply energy. Clean Energy – which is taking over HEM’s customers – is now being monitored by ACM. Earlier, the ACM had imposed a €1.1 million fine on HEM for the misleading sale of energy contracts.

• On 19 February 2025, ACM announced that energy supplier Kikker Energie would resolve its financial problems following a binding instruction from ACM. This is meant to ensure that the energy supplier can continue to reliably supply gas and electricity to consumers. Kikker Energie has been under increased supervision by ACM since 2024. Last summer already, it promised not to increase fixed tariffs without the consent of (former DGB) customers.

• On 14 April 2025, ACM announced that it had investigated termination fees in energy contracts and shared its findings with the Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth. It follows from ACM’s investigation that it is often unclear to consumers how an energy supplier calculates the termination fee. This usually prevents consumers from making an informed choice about terminating their energy contract. On that same day, ACM furthermore warned consumers never to agree to a new energy contract or grant a power of attorney during unsolicited phone calls.

Travel industry

ACM is also directing its attention at the travel industry. It is taking action in particular against misleading ‘from’-prices. According to ACM, consumers must be able to rely on it that they can book a trip at the first price shown. Although the price may change after consumers enter more details, the first price shown must be a realistic option.

• In 2023, ACM completed an investigation into price displays for package holidays. It ordered 12 package holiday providers to state their prices more clearly. The investigation found that 11 of 12 providers investigated allegedly did not correctly state mandatory additional costs. The from-price was also often found to be incorrect. At the end of 2023 already, ACM stated that the five largest travel providers (ANWB, Corendon, Expedia, Stip Reizen and Sunweb) had to state their package holiday prices more clearly.

• In the summer of 2024, ACM warned consumers about price shifts in vacation trips. It established price shifts during the booking process at three of the package tour providers investigated. This often meant that consumers were unable to book a trip at the first price shown. ACM then imposed orders subject to periodic penalty payments on the three providers. It withdrew these orders in early 2025 following a court ruling in preliminary relief proceedings.

• On 12 December 2024, ACM imposed an order subject to periodic penalty payments on auction website Reizendeal. It did so to ensure that Reizendeal informed consumers more clearly about its products. Reizendeal then agreed in future to show the price including all the mandatory extra costs before consumers could actually make a bid.

Dropshipping

A relatively new topic on ACM’s agenda is dropshipping. Dropshipping means that traders sell products that they themselves do not have in stock but that third parties – in many cases from abroad – deliver directly to customers. Dropshipping is permitted, but traders must be clear about their role and must comply with online sales rules in doing so.

• In February 2024, ACM warned two online shops that had their products delivered directly from abroad (dropshipping) about breaches of consumer law. It had received several complaints about long delivery periods, poor quality and problems with returns and refunds at web shops Bestie on the move and Van Halen mode.

• In October 2024, ACM warned dropshipper berkenboschmode.com about providing incorrect and missing information on delivery periods, unreachable customer service, and problems with returning purchases.

• Also in October 2024, ACM called web shop Ortho-relief (dropshipper) to account – following consumer complaints – about the quality of products, unclear delivery periods, poor accessibility and problems with refunds. Ortho-relief then decided to cease its operations and to refund deceived consumers.

• On 8 May 2025, ACM imposed a € 90,000 fine on the owner of website wolffashion.de. This trader had its products delivered to consumers directly from China (dropshipping), but the trader’s website did not mention dropshipping or that the products came from China and therefore had to be returned to China. According to ACM, it thereby misled consumers.

Other enforcement actions

ACM has not been idle in terms of consumer law enforcement in other sectors either. A chronological overview of enforcement actions taken by ACM regarding breaches (or alleged breaches) of consumer law is set out below.

• Following action taken by ACM, alarm service provider Verisure agreed to adjust its acquisition and contracts. ACM had received complaints from consumers about unwanted acquisition, poor customer service, unclear charges, and problems with cancelling alarm services.

• On 28 February 2025, a provider of alarm systems for seniors agreed to compensate deceived parties after ACM intervened. ACM had received reports of aggressive acquisition, unclear prices and poor conditions on the sale of senior alarm systems.

• Following an investigation by ACM in early 2025, the website FixitFaster.nl stopped taking on new customers and collecting outstanding payments. ACM had received complaints about unexpected charges for FixitFaster’s services, among other things.

• On 21 March 2025, ACM drew up principles – in cooperation with European consumer regulators – regarding the use of online currency in games. According to the regulators, it was not always clear to consumers that they were spending real money when using online currency (e.g. virtual diamonds or gold coins). Game companies must in the future always state with regard to online currency that ‘real’ money is involved. In this context, ACM had imposed a € 1.1 million fine on Epic (the owner of Fortnite) in 2024 already. The Rotterdam District Court is currently considering whether that fine was justified.

• The Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal ruled on 22 April 2025 that the periodic penalty payments imposed by ACM on MB Nutrition (which operates in the field of food supplements) can be collected. ACM had imposed the order subject to periodic penalty payments because MB Nutrition had allegedly used fake consumer reviews and recommendations in marketing statements, in the form of fake likes and fake followers (deception).

• After joint action taken by ACM and European consumer regulators, Chinese web shop SHEIN agreed on 26 May 2025 to change its website. The regulators alerted SHEIN to, among others, the following consumer law violations: fake discounts, misleading countdown timers and scarcity claims, lack of essential information on legal rights, fake selling points, misleading sustainability claims, and hidden contact details.

• On 5 June 2025, ACM called on businesses to prepare for new rules on website and app accessibility. It referred to the European Accessibility Act, which came into force on 28 June 2025. Briefly stated, this Act will require that online shops and communication services are accessible to people with disabilities. The Act applies to companies with more than ten employees and/or with an annual turnover of more than € 2 million. To help companies prepare for this legislation, ACM has published an information page with the main points of attention.

• After an investigation into misleading telephone sales of home batteries, ACM warned consumers on 19 June 2025. According to ACM, home batteries are complicated products that consumers should not purchase after an unsolicited phone call. In such cases, ACM advises consumers to hang up the phone or to record the call. In December 2024 already, ACM warned consumers about unclear home battery advertisements.

• Although it has not yet led to any concrete enforcement action, ACM is showing increasing interest in companies’ warranty and repair policies. On 10 July 2025, ACM warned retailers to comply with warranty rules. According to ACM, it receives thousands of reports from consumers every year about poor handling of warranty issues. ACM has therefore sent letters to sellers reminding them of their obligations and has announced that sellers risk enforcement (such as a fine) if they fail to comply.

In conclusion

One of the reasons for stepping up enforcement is the increasing number of consumer complaints. On World Consumer Day, ACM announced that it had received some 78,000 questions and complaints from consumers in 2024. Such questions and complaints are an important input for ACM’s supervision. The vast majority of the complaints relate to dropshippers that fail to deliver products or deliver poor products, or to problems with returns. We expect that the large number of consumer complaints will lead to many enforcement actions by ACM also in the coming years.

It is therefore essential for online and other sellers to comply with consumer rules. Violating consumer law may lead to high fines. It may also have contractual consequences. If an agreement contains a provision that violates consumer rules, a consumer may request the court to annul that provision. In some cases, even an entire agreement can be annulled.

As stated above, it is apparent in practice that ACM is increasingly open to an informal settlement. In such a case ACM requires a company to make certain changes to address ACM’s objections. ACM then waives a sanction and usually publishes a short notice on its website. The advantage of an informal settlement – in addition to avoiding a sanction – is that ACM does not establish a formal violation (which reduces the likelihood of a civil claim for damages). We advise companies that are confronted with ACM to aim for an informal settlement by adopting a cooperative approach from the start and showing willingness to make adjustments. If you are in any doubt about objections on the part of ACM, it is of course advisable to consult a specialised lawyer.

More blogs and practical tips on consumer rules can be found at consumentenrecht.info.

Information on dawn raids by ACM can be found at invalacm.nl.

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