Rules and ethics
Part of SAAS marketing rules and ethics explained for UK teams
What the 2024 DMCC Act means for SAAS marketing advertising rules
A checklist of the advertising rules for SAAS marketing in England, covering the DMCC Act 2024, ICO tracking guidance, Ofcom and subscription contracts.
What to take away
- The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 gives the Competition and Markets Authority direct fining powers over unfair commercial practices, so misleading SAAS claims now carry faster financial risk. Under section 182 of the Act, a CMA final infringement notice can impose a monetary penalty of up to £300,000 or, if higher, 10% of the total value of the respondent's turnover.
- Subscription pricing, rollover trials and drip pricing sit inside the Act's subscription contract rules, which need reviewing before your next campaign.
- The ICO's online tracking guidance still governs cookies, pixels and analytics, and consent must be collected before non-essential tracking fires.
- Marketing calls, texts and emails sit under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), which the ICO enforces, and the same duties apply across the UK, so teams in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland follow an identical checklist.
Where the DMCC Act changes your advertising
The DMCC Act 2024 replaced much of the old Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations framework and gives the CMA stronger tools against misleading or aggressive practices. For SAAS, pricing pages, trial terms and comparison claims all fall in scope.
The core rule sits in Part 4, Chapter 1. Section 225 states that unfair commercial practices are prohibited, and the legislation.gov.uk annotations record section 225 as in force from 6 April 2025. A practice is unfair if, among other tests, it omits material information from an invitation to purchase (section 230) or is listed in Schedule 20, the list of commercial practices which are in all circumstances considered unfair.
Pricing claims and drip pricing
Advertising a headline price then adding mandatory fees is drip pricing, which the Act treats as a potentially unfair commercial practice. Under section 230, the material information in an invitation to purchase includes the total price, and the total price includes any fees, taxes, charges or other payments that the consumer will necessarily incur if the consumer purchases the product. Show the total a UK customer pays, including per-seat minimums, setup fees or overage charges, before they commit. Our UK rules and compliance guide covers the surrounding obligations.
Banned outright: reviews and false urgency
Schedule 20 of the Act lists practices that are unfair in all circumstances, with no need to show harm. Three matter most for SAAS advertising. Submitting, or commissioning another person to submit or write, a fake consumer review, or a review that conceals the fact it has been incentivised, is banned; a fake review is one that purports to be, but is not, based on a person's genuine experience, and commissioning includes incentivising by any means. Publishing consumer reviews in a misleading way is banned too, so a review badge built from cherry-picked reviews is a risk. And falsely stating that a product, or a price, will only be available for a limited time, to force an immediate decision, is banned, which catches countdown timers on discounts that never end.
Comparison tables that name a rival plan need date-stamped evidence behind each figure. If a competitor moves its pricing, a claim that was accurate last quarter can turn misleading.
The Act is not the only rule book. The Advertising Standards Authority applies the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code), the rule book for non-broadcast advertisements, sales promotions and direct marketing communications, which must be followed by all advertisers, agencies and media.
Trials, renewals and cancellation
Free trials that convert automatically into paid subscriptions fall under the Act's subscription contract provisions in Part 4, Chapter 2. That Chapter imposes duties on traders in relation to subscription contracts and provides rights for consumers to cancel subscription contracts during cooling-off periods; sections 256 to 261 hold the trader duties. Many of its sections were not in force at Royal Assent, so check the commencement notes on legislation.gov.uk before you fix campaign dates. You need clear pre-contract information, reminders before renewal, and an exit route as easy as sign-up.
The reminder rule is precise. Under section 258 on reminder notices, where a subscription has no concessionary period, the trader must send a reminder notice for each renewal payment that relates to the end of a relevant six-month period, counted from the day after the contract was entered into. Where the contract includes a concessionary period, a reminder notice is due for the first renewal payment and then for each renewal payment that relates to the end of a later six-month period. Dark patterns that make cancellation harder than purchase are what the Act targets.
Annual auto-renewals sit in scope as well, not only monthly trials. Requiring a customer to email support before they can cancel is the kind of friction the rules are aimed at.
Tracking, channels and disclosure
Advertising rules follow the data you collect and the channels you use, not just your pricing page.
Cookies, pixels and analytics
Before non-essential tracking runs you need a lawful basis and, in most cases, consent. The ICO's online tracking guidance explains what counts as tracking and how consent should work. Audit your tag manager before launching a campaign, because retrofitting consent is harder than building it in.
Ad platforms that receive conversion data count as tracking too. Consent has to cover the purpose, so a banner that names no vendors or purposes is hard to defend.
Electronic channels and Ofcom
Email marketing sits under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, and so do SMS and voice campaigns: PECR cover marketing by electronic means, including marketing calls, texts, emails and faxes. The ICO enforces them and has several ways of taking action against anyone who breaches PECR, including criminal prosecution, non-criminal enforcement and audit. Ofcom, listed on its Ofcom page on GOV.UK, is the communications regulator rather than the body that polices your opt-ins. Check opt-in records and sender identification for every channel, not just email.
Soft opt-in rules cover existing customers, but they are narrow. Record where and when each contact agreed to hear from you.
A decision checklist for English campaigns
Use the decision table below to decide what to run, change or pause. It reflects current UK law and regulator guidance, not legal advice, and individual cases need a qualified adviser.
- Runa campaign when every price shown is the total price, every review quoted is genuine and not secretly incentivised, and tracking only fires after consent.
- Changeit when a headline price leaves out fees the customer will necessarily pay, when a trial rolls into a paid plan without the pre-contract information and reminder notices above, or when cancelling takes more effort than signing up.
- Pauseit when it relies on a countdown or "ends today" offer that is not true, on reviews you cannot show are genuine, or on email, text or call lists with no recorded opt-in.
Campaign compliance decision table
Headline price plus mandatory fees
All-in price shown before checkout
Fees revealed late
What to review before you launch
Work through four checks:
- Price.Every price claim shows the total a customer pays, including any fees, taxes or charges they will necessarily incur.
- Subscriptions.Trial and renewal terms meet the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 subscription rules: pre-contract information, reminder notices and an easy exit.
- Tracking.Consent is collected before non-essential cookies, pixels or analytics fire.
- Channels.Every email, text and call list has a documented opt-in or soft opt-in record.
What to keep on file
Keep dated copies of ad copy, landing pages, consent records and pricing screenshots. If a complaint reaches the CMA or the ICO, evidence of what a buyer saw on a given date protects you. Review the file quarterly.
Common questions
Do these rules apply across the UK or only in England?
The DMCC Act 2024 and the ICO's tracking rules apply across the UK. Enforcement is often coordinated from London, but Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish SAAS firms carry the same duties.
Is a free trial a subscription contract under the DMCC Act?
Where a trial rolls automatically into a paid plan, it can fall within the subscription contract provisions. Treat it as covered: give clear pre-contract information and a reminder before the first charge.
Can I run analytics without consent if I only measure traffic?
Not automatically. The ICO treats many analytics cookies as non-essential, so consent is usually needed before they fire. Check your own configuration against that guidance.
Who regulates SMS and voice marketing for SAAS?
The ICO. SMS and voice marketing, like email, sit under PECR, which cover marketing calls, texts, emails and faxes, and the ICO enforces them, so your opt-in records answer to the ICO.
