Can a company charge me a fee that wasn't clearly stated in the contract?
No — you're not liable for a charge you were never properly told about.
No. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, you are not liable for costs you weren't clearly told about before the contract was made. Businesses are required to obtain your express, active consent for any payment beyond the main price of what you're buying, and one specific practice — using pre-ticked boxes to sneak in extra charges — has been explicitly banned since the Regulations came into force in June 2014.
What "clearly stated" actually requires
| Requirement | What it means |
|---|---|
| Express consent for extra charges | You must actively agree — a pre-ticked checkbox doesn't count as consent |
| Disclosure before the contract is made | Costs revealed only after you're committed don't bind you |
| Plain, intelligible language | A written term must be transparent and legible to be considered fair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 |
| Not buried or hidden | A fee technically present but not reasonably noticeable can still be challenged |
The pre-ticked box ban
Before the Consumer Contracts Regulations came into force, it was common practice for online checkouts to include extras — insurance, priority handling, warranty add-ons — pre-selected by default, relying on shoppers not noticing or not bothering to untick them. This is now specifically prohibited: traders must have your active, opt-in consent for any additional payment, and if they charge you via a default option you didn't actively choose, you're entitled to a refund of that amount.
Why "it's in the contract somewhere" isn't automatically a defence
A company might point to a clause buried deep in lengthy terms and conditions and argue it was technically disclosed. But under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a written term has to be transparent — in plain, understandable language and legible — to be treated as fair. A fee that's technically present but written in dense legal language, in tiny print, or positioned where no reasonable person would notice it, is genuinely vulnerable to challenge on transparency grounds, separate from whether the fee itself is fair.
What to do if you're charged an undisclosed fee
- Check your original contract, order confirmation, or checkout screenshots for exactly where (if anywhere) the fee was mentioned, and how prominently.
- If you can't find clear, upfront disclosure and active consent for the charge, tell the company in writing that you're disputing it under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
- Ask for a refund of the undisclosed amount specifically, rather than disputing the whole transaction if the rest was properly agreed.
- If the fee came from a pre-ticked box or similar default option, point this out explicitly, since it's a specifically banned practice.
- If the company won't refund it, you can dispute the charge with your card issuer or escalate through the relevant ombudsman or regulator for that sector.
Does a company need my active consent for extra charges? Yes. Traders must obtain your express consent for any payment in addition to the agreed remuneration for the main obligation. If a business relies on a default option you'd have to actively decline (like a pre-ticked checkbox) to charge you extra, you're entitled to a refund of that payment.
What if a fee is technically mentioned somewhere in the small print? A written contract term must be transparent — in plain, intelligible language and legible — to count as fairly disclosed. A fee buried in dense small print, or not brought to your attention in a way you could reasonably be expected to notice, is vulnerable to challenge even if it technically appears somewhere in the document.
Related questions
Official sources
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