Your Black Friday deadline has to be true now

On 14 October the CMA fined Wayfair £4.8m and Appliances Direct £1.2m, including for time-limited offers that didn’t end when they said they would. The CMA has had the power to fine directly, without going to court first, since April 2025. It imposed its first penalty in April 2026. This is the first Black Friday since it turned that power on sale deadlines. In this piece, Tim Roe, VALIX Strategy Director and former chair of the DMA’s Governance Committee, looks at the two calendar habits most exposed, the extension and the Cyber Monday rerun, and argues that one person should be accountable for the deadlines in your peak calendar: the CRM director.

Tim Roe

10/15/20265 min read

On 14 October the CMA fined Wayfair £4.8m. Its "Daily Deals" and 24-hour "Flash Deals" carried countdown timers and the line "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow". The CMA found many products still on sale at the same price, or lower, after the deadline passed. Appliances Direct was fined £1.2m in the same announcement, partly for countdown banners promoting discount codes that kept reappearing for days. Both admitted the breaches and settled.

Read that list again with your Black Friday calendar open.

False urgency isn't newly illegal. The 2008 regulations already banned it, as a criminal offence. What changed in April 2025 is who decides. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, the CMA can find a breach itself and fine up to 10% of global turnover, or £300,000 if that's higher, without first winning in court. Businesses can still appeal. The first fine, in April 2026, was for hidden booking fees. The first fine, in April 2026, was for hidden booking fees. Now it’s fining over fake deadlines too..

The Act also widened the wording. The old ban caught false claims that an offer was available for a "very limited time". Schedule 20, paragraph 7 drops "very". It now covers any false time limit used to push consumers into an immediate decision and deny them enough time to make an informed choice.

Two calendar habits deserve a hard look.

The first is the extension. "Ends midnight" becomes "extended by popular demand". An offer still running after the clock said it had ended is the pattern Wayfair was fined for. The CAP Code adds its own rule: a closing date shouldn't change unless unavoidable circumstances beyond your control make it necessary.

The second is the Cyber Monday rerun: the same deal three days later under a new name. The CMA's guidance, CMA207, says even a true deadline can mislead if a substantially similar offer appears within a short period. Black Friday is 27 November. Cyber Monday is the 30th. Plan the two together. If the same deal will continue or quickly return, don't tell customers they must buy before an earlier deadline to get it. Emma Sleep's court-approved undertakings bar it from similar promotions within 21 days of a Black Friday timer ending. That binds Emma alone, and isn't a waiting period anyone else can rely on.

Who owns this? The deadlines are written into the email calendar by CRM. In my experience, the call to extend gets made late, under pressure on the revenue number, without a check against anything. Trading, ecommerce and legal all need a say before launch. But someone has to be accountable for the calendar and for any change to a live sale. That should be the CRM director.

Before the calendar is built:

Agree a genuine promotion period and state a closing date you'll keep.
Review Black Friday and Cyber Monday as one plan. One continuous sale with one honest end date is often the cleanest option.
Write down who can change a live sale, on what grounds, and who checks it first, including against the CAP Code.
Check what you sent last Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Those emails already fell under the current rules, and they show what your team does under pressure.

Urgency is still allowed. It just has to be true. A genuine early-access window for your highest-value customers gives them a real reason to act, provided it's clear that early access ends when the public sale opens, even if the discount carries on. So does a final offer to lapsed customers, if it really is final. Test the revenue effect. Don't assume it.

A countdown timer is a promise. As of this month, breaking it has a price.

5. FAQs

Is it illegal to extend a Black Friday sale in the UK?

Falsely stating that an offer is only available for a limited time, in order to push consumers into an immediate decision and deny them enough time to make an informed choice, is a banned practice under Schedule 20, paragraph 7 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Separately, CAP Code rule 8.17.4.e says a promotion’s closing date must not be changed unless unavoidable circumstances beyond the promoter’s control make it necessary. Any proposed extension should be reviewed against both before the promotion is changed.

Has the CMA fined anyone for fake sale deadlines?

Yes. On 14 October 2026 the CMA fined Wayfair £4.8m after finding that products advertised through “Daily Deals” and 24-hour “Flash Deals”, with countdown timers, often stayed at the same price or lower after the stated deadline. It fined Appliances Direct £1.2m for countdown banners promoting discount codes that reappeared over many days, and for automatically opting customers into paid extras. Both admitted the breaches and settled.

How much can the CMA fine a business for breaching consumer law?

Up to 10% of global turnover, or £300,000 where that is higher. Since April 2025 the CMA can decide an infringement and impose the penalty itself, without first obtaining a court judgment; businesses can appeal. It can also order refunds. Its first penalty under these powers was £4.2m against the AA in April 2026, for drip pricing.

Were fake deadlines legal before the DMCC Act?

No. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 banned falsely claiming an offer was available for a “very limited time”, and made it a criminal offence. The 2024 Act removes the word “very” and gives the CMA direct enforcement powers alongside the courts.

Can I run the same offer on Cyber Monday as on Black Friday?

It needs care. The CMA’s CMA207 guidance says a deadline that is technically true can still mislead if a substantially similar offer appears within a short period. A new name, code or mechanic does not automatically make an offer different. Plan the two events together: if substantially the same deal will continue or quickly return, avoid telling customers they must buy before an earlier deadline. One continuous sale with one truthful end date is often the clearest approach.

What does the Emma Sleep order say about Black Friday?

In a High Court consent order dated 22 May 2026, Emma Sleep undertook not to use countdown timers where a substantially similar promotion on the same or similar products runs within 28 consecutive days after the timer ends, reduced to 21 days for a Black Friday sale. These are case-specific undertakings made under the previous enforcement regime. They do not create a waiting period that other retailers can rely on.

Are countdown timers in marketing emails banned?

No. A timer that counts down to a genuine deadline, after which the offer actually ends and is not quickly replaced by a substantially similar one, is permitted. The risk lies in timers that reset or deadlines the business does not intend to keep.

Should I leave the end date off a sale so I can extend it?

Not as a workaround. The CAP Code expects a prominent closing date where one applies, and a promoter that omits one must be able to show that its absence does not disadvantage consumers. Agree a genuine promotion period before advertising and state a closing date you will keep.

Did Black Friday 2025 fall under the current rules?

Yes. The DMCC Act’s unfair commercial practices provisions and the CMA’s direct enforcement powers took effect on 6 April 2025, so last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions ran under the current regime.

Who should be accountable for changing a live sale?

A single accountable owner, with others consulted. VALIX’s view is that the CRM director should own the promotion calendar and the change-control process, because CRM writes the deadlines into the email calendar. Trading, ecommerce and legal or compliance should review the plan before launch, and any change to a live promotion should need named sign-off and a recorded review.

How can brands create urgency without fake deadlines?

Make the reason to act true. A genuine early-access window for the highest-value customers is one option, provided it is clear that early access ends when the public sale opens, even if the discount continues. A final offer to lapsed customers is another, if it really is final. Test the commercial effect rather than assuming an uplift.

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