Wayfair Fined £4.8m Over Fake Flash Deals by the CMA

Four things this week for anyone buying furniture or furnishing a room. The competition regulator has fined Wayfair for countdown deals that were not really ending, Dunelm has reported a hot-weather wobble and a recovery, Mattressman has recalled two mattresses that failed fire testing, and a floor lamp sold through Amazon has been stopped at the border.

Wayfair fined £4.8 million for one-day deals that did not end

On 14 October the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it had fined Wayfair £4.8 million for false time-limited offers. Products on Wayfair’s UK website were promoted as “Daily Deals” and 24-hour “Flash Deals”, with countdown timers and messages such as “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow”, but the CMA found that many stayed at the same price or lower after the deadline had passed. Wayfair admitted breaking the law and settled, which earned it a 40% reduction in the fine. The CMA opened its investigation in November 2025.

In the same announcement the CMA fined Appliances Direct £1.2 million, for countdown discount codes that kept reappearing and for pre-ticked boxes that opted customers into paid removal and installation; it must refund about £432,000, around £25 a customer, and will contact those affected. Gold’s Gym, which runs four London gyms, was fined £45,000 over hidden joining fees. The CMA says it has now imposed more than £12 million in fines, and secured nearly £2.4 million in refunds, in the 18 months since new consumer powers let it fine firms directly.

For anyone furnishing a room, the lesson is to treat a countdown timer as a sales tactic, not a fact. If you like a sofa or a table, note the price, wait a day or two and look again; it will often still be there. Check every tick box before you pay for delivery extras. Our furniture budget calculator helps you set a figure per room so a “deal” does not push you over it, and our guide to interior designer trade discounts explains what a real discount looks like. The details are in the CMA’s announcement and on the Wayfair case page.

Dunelm: sales down 3% in the heat, then up 4%

Dunelm published its first-quarter trading update on 15 October, for the 13 weeks to 26 September. Total sales rose 1.1% to £433 million, but the quarter was two halves: sales were down about 3% in the first six weeks, which it blamed on exceptionally warm weather, then grew about 4% over the last seven. Online and other digital sales made up 41% of the total. Its Made to Measure business grew by double digits, and its kitchen and dining ranges did well after a refresh. Dunelm says it still expects profit for the year to be broadly in line with last year.

Read alongside last week’s flat year from Topps Tiles and DFS’s warning that sofa volumes are still 20% below pre-pandemic levels, the home market is soft but not falling, and retailers are competing hard for autumn spending. If made-to-measure curtains are on your list before winter, work out how much fabric you need first with our curtain fabric calculator, so you can compare quotes like for like. The update is on Investegate.

Mattressman recalls two mattresses that failed fire testing

On 13 October the Office for Product Safety and Standards published Mattressman’s recall of its Comforcel Elite memory foam double mattress and Comforcel Supreme gel foam double mattress, both made in Malaysia. The anti-slip layer on the underside failed flammability testing and could ignite and keep burning if it met a flame, so the mattresses do not meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. Mattressman has contacted customers directly. If you own one and have not heard from the company, stop using it and contact Mattressman through its website for a refund or replacement. Our bedroom furniture sets guide covers what to check when buying for a bedroom. The notice is on GOV.UK.

A floor lamp sold via Amazon stopped at the border

The same day, the office reported that a shipment of Frideko Home LED floor lamps, model L05022, a black lamp with a circular base and a remote, had been rejected at the border. The plastic earth pin on its plug was larger than British Standard BS 1363 allows, which can stop a socket’s shutters working properly and expose live parts if something goes wrong, giving a risk of electric shock. Some required documentation and markings were also missing. This shipment did not reach buyers, but the lesson stands: when you buy lighting from an online marketplace, check that the plug is a proper UK three-pin plug carrying the BS 1363 marking. Our room lighting calculator helps you plan how much light a room needs. The notice is on GOV.UK.