As the appetite for class action claims continues to grow in the UK, the UK government is asking the Law Commission (an independent statutory body, tasked with keeping the law under review and making reform recommendations to the government) to consider whether to introduce an opt-out consumer class actions regime.[1] If such a regime were to be introduced, it could extend the existing “opt-out” collective action regime beyond its current limited sphere of competition law claims and could lead to a significant shift in the UK’s class action landscape, which could materially expand litigation exposure for businesses operating in consumer-facing sectors.
Opt-out collective actions, introduced under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, are currently limited to competition law claims in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). Other consumer claims are brought on an opt-in basis before the CAT (e.g., Le Patourel v BT, a pricing claim which was the first class action claim to reach the trial phase before in the CAT) or through alternative mechanisms before the English Courts, such as (i) group litigation orders (e.g., the British Airways Data Breach Litigation); (ii) representative actions (e.g., Lloyd v Google); or (iii) joint case management of multiple claims (e.g., the Nox Emissions cases).
Claimant groups have increasingly tried, often unsuccessfully, to frame claims as competition claims to avail the use of the opt-out regime. They claim that there is a growing need for an additional mechanism to provide private law consumer redress by way of collective proceedings, outside pure competition claims.
A 2025 government review of the opt-out regime suggested the regime has evolved in “unexpected ways” raising questions about whether it adequately protects consumers.[2]
The new project, which launched on 20 April 2026, will assess whether a broader consumer class actions regime is needed, including:
The project is seeking input as to how opt-out processes operate in other jurisdictions and presumably learn from the successes and failures of other regimes.
Consumer groups have been lobbying for the expansion of collective redress for consumers, particularly for low-value, high-volume harms (e.g., data breaches). They claim that the lack of an opt-out regime beyond the competition sphere has been said to leave consumers unprotected. However, concerns remain about challenges in relation to distribution of damages, increased litigation risk, and costs to business, and the potential for a U.S.-style claims culture if the regime were to be expanded too far.
The consultation runs until 30 October 2026, after which it is expected that the Law Commission will formulate its views and proposals for reform which it will then publish in a consultation paper. As the Law Commission’s role is limited to making recommendations, any legislative reform would follow further consultation, government consideration, and the requisite implementation process – all of which takes time.
There will be no immediate change, but the direction of travel is clear. A broader opt-out regime could be on the horizon and it may materially expand class action risk in the UK. Please reach out to your MoFo contacts if you would like to discuss how to engage in the consultation.
[1] Consumer class actions – Law Commission.
[2] Opt-out collective actions regime review: call for evidence – GOV.UK.