CCPC Fines Major Irish Retailers Following Consumer Watchdog Investigation

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has taken enforcement action against several high-profile retailers across Ireland, issuing a combination of fixed payment notices, compliance notices, and legally binding undertakings following investigations into breaches of consumer protection law.

The regulatory actions, announced on April 10, 2026, target a range of businesses including home and garden suppliers, bookstores, and grocery stores, focusing on issues ranging from delivery failures and refund obligations to incorrect price displays and misleading online information.

Rathwood Home and Garden World Refund Commitments

Rathwood Home and Garden World, a Carlow-based outdoor living retailer, has signed legally binding commitments with the CCPC. The retailer agreed to issue refunds to consumers who purchased products via its website before the company cancelled those orders due to delivery delays.

The investigation found the company in breach of consumer protection legislation. The issues stemmed from customers who bought items such as firewood and garden furniture and were left waiting months for delivery, with many orders rescheduled multiple times.

Rathwood had previously attributed these delivery failures to the closure of a key supplier and stated it was restructuring its supply chain. However, the problems persisted through the winter of 2025-2026, leading many affected customers to report the delays and difficulties in contacting the company to the CCPC.

Pricing Legislation and Fixed Payment Notices

The CCPC issued fixed payment notices to several retailers for failing to correctly display prices. A fixed payment notice is a set fine of €300 issued to traders who fail to provide important consumer information or display prices correctly.

The enforcement actions regarding pricing include:

• Corajio Unlimited Company, trading as Mr Price, received six fixed payment notices for stores located in Midleton, Co. Cork and Killarney, Co. Kerry.
• Cedarglade Ltd, trading as SuperValu on Aston Quay in Dublin 2, was issued two fixed payment notices for failing to display correct prices.
• Petrogas Group Ltd, trading as Applegreen in Athlone, Co. Westmeath, received a fixed payment notice for failing to display the price of a product in its forecourt shop.

Easons.com and Very.ie (formerly Littlewoods Ireland) signed legally binding commitments to comply with sales pricing legislation. These undertakings followed CCPC investigations into how price reduction announcements were used during the winter sales period of 2023/24.

Compliance Notices and Consumer Rights

The watchdog also issued compliance notices, which are written legal notices directing a trader to stop a prohibited practice and obey the law by a specific date.

Phoenix Mobile and Communications Ltd, trading as Munster Tech Centre, was issued two compliance notices. The CCPC found that information provided on the company’s website, munstertechcentre.ie, was likely to deceive or mislead consumers as to their statutory cancellation rights.

In total, the CCPC stated it issued 15 compliance notices, undertakings, and fixed payment notices to traders as part of this recent wave of enforcement activity.