"Certain types of contracts between suppliers and DCTs can limit suppliers’ ability to offer a lower price on one platform than on another."
The CMA's new ground rules cover how sites plan to use people’s personal data and making sure they clearly display important information like price and product description.
Andrea Coscelli, CMA Chief Executive, said: "Our study has found that most people in the UK have used a comparison site at least once so it is vital that everyone gets the benefits they deserve.
"The good news is that more than 90% of the people we surveyed were very or fairly satisfied with the sites they used.
"But we have also found that improvements are needed to help people get even better deals. We have set out ground rules for how sites should behave, as well as being clear on how regulators can ensure people have a better experience online.
"We are also taking enforcement action where we suspect the law may have been broken."
The FCA added: "We welcome the Competition and Markets Authority’s work on digital comparison tools. We have worked with the CMA throughout its study, which looked at car and home insurance, and credit cards, to provide expert input on financial services.
"We are encouraged that the CMA’s research has found that people mainly have positive views and experiences of DCTs. Further, we’re pleased to hear that vulnerable customers that can access DCTs find them useful, but it is concerning that some DCTs appear not to be doing all they could, or should, to make their sites user-friendly for some vulnerable people.
"We note the CMA’s findings that certain types of contracts between suppliers and DCTs can limit suppliers’ ability to offer a lower price on one platform than on another. We are working with the CMA to assist their investigation into this.
"The CMA’s report has identified a number of areas for us to explore that could help DCTs to work better for consumers. We share the aspiration to ensure DCT’s deliver good outcomes for consumers and so we’re actively considering what action to take in response to the CMA’s recommendations."
James Bridge, Head of Conduct Regulation at the Association of British Insurers, commented: “Insurance is a very competitive market and price comparison websites can help consumers shop around for a good deal. However as we said in our submission to the CMA, we would like to see the rules tightened on price comparison websites using contracts which restrict the prices insurers can offer to customers elsewhere – known as Most Favoured Nation clauses. It is good to see the CMA investigating this issue further and we welcome their new ground rules which should improve consistency of standards.”
