Large online companies, banks, insurance companies and energy firms have been warned by the Competition and Markets Authority that ripping off their customers is destroying the public’s faith in capitalism.

The CMA are calling for changes in regulations that would make it easier for them to take action against the unscrupulous, citing the manipulation of the banks, insurers and energy firms that offer very competitive deals to get customers to sign up and then squeezing them with far higher prices thereafter. This, many feel, creates an unhealthy and toxic culture where loyalty is punished, rather than rewarded, by companies abusing their dominance.