Taking stock of the developments in the field of collective redress at EU level, this article seeks first to identify the reasons impeding the adoption of compensatory collective redress for low value consumer claims. Second, it proposes an exploratory hypothesis, which can aid in reaching agreement on effective collective redress instruments. With respect to the impeding reasons, the article argues that past policy discussions have largely disregarded the enforcement dimension and the potential of such actions to not only cater for the effective enforcement of individual rights but also – and most importantly – contribute to the effective enforcement of EU law. In addition, past debates have been guided by a misplaced preoccupation against abusive litigation. In order, to overcome these impeding factors, the article discusses ‘regulatory honesty’ as an instrument that can help in achieving agreement and guide Member States to adopt effective mechanisms.