Pet owners could be overpaying for medicines, watchdog warns
UK vet groups could be forced to cap prescription fees or sell off parts of their business, after the competition watchdog warned that pet owners may be overpaying for medicines. ITV News Correspondent Rachel Younger reports
A watchdog has warned that pet owners could be overpaying for medicines and prescriptions for their animals.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it's launching a formal investigation after an initial review of vets raised "multiple concerns".
Among the issues, it found consumers may not be given basic information like price lists and prescription costs, and are not always informed of the cost of treatment before agreeing to it.
It means they may be overpaying for medicines and prescriptions, the CMA said.
Six large corporate vet groups currently own about 60 per cent of vet practices, which is up from 10 per cent a decade ago.
The biggest groups in the UK are CVS, IVC, Linnaeus, Medivet, Pets at Home and VetPartners, the regulator said.
Opening a formal investigation means the CMA has powers to intervene directly and enforce change in the industry.
UK vet groups could be forced to cap prescription fees or sell off parts of their business after the competition watchdog warned that pet owners may be overpaying for medicines.
The review was launched in September amid concerns that pet owners are not getting value for money, and that many independent vet practices have been snapped up by bigger chains in recent years.
There were about 56,000 responses to a call for information from both the public and veterinary professionals.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “We launched our review of the veterinary sector last September because this is a critical market for the UK’s 16 million pet owners.
“The unprecedented response we received from the public and veterinary professionals shows the strength of feeling on this issue is high and why we were right to look into this.
“We have heard concerns from those working in the sector about the pressures they face, including acute staff shortages, and the impact this has on individual professionals.
“But our review has identified multiple concerns with the market that we think should be investigated further.
“Given these strong indications of potential concern, it is time to put our work on a formal footing.”
Shares in top-listed vet groups tumbled following the announcement, with CVS falling by more than a fifth, and Pets at Home down by about 5%.
Pets at Home said it is disappointed with the CMA's findings into the vets market and that it does not think its business model reduces competition.
A spokeswoman for the group said: "We are incredibly disappointed the The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) findings today do not fully reflect our unique business model of locally-owned vet practices.
"Whilst our brand is national, our veterinary practices are led by individual entrepreneurial vets who have clinical and operational freedom.
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