Vets should be made to publish prices, competition watchdog says

Vets should be forced to publish price lists so pet owners can foresee costs and shop for the best deal, the competition watchdog has said.

Research into rising vet costs has found pet owners are often unaware of prices or not given estimates for treatments running into thousands of pounds.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also found that veterinary prices were rising at almost twice the rate of inflation.

Their proposals included vets disclosing whether they were part of a larger group, capping prescription fees and banning bonuses when offering certain treatments.

Nicole Hawley, 26, contacted Your Voice, Your BBC News after receiving an unexpected £12,000 bill to treat her dog Ernie, after inhaling grass seed during a walk and contracting the infection.

“The emergency vet gave us two options – either put him down or pay an exorbitant bill for surgery,” he told the BBC.

Ms. Hawley was in the process of finding a different pet insurance provider for Ernie when he became ill, which meant Ernie had no financial support.

She and her partner took out a loan to cover the cost of the procedure and used money they had saved for their wedding.

“We had no money. But it took us five minutes to decide we were going to find it somewhere,” Ms. Hawley said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the CMA’s Martin Coleman said veterinary prices had risen by 63% in the seven-year period, almost double the rate of inflation.

“It was twice what many people needed for veterinary medicine,” Mr. Coleman said.

“It is wrong for pet owners not to be aware of important issues that affect themselves, their pets and their pocketbooks.

“Often we are not told basic information upfront, such as who owns the practice, the price of common services, nor are we given estimates of the likely price of treatment, which can cost us hundreds or even thousands of pounds.”

The CMA also found that practices owned by large veterinary groups charge an average of 16.6% more than independent vets.

Mr Coleman said the regulatory system was established in 1966, “at a time when the world of veterinary services was very different from the world we have today”.

“There is regulation for individual vets, but there is no regulation for businesses, which own the majority of practices in the country,” Mr. Coleman said.

Wednesday’s findings on the £6.3bn sector are provisional; Interested parties must submit applications by next month before the final decision is published next year.