Warning pet owners may be overpaying for medication

Pet owners may not be given basic information such as price lists online and may not always inform a vet of the cost of treatment before agreeing to it, a dog watchdog has warned.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) analyzed thousands of training websites and found that more than 80% had no pricing information.

This means owners may be overpaying for drugs or prescriptions, it said.

Its boss said it found “many concerns” in the veterinary sector.

The British Veterinary Association says that vets are “primarily motivated by animal welfare”.

The CMA has provisionally decided to launch a formal market investigation, which means it may intervene directly in the market in the future.

If a formal investigation upholds its findings, it will give the CMA the power to compel companies to provide it with a full range of information about its business and prices, impose price caps for goods such as prescription fees, and potentially enforce the sale of certain. businesses.

The veterinary industry is worth £2bn after pet ownership increased in two-thirds of UK households during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the CMA.

But the dog watchdog cited concerns over the lack of information available for the UK’s 16 million pet owners.

It analyzed 1,400 websites for general veterinary practices belonging to large corporate groups and found 83% did not provide pricing information, even for the most basic services. It found a similar picture on the websites of independent vet practices.

“The unprecedented response we have received from the public and veterinary professionals shows the strength of feeling on this issue is high and why we are right to look at it,” said CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell about in the review.

“We have heard concerns from those working in the sector about the pressures they face, including severe staff shortages, and the impact this is having on individual professionals.”

But he added that the review found many concerns in the market:

The CMA received thousands of responses from pet owners, vets and veterinary nurses, as well as from charities and industry groups.

It also suggested that many pet owners don’t know they can get a prescription and then buy it elsewhere, meaning they are potentially missing out on savings.

It did say, however, that it had received several complaints from independent practices that some online pharmacies were selling drugs at lower prices than available wholesale.

Caitlin Dolan from Watford told the BBC’s Newsbeat that her cat Precious died partly because she could not afford her initial treatment costs of £3,000.

“We couldn’t even begin to afford it. The emotional toll was incredible,” the 25-year-old said, saying that Precious seemed quite lethargic when she took her to the vet.

“But the vets weren’t really prepared to tell us exactly what was going on without going through £3,000 worth of tests and treatments, which we didn’t know would work,” says Caitlin.

“It caused a lot of stress for a few days as we talked about it before he unfortunately passed away. I don’t wish anyone the same experience.”

Dominic Bonini from Newmarket in Suffolk told the BBC he had to spend £6,000 upfront on treatments for his four-year-old dog Shambu.

Shambu, a Shiba Inu, was diagnosed with patellar luxation which can lead to arthritis. Treatment, including surgery, cost £3,786 at a specialist referral veterinary hospital.

Shambu subsequently broke a tooth, which cost just under £1,900 to extract. Shambu fell ill after the take, costing Dominic nearly £400 for tests and treatment.

Both operations are covered by insurance – less a £250 excess per incident – but dental work is only covered up to £1,000.

“It’s a hell of a lot of money,” says Dominic.

“We have the insurance which I’m glad we had. I suppose we are fortunate we can afford to pay but not everyone is in the same boat.”

Speaking to the BBC ahead of the publication of the CMA report, Malcolm Morley, senior vice president of the British Veterinary Association, said customers should have open and honest conversations with their vets about costs.

“People who work in any practice are primarily driven by animal welfare and deliver that for the owners.”

She added that there are often hidden costs involved in caring for pets.

“We don’t see the cost of running a business like this – the equipment… the expertise of the people who do it. That’s often hidden and it’s really different to the NHS free at the point of care.”

“A lot of advances in care – whether that’s diagnostic or treatment – there comes an increase in costs with those things. I think the challenge is to find the right treatment for people and their animals,” he says.

Independent practices accounted for 89% of the UK veterinary industry in 2013 but that will fall to around 45% by 2021, it said.

Today, more than half are owned by one of six corporate chains.

That may mean that some areas only have “first opinion” practices that are all owned by one large group, leaving pet owners with fewer options because they have possibility to opt for skills close to home.

While most large groups own their practices outright, Pets at Home told the Guardian that most of its operations are 50-50 joint ventures with individual owner vets, nurses or practice managers.

It said on Tuesday it was “incredibly disappointed” by the CMA’s findings, which “do not fully reflect our unique business model of locally owned veterinary practices” where the pricing and selection of product depends on those owners.

The CMA has now launched a four-week consultation on its proposal to launch a formal market investigation, which will close on 11 April.

Additional reporting by Emily Selvadurai.