Pet owners using veterinary services may not be getting a good deal or receiving enough information to make informed decisions, Which? warns.
Vet bills are a challenge for lots of households in the UK. Pet ownership has grown since the Covid-19 pandemic, and in 2022 around three in five UK households owned a pet, according to the UK Pet Food Industry Association.
Which? surveyed 2,000 pet owners and looked at the websites of large-chain veterinary practices and found a number of issues around pricing and treatment information.
This research comes at a time when the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating the veterinary industry as it's concerned that pet owners aren't getting a fair deal.
Here, we highlight some of our findings and call for the regulator to take action.
Hard to compare prices
Our survey found that only a quarter of pet owners compared prices when choosing their practice. Among those who did compare prices, three in 10 said that they were difficult to compare; pet owners aged 65 and over were more likely to say it was difficult.
Obscure pricing structures could be playing a big part in this.
One pet owner, Keith Dancey, experienced bill shock after his cat was treated by a vet. Keith's cat was in the middle of a long course of treatment, and Keith was asked by the vet if he could bring his cat back the next day to check on his progress.
As travelling upsets Keith’s cat, the vet suggested that he could just call and update the vet on how the cat was responding. Keith agreed and made a quick phone call that lasted for around two minutes to tell the vet his cat was fine. He was charged a full consultation fee of £36.89 for this, which he only discovered when he was later billed for his cat’s treatment.
Our research found that vet prices are often not displayed on the individual practice or chain website, and when they are it’s often just for basics like consultation fees. This is despite most of the cost coming from treatment and medication. More than a third of pet owners said they are usually only informed about the price after the appointment at the reception.
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‘Another vet told me my dog’s medication was unnecessary’
Lisa Saunders took her dog, who is on a special diet due to his severe food allergies, to the vet when he began passing blood and diarrhoea.
Around £700 and various consultations, blood tests and antibiotics later, and her dog wasn’t getting any better. ‘I was handing out my money thinking please just make my dog well,’ she recalled.
When she saw a fourth vet at the same practice, she was told that the antibiotics probably made him worse and he would’ve gotten better on his own without taking any. The vet took him off of all medication and, eventually, he got better.
In our research, we found that just over a quarter of pet owners had at some point doubted whether a treatment recommended by their vet was really necessary. Less than half refused the treatment and overall one in seven pet owners went ahead with treatment they doubted was necessary.
Almost three in 10 pet owners who'd gone ahead with treatments that they were unsure about had done so because they didn't have enough information to know whether it was necessary or not.
Vet prices are costly
Seven in 10 pet owners we surveyed consider vet consultation fees expensive and eight in 10 think that vet treatments and medications are expensive. Only a small minority told us they consider fees to be reasonably priced.
As part of Keith Dancey's cat's treatment, the vet had quoted him £188.96 for an over the counter powder to treat his cat’s constipation, which he found he could import from America for just £41.94 including delivery charges.
Which? also discovered that while many medications can be obtained much more cheaply outside of the vet, less than a quarter of pet owners who have bought medications have purchased them from places other than their vet.
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Which? calls for better consumer protections
Consumers have no choice but to turn to their vet when their beloved pet is sick or injured, but our research has highlighted a number of issues with pricing and advice.
We want the CMA to ensure pet owners using veterinary services are able to easily shop around for the best option for them and their pet.
We shared our research with the CMA before it launched its review into veterinary practices. The regulator is expected to share its initial findings in the new year.
