Vet prescription fees capped under rule changes

Image source, Getty ImagesByMitchell Labiak, Business reporter and Jim Connolly, BBC News InvestigationsPublished4 hours agoWritten prescription fees from vets will be capped at £21 as part of a raft of changes that practices will be legally required to bring in over the coming months.

Vets must also tell clients if cheaper medicine is available online, write price estimates ahead of treatment, and publish price lists for services as part of the rule updates.

The official competition watchdog has brought the measures into force after its investigation into the sector found prices had been rising at nearly twice the rate of inflation.

However, critics say the measures will hit independent vets hardest and will benefit the six firms that own more than two-thirds of practices.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) made its remedies for the sector legally binding as of Tuesday and vets have up to 12 months to bring all the changes in.

A written estimate must be provided in advance for any treatment expected to cost £500 or more, including aftercare costs, plus an itemised bill. Emergencies are the only exception to this

To help pet owners compare local practices, price and ownership information will be made available through the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' "Find a Vet" service, which will share the data with third-party comparison sites.

The timelines for when vets need to bring in the fixes depends on the exact regulation and the group's size. The CMA sets it out here., external

"The changes that are being required are changes that will help inform pet owners about prices," said CMA panel chair Martin Coleman.

However, Cate Titterton, the owner of an independent vet service in Saltburn, told BBC Your Voice the changes will make trips to the vets more expensive for customers.

"Veterinary practices still have to have a pharmacy that is fully stocked, so if we're not making that tiny profit on the drugs, we're going to have to make some profit elsewhere.

"So, things like services, consultations, surgeries – unfortunately, those prices are very, very likely to have to go up."