Cash-strapped pet owners are being forced to pay thousands of pounds in vet bills while some are even going abroad to avoid sky-high costs.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned pet owners may be paying too much at the vet for their animal’s medicine, prescriptions and care.
The CMA’s review found that consumers may not be given enough information – including price lists – to enable them to choose the best practice and treatment for their pet.
Caitlin Dolan, 25, told how her cat, named Precious, passed away because she couldn’t ‘even begin to afford’ the £3,000 bill she was quoted for tests and treatments.
Ms Dolan, who took her cat to the vet because it seemed lethargic, told the BBC the ’emotional toll’ of not being able to afford the bill was ‘incredible’.
Brian Flynn said he had his beagle, Flash, treated abroad to avoid paying thousands of pounds in UK vet bills
Mr Flynn said a UK vet quoted him £5,318 for surgery and aftercare when Flash suffered a leg injury during a holiday in France
Caitlin Dolan took her cat, named Precious, to the vet because she seemed lethargic
Dominic Bonini’s four-year-old dog named Shambu underwent a number of expensive treatments at the vets
‘We couldn’t even begin to afford it. The emotional toll was incredible,’ she said.
Ms Dolan added that the vets ‘weren’t really willing’ to tell her what was wrong with her cat ‘without going through £3,000 worth of tests and treatment’.
‘It caused a lot of stress for a few days while we were deliberating on it before she unfortunately passed away. I don’t wish anyone the same experience.’
Meanwhile, dog owner Brian Flynn said he had his beagle treated abroad to avoid paying thousands of pounds in UK vet bills.
Mr Flynn, 52, said a UK vet quoted him £5,318 for surgery and aftercare when eight-year-old Flash suffered a leg injury during a holiday in France.
The owner was left ‘gobsmacked’ when he took Flash to a local vet in the alpine town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice, who said the same treatment would cost just £1,493.
One cat owner told they were ‘outraged’ after they were quoted £5,000 for a surgery on their tabby who had a broken leg after she was hit by a car when their insurance only covered £4,000.
They said: ‘We rushed her to the emergency vet’s on Saturday morning. The vet demanded we pay 50% of her treatment up front which was initially explained to me that they would operate on her.
‘We paid £1000 up front and would pay the remaining amount via insurance and claim the amount we had already paid.
‘I was told her £2,000 bill only covered her 48 hours in care including medication, sedation and scans.
‘I was outraged because I was then quoted an additional £300 a night in care and £5,000 for the operation. We were only insured to £4,000.’
Dominic Bonini from Newmarket in Suffolk said he had to pay £6,000 up front on treatments for his four-year-old dog Shambu.
The Shiba Inu was diagnosed with patellar luxation which can lead to arthritis.
The treatment for the disease cost £3,786 in a specialist referral veterinary hospital and included an operation.
After the surgery, Shambu broke a tooth which cost £1,900 to have extracted.
Mr Bonini said: ‘It’s a hell of a lot of money. 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.’
Carol Chamberlain was charged £1,130 after her dog stayed overnight at a vets
Carole’s eight-year-old Biewer Terrier, which is called Amie
Carol Chamberlain, who has an 8-year-old Biewer Terrier, told a vet charged £47.05 for 15ml of Pro-Kolin paste, which she buys 30ml for £12.88 off Amazon.
She took her dog to the emergency vet after she began passing blood and was told they needed to keep her overnight.
The charge for the paste was included in a £1,130 total bill for the treatment. She said: ‘How can there be any justification for this. Once you have to go to the vets they have you over a barrel.’
It comes as the CMA have decided to ‘provisionally’ launch a market investigation into the veterinary sector after they received an ‘unprecedented’ 56,000 responses to their initial review.
The review found that consumers may not be given enough information – including price lists – to enable them to choose the best practice and treatment for their pet.
It also found that the regulatory framework for the sector is ‘outdated’ and ‘may no longer be fit for purpose’ and that there may be an overconcentration of vet ownership in certain areas.
And those working in the sector – which is worth £2billion after the covid pandemic saw pet ownership rise to two-thirds of British households – raised concerns about pressures arising from staff shortages.
The market investigation, if the findings are upheld, would give the CMA the power to compel companies to give consumers their full list of prices, impose limits on costs for things like prescription fees and potentially even enforce the sale of businesses in areas of overconcentration of ownership.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has raised concerns that consumers in the veterinary sector may be paying too much for their pet’s medicine
CMA boss Sarah Cardell said the watchdog has made the ‘provisional decision’ to launch a market investigation into the veterinary sector
It was revealed that 80% of vet practices checked by the watchdog had no pricing online – even for the most basic of services.
Vets are required to use signs in their reception or treatment rooms telling customers that they can get their prescriptions filled elsewhere.
However, the CMA review found that 25 per cent of pet owners were not aware this was an option – meaning they could be missing out on savings.
CMA Chief Executive Sarah Cardell said they launched the review last September because the veterinary sector is a ‘critical market’ for the UK’s 16 million pet owners.
She said: ‘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. ‘
Ms Cardell added that the competition watchdog has made a ‘provisional decision’ to launch a market investigation due to the concerns for consumers raised by the review.
‘But our review has identified multiple concerns with the market that we think should be investigated further,’ she said.
‘These include pet owners finding it difficult to access basic information like price lists and prescription costs – and potentially overpaying for medicines.
‘We are also concerned about weak competition in some areas, driven in part by sector consolidation, and the incentives for large corporate groups to act in ways which may reduce competition and choice.
‘Given these strong indications of potential concern, it is time to put our work on a formal footing. We have provisionally decided to launch a market investigation because that’s the quickest route to enable us to take direct action, if needed.’
Previously, a dog owner said he would sell his house to cover the costs of a £20,000 vet bill.
Last year, Jaxon Feeley said his two-year-old Weimaraner called Rambo went into hypovolemic shock – a state in which severe blood or other fluid loss makes the heart unable to pump enough blood to the body.
Mr Feeley, from Wigan, said: ‘She began vomiting throughout the night over 30 times and by Saturday morning we were in the emergency vets.’
On top of the condition, Rambo had also contracted stomach flu , or gastroenteritis, and her health rapidly declined.
Have YOU overpaid for your pet’s medicine? Email: [email protected]