I’ve just written an article about an investigation into veterinary fees in the UK. There are allegations that they are overcharging because independent vets have been bought up by big corporations and there is a loss of competition and perhaps an overemphasis on profits (corporate greed versus independent vets being less commercially-minded).
Today, in The Times, there’s another criticism of British veterinarians which is that they may be overcharging for the medicine they sell in their clinics. This is a separate but linked issue to services provided.
Specifically, the allegation is that vets are charging up to 5 times as much for medicines as online retailers and a lot of customers think it’s very unfair.
The report is that one of the country’s biggest online pet pharmacies claim that online prices are usually 50% lower than the prices paid in high street (main street in the USA) clinics. Sometimes they are 80% lower.
It appears that the competitions watchdog is also going to investigate the prices of medicines as they have multiple concerns about British veterinarians and the UK’s 16 million pet owners overpaying for drugs.
Drugs are profitable
It’s believed that in some veterinary practices about 25% of their overall income comes from the sale of medicines. This implies that they want to ensure that customers buy medicines from their clinics and do not recommend that they buy them elsewhere.
The Times reports that veterinarians “must” have signs in their clinics which inform clients that they are not obliged to buy drugs from them.
But the competitions authority (CMA) in the UK is concerned that very few customers choose alternative providers of medicines. In fact, around 75% of clients buy medicines from their local vet. And 25% don’t know that they could buy them elsewhere.
Online pharmacy’s claims
The founder of the online pet pharmacy, MyPetsVets, Nick Horniman, said: “Ongoing aggressive pricing affects hard-working families, especially during a cost-of-living crisis, and its exactly what is wrong with the pet pharmaceutical sector right now. We found incidents where we have been offering pet prescriptions as much as 80% cheaper than what vets around the UK have been charging.”
He claims that when the big corporations buy independent veterinary practices they automatically raise the price of medicines. Ten years ago the veterinary landscape was completely different with just 10% of veterinary clinics being part of a chain and the rest independent sole traders. Now almost 60% of veterinary clinics are part of a chain, owned by a big corporation, sometimes foreign corporations which for a British person like myself is unacceptable.
Many Times readers echoed his criticism. The Times provides some examples such as Liz Warne, 51, who lives in south Wales. She said that her husband was quoted £112 for their dog’s medication but they found it online for £25. They paid £20 for the prescription and made a net saving of £67.
She thinks the pricing and veterinary clinics is unfair and unreasonable. Many would agree.
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Pet health
Vets are so expensive that many pet owners will be very reluctant to take their pets to the vet. I feel that this price-gouging is going to have a detrimental impact on companion health in the UK going forward.
