Pet owners could be paying over the odds for medicine or prescriptions, the competition watchdog has warned.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a review last year over concerns that people could be paying too much and received 56,000 responses.
Its boss said it had heard worries about pet owners struggling to access basic information such as price lists.
Its boss said it had heard worries about pet owners struggling to access basic information such as price lists.
The CMA has now provisionally decided to launch a formal market investigation, which means it could intervene directly in the future.
If a formal investigation upholds its findings, it would give the CMA the power to compel companies to give it a full set of information about its business and prices, impose limits on prices for things like prescription fees, and potentially even enforce the sale of certain businesses.
The vet industry is worth £2bn after pet ownership rose to two-thirds of UK households during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the CMA.
But the watchdog cited concerns over rising costs of treatments faced by 16 million UK pet owners.
“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,” CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said.
Pet owners could be paying over the odds for medicine or prescriptions, the competition watchdog has warned.
Its boss said it had heard worries about pet owners struggling to access basic information such as price lists.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a review last year over concerns that people could be paying too much and received 56,000 responses.
The CMA has now provisionally decided to launch a formal market investigation, which means it could intervene directly in the future.
Its boss said it had heard worries about pet owners struggling to access basic information such as price lists.
Its boss said it had heard worries about pet owners struggling to access basic information such as price lists.
The CMA has now provisionally decided to launch a formal market investigation, which means it could intervene directly in the future.
If a formal investigation upholds its findings, it would give the CMA the power to compel companies to give it a full set of information about its business and prices, impose limits on prices for things like prescription fees, and potentially even enforce the sale of certain businesses.
The vet industry is worth £2bn after pet ownership rose to two-thirds of UK households during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the CMA.
But the watchdog cited concerns over rising costs of treatments faced by 16 million UK pet owners.
“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,” CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said.
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