From £4,000 scans to painkillers: how UK pet owners are being ripped off by vets

WHEN Jennifer Shoubridge’s cat got sick, she wanted to do everything she could to help him.

She knew her daughter Reese, who was in college, would be devastated if anything happened to 11-year-old Finley.

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Veterinarians initially couldn’t figure out why the pet was breathing so heavily, so they suggested an in-depth CT scan.

But Jennifer was shocked when she had to pay £3,800 for the procedure – more than double the £1,500 average for a human CT scan.

Jennifer, 49, a photographer from Devon, said: “Eventually I had to move the bill on my credit card, then go home and raid the savings.

Britain’s vets are now facing an investigation into prices after it emerged this week that pet owners may be paying too much for medicines, prescriptions and care, with six major companies dominating the UK market.

The Competition And Markets The authority, which is launching a formal investigation, has found that customers are not given basic information about prices and are not always told the full cost before agreeing to treatment.

There were 56,000 responses to the CMA judgementincluding an unprecedented 45,000 from the public.

Pet owners have told The Sun how prescription costs have more than tripled in some areas in recent years, from £9 to £29, and how a small dose of paracetamol can cost up to £30. One vet tried to charge £1,400 to remove a dog’s teeth.

Jennifer’s cat Finley was eventually diagnosed with cancer and died last March, six months after his CT scan.

She said: “When I was told he needed the scan, the vet said it would cost between £2,000 and £4,000 but it would probably be on the lower end.

‘I got you by the throat’

“I kind of thought, ‘That’s a lot of money,’ but he had been struggling for a long time and sounded like Darth Vader when he breathed.

“I wanted to do everything I could to help him but was so shocked by the latest bill. I don’t know the ins and outs of scanning because I’m not a vet and don’t have their training or experience, but it feels like an awful lot of money.

“We then had to pay £120 a month for chemotherapy for nose cancer.”

Mum-of-two Abby Summerville pays £120 a month for injections to prevent her two-year-old Hungarian vizsla Csaba from itching due to allergies.

She found the same dog medicine online for less than half the price.

Abby, 45, who lives near Bedford, says she has to pay a £50 consultation fee every time her dog is given the medication – even though the vet knows what’s wrong with him.

Abby, who runs a business selling earrings, said: “Csaba was scratching a lot and emerged in huge beehives last March.

“The bumps on his skin were so bad he looked like one of those CGI images you see in movies.

“The vet saved us money by telling us we could give him human Piriton for the hives, but he needs Cytopoint injections to calm the itching, which cost us £120, plus £50 for a consultation.

“I have discovered that I can get two vials of the drug from an online registered vet shop for £89. The vets have agreed to show us how to administer it, but they did not offer to do so first.

“I’m a small business owner and I understand there’s a premium to be paid, but when I see I can get bottles for half the price, and the vets are probably getting it for even less than that, it’s a unnecessary surcharge. -upwards.

“Your pets are part of the family and just like your children are sick, you are going to do everything you can when they are sick. I feel like the vets have you by the throat because they know you’re going to pay.”

Many pet owners are turning to online companies such as VetUK and 365 Vet to get cheaper medications for their animals, but they must first get a prescription from their own practice.

Owners complain that prescription prices have also soared, and a quick online check shows vets across the country are charging between £10 and £30.

The Sun found that vets were selling deworming tablets for as much as £47.50, while another brand can be bought online for just £3.76.

Combined flea and tick deworming tablets, which retail for up to £60 in practice, can be found online for £33.

One cat owner, who asked not to be named, said: “It seems vets can charge whatever they want, there is no clearly established pricing policy.

“You still have to pay expensive consultation fees to go to a vet if something is wrong with your pet before they write a script and you can get medication online. Why don’t they just charge a lower amount so people don’t go somewhere else?”

The Competition And Markets Authority – a watchdog set up to ensure fair play in business – fears Britain’s 16 million pet owners are being charged too much.

A study found that consumers may not be given enough information, including price lists, to choose the best practice and treatment for their pets.

Eight in 10 CMA-inspected practices had no prices online, even for basic services, and 25 percent of people did not know they could buy their medicines elsewhere with a prescription from their vet.

The CMA also raised concerns about weak competition in some areas as major companies have bought up many local operations.

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “We launched our research last September because this is a crucial market for Britain’s 16 million pet owners. The unprecedented responses we have received from the public and veterinary professionals show that the power of feeling is great.”

She added: “Our research has identified several concerns with the market that we believe require further investigation.”

Since 2013, the number of practices of the big six – CVS, IVC, Linnaeus, Medivet, Pets At Home and VetPartners – has increased from ten percent to 60 percent.

Independent vets say corporate ownership of practices has caused prices to rise dramatically.

£1,400 for checking a dog’s teeth

Veterinarian Doug Paterson, of Apex Veterinary Center in Denny, nearby Falkirkwrote on Facebook: “I’ve seen prices skyrocket because shareholders need to be paid.

“I also see changes in the facilities outside office hours (night-time emergencies).

“When I first qualified, every vet in every practice did some on-call duty, looking after their own patients day and night. At Apex Vets we still do this because we passionately believe it is the best service for our patients and their owners.

“On the other hand, we regularly hear from disappointed customers at other veterinary practices who have to take their pets to centers in Edinburgh or Glasgow for overnight care, and there is a link here with corporate ownership of veterinary practices and rising healthcare costs. day and night.”

One dog owner said vets tried to charge him “from £1,400” to check and remove some of his pet’s teeth. He said: “I ended up going to another vet who charged me £400.”

Rabbit owner Rachel Pennington, 33, from St Helens, Merseyside, discovered how expensive vets can be, even for small pets. She spent more than £1,000 of her wedding gift money to save her rabbit Phoebe after the animal fell desperately ill in 2021. Writer Rachel also pays up to £700 every time her second rabbit, Hans, suffers from the recurring, potentially fatal, gastro-disease GI stasis.

She said: “Hans can go into a period of stasis every few months so it feels like he has a second mortgage.

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“We paid for one of the best vets in the country to save Phoebe and had another 18 happy months with her before she passed away last April.

“I don’t regret spending a cent of our money on our rabbits, but I do wish someone had advised us to get good insurance for them when we bought them.

“We had no idea how much these little creatures would cost.

“I would say to anyone thinking about getting a pet that you have to be willing to make great sacrifices for them to keep them healthy and happy and sometimes to save their lives.”

The chairman of the British Veterinary Association, Dr Anna Judson, said: “Rising prices are a concern for everyone, but it is crucial to recognize that there is no NHS for pets.

“Whether they are employed by companies or independent practices, veterinarians provide highly specialized, customized care. And the costs fairly reflect the investments in medical equipment, supplies and medications, and the time veterinarians spend caring for each patient.

“We would like to see healthy competition and consumer choice and that is why we are already working on that steps to support veterinary practices to be more transparent, both in terms of costs and practice ownership.”