What new CMA vet rules mean for you

This week, the Competition and Markets Authority publishes its legally binding Order on veterinary services. This is the result of a three year investigation into vet fees, and it sets out a package of changes that will roll out over the coming months. Your vet practice will not change overnight, but here is what is coming and what it means for you.

Over the next three to twelve months, depending on the size of the practice, the following changes come into force:

• Price lists. Every practice will have to publish what they charge, online and in the practice, across five weight bands from cats and small dogs up to giant breeds. This means you will be able to see what a consultation, a vaccination, a neutering or a diagnostic test costs before you walk through the door. Right now, 84% of practice websites have no pricing information at all. That is about to change.
• Written estimates. If your treatment is likely to cost £500 or more, your vet must give you a written, itemised estimate. If the cost is likely to go up by more than 20% or £500, they have to update it in writing. No more being blindsided by a bill.
• Prescription fees. If you want to buy your pet’s medication from an online pharmacy, the fee for a written prescription will be capped at around £21 for the first medication and £12.50 for each additional one prescribed in the same consultation. The exact figure will be adjusted for inflation before the Order is finalised, so it may be slightly higher. Your vet will also have to give you a flyer about your prescription options if your pet is put on ongoing medication.
• Ownership transparency. Your practice will have to tell you who actually owns it, on signage, on their website and in communications. Many practices that look and feel independent are part of large corporate groups, and you have a right to know that.
• Pet care plans. If your practice sells a care plan, they will have to publish the standalone price of each service included, the savings calculation and the cancellation terms. So you can see exactly what you are getting and whether the plan represents good value.
• Complaints. Every practice must have a published complaints process, acknowledge your complaint in writing within five working days, and give you a full response within eight weeks. If you are not satisfied, mediation will be available through the RCVS.
• Cremation. Your practice must set out cremation options and prices, and offer a basic communal cremation option.

Larger groups with 15 or more practices generally have to comply sooner than smaller ones. The RCVS will monitor compliance, funded by a levy on practices

Honestly, probably not directly. What it will do is help you see what you are paying for and compare between practices. The prescription cap could save you real money if your pet is on long term medication, and the care plan disclosure will help you decide whether a plan is worth it. But these are transparency measures, not price controls. The CMA specifically decided not to cap prices, profits or the level of corporate ownership.

Vet costs have risen sharply and that is a real problem. There are genuine reasons for it. Veterinary medicine has advanced enormously, regulation has increased, and running a practice is more expensive than it has ever been. But that does not mean affordability is not a crisis. It is. And the question is whether transparency alone is enough to fix it. I don't think it is.

A price list tells you what something costs. It does not tell you whether your pet needs it. Not “how much is an ultrasound” but “does my cat actually need one?” Not “what does a referral cost” but “is that the right thing, or could my vet manage this differently?”

Those questions matter more than the price. And they only get answered in a conversation with your vet. Vets are trained in high-tech, algorithm-led medicine. If your pet has certain symptoms, there is a protocol: these tests, this imaging, these treatment options. That often produces excellent care. But the protocol does not know your circumstances. It does not know you are on a fixed income, or a single parent, or already stretched. It offers what can be done, not what makes sense for your situation.

So you can end up with an estimate that reflects the textbook rather than your life. You feel like a bad owner because you cannot afford it. Your vet may feel like a bad vet if they suggest anything less. And the conversation that would have found a middle ground, focused on what is actually right for your individual animal, does not happen.

If you are sitting in a consulting room and feeling overwhelmed, these three questions can open things up.

• What happens if we don’t do this? This is not hostile. It opens up options you might not know exist, including doing less, staging things, or managing rather than curing.
• What is the realistic outcome? Not the best case. The most likely one. Sometimes the realistic outcome does not justify what the animal would go through to get there.
• Is there another approach for our situation? Your vet can only tailor the plan if they know what you are dealing with. Tell them. Most vets would much rather have an honest conversation than send you home with an estimate you cannot meet.

It goes both ways. Veterinary medicine involves judgement and risk. Not every imperfect outcome is someone’s fault. Very sadly, not every condition can be treated, and our beloved pets will not live for ever, as much as we wish they could. If we want vets to be honest with us, we need to be the kind of clients they can be honest with.

Sometimes you need more than a price list and a set of questions. You need someone independent to help you think it through. Not instead of your vet. Alongside them.

That is what Pet Lighthouse does. I am a vet with nearly thirty years of experience, eight of them as Chief Veterinary Officer of the RSPCA. I offer independent second opinion consultations, virtual across the UK and in-home in London. You book a session with me, we go through your pet’s situation in detail, and I give you an honest, independent view. What the options really are, what questions to ask your vet, what makes sense for your animal and your life.

It is not a complaints service. It is not about catching anyone out. It is about giving you the time, the clarity and the confidence to make the right decision for your pet. 

That is something no price list will ever replace.