CMA Compliance: Monitoring, Risks & How We Support Compliance

Veterinary businesses with multiple practices must formally attest their compliance to the RCVS and maintain evidence supporting those attestations. The RCVS may conduct spot checks, verify that compliance processes are in place, investigate suspected non-compliance, and report concerns to the CMA. Pet owners and third parties may also report potential breaches.

Failure to comply may result in CMA warning letters, mandatory corrective actions, civil enforcement through the courts, reputational damage, and potential legal claims from consumers who suffer loss or damage.

Remedy Product Line Key Compliance Requirements Why This Matters How We Solve It
Remedy 1 — Ownership Information Websites Veterinary websites must clearly display corporate ownership and group information.
  • Corporate parent/group name must appear on the homepage
  • Ownership details must appear in homepage metadata (page titles & descriptions)
  • Ownership information must appear in search engine and map results
  • Group name must appear first in search title links
  • Ownership name must have equal prominence to the practice name-Hidden or low-visibility placements are not acceptable
 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) wants pet owners to clearly understand who owns and operates a practice before making decisions. We push the Main Entity group name into the global header, footer, and site metadata automatically across all clinic sites from the shared CMS template — one update cascades across every site in the group.
Remedy 2a — Basic Practice Information Websites
  • Practices must provide accurate operational and accreditation details
  • Publish out-of-hours (OOH) provider identity, contact details, and website link
  • List staff qualifications and RCVS professional accreditations
  • Display Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) awards with links to RCVS pet owner information
 Improves transparency and helps pet owners make informed decisions about veterinary providers. Standardised website sections help clinics publish out-of-hours provider details, staff qualifications, accreditations, Practice Standards Scheme information, and key consumer-facing information in a consistent and accessible format.
Remedy 2b — Standardised Price Lists Websites / Online Booking Practices must publish clear pricing information online.

Pricing must cover:
  • Consultation & preventative care-Prescription, dispensing & administration fees
  • Surgeries & treatments-Diagnostics & laboratory tests
  • End-of-life care and other defined categories
Additional requirements:
  • Prices must be final and accurate
  • Vague estimates or price ranges are insufficient
  • Pricing must be prominently accessible on the practice website
  • Pricing information must be reachable within one click from the homepage without scrolling
  • Navigation labels and metadata should clearly use terms such as “Price”, “Pricing”, or “Fees”
  • Pricing must be displayed in a prominent, clear, and legible format
 Helps pet owners compare clinics and understand likely treatment costs before visiting.
  • We build a dedicated, mobile-optimized Price List page that is hard-coded into the top navigation and pulls weight-based pricing directly from your booking data.
  • Publish a standardized price list for defined routine services
  • Ensure pricing is accessible with one click from the homepage
  • Use clear navigation labels like “Price”, “Pricing”, or “Fees”
  • Differentiate pricing across standardised pet weight/type categories
  • Booking confirmation emails/texts include consultation fee, pre-booked treatment prices, and a direct link to the price list
Remedy 2c — Parasiticide Pricing & VMD Information Websites
  • Practices selling flea, tick, or worming products must publish medicine pricing information.
  • Publish current pricing for commonly sold products
  • Provide a prominent link to the VMD Register of Online Retailers
 Enables consumers to compare medicine pricing and understand alternative purchasing options.
  • Your site is pre-loaded with a managed Pharmacy Page including the mandatory VMD link and “Reference Product” toggle for own-brand medicines.
  • Display current prices for commonly sold flea, tick, and worming products
  • Include full product names, active ingredients, and dosage details
  • Provide a prominent VMD Register link-Highlight reference product alternatives where required
Remedy 2d — Pet Care Plan Information Websites / Online Booking Clinics offering care plans must clearly explain plan pricing and value. Websites must display-Included services:
  • Total plan pricing
  • Standalone pricing for included services
  • Savings calculation methodology
  • Whether comparisons are against in-practice pricing or external pharmacies
 Improves transparency around care plan value and reduces misleading savings claims.
  • We build nested Care Plan pages that dynamically link to your price list, allowing pet owners to compare standalone vs. plan costs
  • Display all included services and standalone pricing
  • Clearly explain savings calculations
  • Link included parasiticides to medicine pricing pages
  • Include cancellation terms and comparison details
Remedy 6 — Prescription Awareness Websites/ Online Booking
  • All vet practices must inform pet owners they can request a written prescription and buy medicines cheaper elsewhere
  • New customers must receive standardised RCVS literature about the prescription process when registering
  • Existing customers must receive this literature at their next annual vaccination or when signing up to a pet care plan
  • The practice website must host the RCVS standardised literature, accessible within two clicks of the homepage
  • Appointment confirmation emails and texts must include a written prescription awareness notice
  • Waiting rooms must display prominent notices about the right to request a written prescription
  • During any consultation where medicine is prescribed, the vet must verbally offer the pet owner a written prescription
  • The only exception to the verbal offer is where the medicine is urgently needed for clinical reasons
  • Any invoice or receipt issued after a consultation where medicine was dispensed must remind pet owners that written prescriptions are available
 These requirements exist because 38% of pet owners currently don't know they can get a written prescription from their vet and buy medicines elsewhere — often significantly cheaper through online pharmacies.

The CMA found that vets have little commercial incentive to volunteer this information, since dispensing medicines in-practice is profitable for the business.

By mandating that this information reaches pet owners at every touchpoint — before, during, and after a consultation — the remedy removes that information gap and puts the choice back in the hands of the pet owner.		 RCVS prescription awareness literature linked in the website footer. Confirmation emails auto-include the prescription awareness notice alongside the pricing compliance block — one combined footer.

(Note: RCVS details must be provided by the clinic.)
Remedy 12 — Cremations Transparency Websites Cremation prices must be on the website price list. Add-ons shown separately. Ownership disclosure required on crematorium websites These requirements exist because pet owners make end-of-life decisions at their most emotionally vulnerable — often in the consultation room with no idea what it will cost or that the cremation service is owned by the same corporate group as their vet.

Publishing prices upfront, showing add-ons separately, and disclosing ownership ensures pet owners can make a genuine informed choice rather than one made under pressure.
  • Cremation services appear as a dedicated category within the Pricing page — not a separate page
  • Add-ons displayed as itemized rows beneath the base cremation price, labeled Optional add-ons
Remedy 13 - In-House Complaints Process Websites
  • Practices must provide clear complaints and redress information.
  • Publish a formal, written in-house complaints process
 Ensures consumers understand how to raise concerns and access escalation pathways. We provide a standardised Complaints & Rights page template that includes the required RCVS Decision Tree in a web-accessible format.

(Note: RCVS details must be provided by the clinic.)
Remedy 15a — Complaints Decision Tree Websites
  • Prominently display the RCVS Decision Tree of routes to redress
 The CMA requires the RCVS Decision Tree of routes to redress to be prominently displayed on the Feedback and Support page as an inline flowchart.

(Note: RCVS details must be provided by the clinic.)
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