Fat cat vet firms preying on owners to push up profits as they face 5-figure bills & minutes to decide to put pets down

The Sun

2 days ago

FACING an astronomical £18,500 vet bill, Charley Marvin had just moments to decide whether her beloved French bull dog would live or die.
The bank worker had already spent nearly £5,000 after being told Hank, four, had intervertebral disc disease, which can cause paralysis.
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But just as she was preparing to take him home to start medication, she was told he actually needed expensive surgery.
Worse still, Charley was warned she should 'act now' as the next day was a bank holiday, giving her little time to make an informed choice for her precious pooch.
Sadly, the 33-year-old, from Essex, is not the only pet owner to face a horrific decision like this.
People across the UK are facing skyrocketing vet bills — with many claiming 'care went down and prices went up' due to giant companies monopolising the market.
Over the last decade alone, six 'fat cat' firms have bought over a bumper 60 per cent of practices, up from 10 per cent in 2013 — a scandal that has sent shockwaves all the way to Whitehall.
The Competition And Markets Authority has launched a formal investigation into the £2billion industry amid fears animal lovers are being taken for a ride.
Their initial report found that some vet bills increased by up to 70 per cent between 2016 and 2023.
For the 16.2million animal caregivers in the UK like Charley, a potential crackdown is long overdue.
Now, an investigation by The Sun has revealed a stark decline in the quality of care for animals while a corporate empire blossoms.
In April, Charley rushed Hank to an emergency vet, where they first suspected IVDD.
5 crucial pet safety tips every dog owner should know
He had an MRI under general anaesthetic at a practice owned by Linnaeus — one of the veterinary industry's Big Six, along with Pets At Home, CVS Group, IVC, VetPartners and Medivet.
Charley was told they would make a decision on whether to put Hank on medication or operate after his MRI. In a later call, meds were agreed upon.
However, no sooner had Charley arrived at the clinic to collect Hank than the vets announced he needed an urgent, £18,500 op.
She said: 'The vet said his spinal cord could die and I might have to put him down if he wasn't operated on now.'
Charley claims she was also told to make a decision 'quickly' because 'it's a bank holiday tomorrow'.
She refused the surgery, explaining: 'I just couldn't put him back under again. Hank was in such a state.
"Then the vet said, 'Well you could have to put him down'.
'I feel like she was just wanting the money.'
Hank ended up staying at the practice overnight for £500 without surgery, and the vet offered to submit an insurance claim — for a fee of £60.
Two weeks went by and Charley heard nothing.
But she says she was later informed by her insurer that it would not pay out due to Hank's IVDD symptoms being pre-existing — despite not being officially diagnosed.
'MANIPULATE EMOTIONS'
Charley recalled: 'It felt like the biggest legal scam you could ever imagine.
"The way that they manipulate your emotions when you sign up to these things, it's like, 'We care about your pet', but then, when you actually need them the most, they don't really speak to you very nicely, and they just don't really care.'
Charley's experience was mirrored by scores of pet owners across the UK, who told The Sun that the 'trusted' large corporations were deeply disappointing.
And we can reveal that, behind the practice names, the real owner of your local vet may surprise you.
Linnaeus is part of the Mars group in the US which also makes chocolate bars; Medivet is backed by Liechtenstein's royal family; and IVC is part-owned by the Swiss food giant Nestle.
VetPartners is run by a private equity group, while fellow British firms Pets At Home and CVS are listed on the stock market.
Melanie Osborne, 49, had used the same vet in Worcestershire for 18 years, but said 'care went down and prices went up' after it was taken over by IVC.
When her British shorthair cat Teddy fell ill, she suspected it was a blocked bile duct — but she claimed vets dismissed her concerns.
After three weeks of worrying, she took Teddy, six, to an independent vet, who operated immediately.
Tragically, he died just two days later.
It's such a waste of a gorgeous cat, and now I'm left thinking if we'd taken him somewhere which knew what they were doing, would he still be alive?
Melanie Osborne
Mel said: 'The worrying thing was when we went to the vets and asked, 'Could it be a blocked bile duct?' and they said 'no', they recommended I take him to a different practice.
'But they said I'd probably spend between £3,500 to £4,000, he would probably die anyway
'And if I wanted them to do the operation, they would need to reread a book on it to refresh themselves.'
She added: 'Then they charged us £55 for that consultation to essentially tell us he was going to die.
'It's such a waste of a gorgeous cat, and now I'm left thinking if we'd taken him somewhere which knew what they were doing, would he still be alive?'
Mel now makes a 40-mile round trip to an independent vet rather than use the corporate clinic, which would be a journey of just six miles.
One veterinary nurse with over 40 years' experience noticed deeply concerning changes after her practice was acquired by a corporation.
She felt the new bosses were 'non-veterinary people' and 'not interested in the care of the animals'.
'All they want to do is make as much money as possible by reducing staff, restricting the variety of drugs and equipment we can order and increasing prices,' she says.
'All of this makes it so much harder to provide five-star treatment.'
Evie Clark, 82, from East London, recalled her shock after rushing her poorly Jackapoo Reggie to a VetPartners practice, only to receive the bill BEFORE the treatment.
She said: 'The first thing they said to me when we got him there was the price.
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"They hadn't even laid a hand on him. They said this is going to be between £1,000 and £1,500-plus.
"I said, 'I don't even know what's wrong with him yet'.'
Meanwhile, Aniko Ingham saw her vet bills soar after her local practice was sold to CVS.
Her cat was referred to a Linnaeus-owned specialist after developing a heart issue.
The cost for one month of medication was £195.
Aniko, who is in her sixties, found the exact same drugs online for just £76.
She fumed: 'They have to make a profit, but this is daylight robbery.
"These large corporate fat cats are a disgrace.
"They are not there for the animals or their owners — they're focused on pleasing their shareholders. It's greed.'
But veterinary staff are also suffering the consequences of an industry in crisis.
One vet nurse described enduring 'screaming fits', having 'medication thrown at her', 'storm-outs' and 'shouting' from pet owners.
On a daily basis, the sector is blighted by a heavy sense of doom, which has been aggravated by Covid and corporate takeovers.
'CAT CRISIS'
The worker said: 'With the bills being so expensive, people are saying they can't afford to keep pets. So we see more animals being abandoned.
'Cats are dumped regularly. But the rehoming centres can't take them.'
During the pandemic, it is believed more than 3.2million UK households took on a pet and, since then, about 60 per cent of Brit homes have at least one animal.
'It's the worst it's ever been,' said one 59-year-old cat rescuer currently housing 16 kitties,
'Lack of vets, prices of vets. All of that is part to do with why we have a cat crisis on the streets now.'
Even the British Veterinary Association agrees current legislation for vet practices is 'not fit for purpose'.
The CMA is expected to publish its plan next month.
Possible proposals include a price comparison website and a cap on prescription fees.
Lisa Webb, Which? consumer law expert, said: 'Many owners face unexpectedly high vet bills and feel pressured into costly treatments, often with no clear way to challenge them if things go wrong.
"Regulation hasn't kept pace with the rise of corporate-owned practices.
"Which? is calling for clearer pricing, transparency around treatment options and a simple complaints process that works for pet owners, not against them.
'We also want to see a mandatory veterinary ombudsman to provide fair, independent dispute resolution when problems can't be resolved with the practice directly.'
The Big Six firms were asked to comment.
A VetPartners spokesperson said: 'Each of our individual practices delivers their own range of services and pricing is determined locally rather than centrally.
"Our practice websites contain price lists.'
CASE 1: HANK
French bulldog
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Owner: Charley Marvin
Problem: Intervertebral disc disease
Cost: Estimated £18,500
Vet: Linnaeus
Charley said: 'The vet said, 'Well, you could have to put him down'. It took all my might not to tell her to do one'
CASE 2: TEDDY
British shorthair
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Problem: Suspected blocked bile duct
Cost: Estimated £3,500 - £4,000
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Vet: IVC
Melanie said: 'They said he'd probably die anyway and if I wanted them to do the op they'd have to read a book first'
CASE 3: REGGIE
Jackapoo
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Owner: Evie Clark
Problem: Required investigation
Cost: Estimated: £1,000-£1,500
Vet: VetPartners
Evie said: 'They started calculating how much it was going to cost me. They hadn't even laid a hand on him'
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