Your independent family vet. Always. Our response to the CMA investigation update

On 15 October 2025, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) published their provisional decision in response to their review of the veterinary services market, which started in September 2023.

In total, the CMA have suggested 21 changes that should be enforced. This includes:

• A requirement for vet businesses to publish comprehensive price lists.
• Giving pet owners clear price information when they’re choosing a treatment, with prices in writing for treatments over £500 and itemised bills.
• If a business has more than one practice, making it clear that its surgeries are owned by a group.

We respect and fully support the CMA’s provisional decisions, and in response to this, we wanted to take the opportunity to give an insight into our organisation, our values and ways of working.

Your independent family vet. Always.

The Pet Vet was established in Doncaster in 2011 by Chairman & Founder Dr Rob Jones MRCVS, with a progressive vision to deliver excellence in clinical care and customer service within state-of-the-art facilities, whilst maintaining a caring, compassionate culture that meets the needs of each local community we serve.

To this day, Rob remains actively involved as Executive Chair, working alongside CEO Dr Mel Fuller, who continues to develop Rob’s founding vision and future legacy.

According to the CMA, 60% of veterinary practices now belong to large, corporate, private equity owned groups; an increase up from 10% a decade ago. However, Rob is steadfast in his resolve for The Pet Vet to remain in his family; always. In demonstration of this, our organisation is in a family trust.

In stark comparison with the large veterinary groups, which own hundreds of surgeries across the UK, The Pet Vet has 12 nationwide surgeries. And as we’re not governed by a corporate entity, we’re able to tailor our offering at each surgery location, giving customers contextual choices for their pets’ healthcare needs. 

Open & honest pricing

We appreciate the challenges of the cost of pet ownership; and we consider it our ethical duty to maintain full transparency around the cost of our products and services.

Unlike 80% of surgeries checked by the CMA, we publish pricing information on our website and in our reception areas.

Competitive pricing

We offer our fair price guarantee, under which we’ll refund the difference in the price if a customer finds the equivalent products or services cheaper elsewhere.

Pricing estimates & itemised billing – as standard

All customers are offered choices in their pet’s treatment, receive an estimate, and must formally consent before any treatment commences. For full transparency, itemised billing is shared with the customer after every transaction.

No surcharges for out-of-hours care

All our surgeries are open 7 days a week with evening availability for routine, emergency and @home appointments. Customers don’t incur a surcharge for securing an evening or weekend appointment. This is also the case for unregistered customers who need to use our services when their local practice is closed.

CareFreeCredit 0% payment plans

To support customers with paying larger bills, we provide CarefreeCredit 0% payment plans across our group, giving customers the freedom of:

• 0% finance over 6 months on bills from £500-£2,000
• 0% finance over 12 months on bills from £2,000-£6,000

CarefreeCredit is a 3rd party and runs credit checks for eligibility. For customer convenience and peace of mind, applications are completed online, and the decision is instant.

Special offers & ongoing discounts

We offer 10% discount for over 60s, the Blue Light community and Armed Forces – 7 days a week. In addition to this, we offer various offers and discounts throughout the year. A couple of recent examples include reduced-price dental treatment and BOAS surgery.

Next steps

Dr Mel Fuller, CEO, says: “We await the CMA’s final decision ahead of their statutory deadline of May 2026. In the interim, we remain fully open to engaging with the CMA during this process and hope the outcome of this means UK pet owners are provided with greater choice and transparency when it comes to the care of their much-loved pets.”