New Consumer Laws Bite For Veterinary Practices

New consumer laws are here, and the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) is already enforcing them with multi-million-pound fines.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (“DMCCA”) affects how veterinary practices price their services, handle online reviews and – with new subscription contract rules landing in Spring 2027 – how they structure pet health plans. Crucially, the DMCCA also gave the CMA powers to determine itself whether there has been a breach of the law, backed by significant fining powers to punish non-compliance. Veterinary practices should take note and prepare now because the conclusions reached by the CMA in its Veterinary Services Market Investigation (March 2026) suggest the sector could be a prime candidate for future enforcement action.

Here are the four priority areas your practice should focus on right now.

1. Transparent pricing for treatments and procedures

The DMCCA cracks down on “drip pricing” - the practice of advertising a headline price and then adding mandatory charges as the consumer progresses through the purchase journey so that the final price paid is higher than the consumer was originally expecting. For veterinary practices, this is a real risk area. A quoted procedure price that does not include unavoidable costs such as the consultation fee, anaesthesia, medications, post-operative care or follow-up appointments could fall foul of the new rules.

The requirement is straightforward: the price presented to a consumer must include the “total price”, which means it must include the minimum cost of every mandatory component from the outset. Practices should review how prices are displayed on their websites, in waiting rooms and on any promotional materials to ensure compliance.

2. Pet health plans and the new subscription rules

Many veterinary practices now offer pet health plans, subscribe-and-save pet food purchases and wellness subscriptions on a rolling monthly basis. When the new subscription contract rules come into force in Spring 2027, these arrangements will be directly affected, and practices will need to ensure they are presented and sold to consumers in a way which is compliant with the new rules.

Practices will need to provide detailed pre-contract information when a pet owner signs up, whether online or in-practice. Reminder notices must be sent at prescribed stages during the plan’s lifecycle, and consumers will gain enhanced cooling-off and cancellation rights. Critically, for plans entered into online, practices must offer an easy online cancellation route – requiring a consumer to telephone the practice to cancel will not be acceptable if the consumer signed up online.

This represents a significant shift. Sign-up workflows, consumer communications and the contractual terms underpinning pet health plans will all need to be reviewed and, in most cases, rewritten. Given the technology changes that may be required, early planning is essential.

The new subscription contracts regime will ensure people have the information they need to manage their money and have clear rights so they can easily exit contracts they do not want.

Government response to consultation on the implementation of the new subscriptions contract regime, April 2026

3. Managing consumer reviews

Online reviews are a powerful driver of new business for veterinary practices. However, the DMCCA now bans the commissioning and publication of fake or misleading reviews, including any reviews where the fact of incentivisation has been concealed.

If your practice features reviews on its website or relies on third-party platforms, you need a clear, consumer-facing reviews policy that complies with the new rules. Beyond that, you must carry out risk assessments and establish processes to monitor, investigate and remove non-compliant content. The CMA is already spot-checking websites, and the absence of a reviews policy is a red flag that could trigger an investigation and a substantial fine.

4. Reviewing contract terms

The CMA has signalled that unfair contract terms – particularly unfair exit charges – are a priority enforcement area for the coming year. It has already opened investigations into two well-known consumer brands on this basis.

For veterinary practices, this means that all consumer-facing terms should be reviewed against the CMA’s latest draft guidance. Pet health plan agreements and treatment consent forms are obvious candidates, but any standard terms and conditions used by the practice should also be checked for potentially imbalanced provisions.

Time to take action

The regulatory environment has shifted, and the consequences of non-compliance are severe. Veterinary practices should be taking steps now to audit their pricing displays, review their consumer communications, prepare for the new subscription rules and ensure their contract terms are fair and transparent.