The UK’s competition watchdog has warned PCR test providers to “immediately review their practices” or face enforcement action if they treat customers unfairly.
In an open letter, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warns companies within the sector that their actions could breach consumer protection law and suggests the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) “could consider to address concerns over the price and reliability of PCR test and the quality of service people receive”.
It follows a review into the PCR testing market by the regulator which found evidence of customers facing additional charges which were not advertised, not receiving their tests or results at all and failing to receive refunds when a quality service was not provided.
Image: Earlier this month, Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that the price of PCR COVID tests provided for travel would fall by £20 for one test to £68
It comes as holidaymakers have expressed concerns about excessive costs for tests during the August high season.
The government announced earlier this week that it would be warning 82 companies that they could be removed from the Gov.uk list of authorised providers if they advertise misleading prices.
Advertisement
The letter, published on Wednesday, instructs PCR COVID test providers to review their policies to make sure they are in line with the requirements of consumer law and to make any changes where necessary.
The “practices of concern” to the CMA include:
More on Coronavirus
• Advertising up-front prices for PCR tests which do not include additional charges that everyone must pay
• Advertising cheap PCR tests which are only actually available in very small quantities or are not available at all
• Failing to deliver PCR tests or provide results within stated timescales, or at all
• Refusing to provide consumers with refunds where tests are not provided within advertised and/or agreed timescales, or at all
The letter lists 11 steps providers should take to improve their practices, and includes not focusing their advertising on cheap tests which are only available in small numbers, showing the full cost of tests including all compulsory charges and providing “honest, accurate and clear” timescales on when tests will be received.
Image: The government says the tests are needed for travellers to protect public health
The CMA add that PCR test providers should also ensure that both tests and results are provided within the advertised timescales.
CMA general counsel Sarah Cardell said: “PCR test providers should be in no doubt that they need to get on the right side of the law. If they don’t, they risk enforcement action.
“Our advice today will also help people by setting out exactly what they should expect for their money.
“This warning goes hand-in-hand with action taken by government this week and is the latest step in our work to tackle rip-off prices and bad service.
“We continue to work closely with DHSC in reviewing this market and will be providing further advice to DHSC on action that can be taken.”
A separate investigation by consultancy Fideres found the cheapest travel test providers on the government’s official list have the biggest gap between advertised and actual prices.
It also discovered that many providers listed did not have tests to order.
The sum would decrease by £35 for two tests, making the total £138.
But Conservative MP Henry Smith, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on aviation, said private PCR tests should be capped at £40.
The health secretary had asked the competition watchdog to investigate the market for PCR tests due to concerns about “exploitative practices” and inadequate service.
The government say the tests are needed for travellers to protect public health.
Retail sales grew in June as warm weather boosted spending and day trips, official figures show.
Spending on goods such as food, clothes and household items rose 0.9%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
It’s a bounce back from the 2.8% dip in May, but last month’s figure was below economists’ forecast 1.2% uplift as consumers dealt with higher prices from increased inflation.
Also weighing on spending was reduced consumer confidence amid talk of higher taxes, according to a closely watched indicator from market research firm GfK.
Retail sales figures are significant as they measure household consumption, the largest expenditure in the UK economy.
Growing retail sales can mean economic growth, which the government has repeatedly said is its top priority.
More on Retail
Related Topics:
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:56
What does ‘inflation is rising’ mean?
Where have people been shopping?
June’s retail sales rise came as people bought more in supermarkets, and retailers said drinks sales were up.
While hot and sunny weather boosted some brick-and-mortar shops, the heat led some to head online.
Non-store retailers, which include mainly online shops, but also market stalls, had sold the most in more than three years.
Not since February 2022 had sales been so high as the Met Office said England had its warmest ever June, and the second warmest for the UK as a whole.
The June increases suggest that the May drop was a bump in the road. When looked at as a whole, the first six months of the year saw retail sales up 1.7%.
Filling up the car for day trips to take advantage of the sun played an important role in the retail sales growth.
When fuel is excluded, the rise was smaller, just 0.6%.
Welcome news
Despite lower consumer sentiment and more expensive goods, consumers are benefitting from rising wages and are cutting back on savings.
The ONS lifestyle survey – backed up by hard data like the Bank of England’s money and credit figures – shows that households have rebuilt their rainy day savings and are cutting back on the amount of money they squirrel away each month.
The former owner of Poundland is lining up advisers to supervise its transition to new shareholders through a court-sanctioned process that will involve store closures and job cuts at the discount retailer.
Sky News has learnt that Pepco Group, which is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, is drafting in FRP Advisory weeks after it struck a deal to sell Poundland to Gordon Brothers.
Industry sources said FRP had been asked by Pepco to act as an observer, with the High Court scheduled to sanction a restructuring plan in the last week of August.
Under the proposed deal, 68 Poundland shops would close in the short term, along with two distribution centres.
More shops are expected to be shut under Gordon Brothers over time, resulting in hundreds of job losses.
Pepco is said to be particularly focused on IT systems which Poundland uses in common with Pepco’s operations in Poland.
Barry Williams, managing director of Poundland, said at the time of the deal’s announcement: “It’s no secret that we have much work to do to get Poundland back on track.
More from Money
“While Poundland remains a strong brand, serving 20 million-plus shoppers each year, our performance for a significant period has fallen short of our high standards and action is needed to enable the business to return to growth.
“It’s sincerely regrettable that this plan includes the closure of stores and distribution centres, but it’s necessary if we’re to achieve our goal of securing the future of thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores.
Prior to the deal’s announcement, Poundland employed roughly 16,000 people across an estate of over 800 shops in the UK and Ireland.
Tax hikes announced by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, in last autumn’s Budget have increased the financial pressure on high street retailers.
In recent months, chains including WH Smith, Lakeland and The Original Factory Shop have changed hands amid challenging circumstances.
In June, Sky News revealed that River Island, the family-owned clothing retailer, was also working with advisers on a rescue plan aimed at averting its collapse.
TalkTalk, the telecoms and broadband group, has secured a £100m capital injection from one of its existing backers in a deal that will relieve the growing financial pressure on the company.
Sky News has learnt that Ares Management has agreed to provide the new funding in two tranches, with the first £60m said to be imminent.
A deal could be announced as soon as Friday afternoon, according to banking sources.
The funding agreement comes amid discussions between TalkTalk and its bondholders about a potential break-up of the company, which would involve the sale of its consumer arm and PXC, its wholesale and network division.
Those disposals are now not expected to be launched in the short term.
One person close to the situation said that in addition to Ares’s £100m commitment, TalkTalk had raised £50m from two disposals in March and June, comprising the sale of non-core customers to Utility Warehouse.
More from Money
There was also an in-principle agreement to defer cash interest payments and to capitalise those, which would be worth approximately £60m.
TalkTalk has been grappling with a strained balance sheet for some time, and recently drafted in advisers from Alvarez & Marsal, the professional services firm, to assist its finance function.
The group has more than 3m broadband customers, making it one of the largest players in the UK market.
It completed a £1.2bn refinancing late last year, but has been under pressure from bondholders to raise additional capital.
Last month, the Financial Times reported that BT’s broadband infrastructure arm, Openreach, could block TalkTalk from adding new customers to its network in an escalating dispute over payments owed to BT Group.
TalkTalk, which was taken private in 2021, and Ares both declined to comment.