A CMA investigation of the Covid testing sector found consumers felt they were “paying over the odds” for PCR tests and receiving “poor service”, with test kits and results arriving late or not at all.
The authority is already investigating one provider, Expert Medicals, and is considering more probes into other companies, while another 19 firms have been told to improve their pricing information.
But it added that enforcement action “cannot be guaranteed to deliver the right outcomes for consumers in the PCR testing market”, and recommended a combination of “regulation, monitoring and wider sanctions”.
CMA chief executive Andrea Coscelli said: “Buying a PCR travel test is a lottery. From complaints about dodgy pricing practices, to unfair terms, to failure to provide tests on time or at all, to problems with getting refunds, the experience for some is just not good enough.
“Recent weeks have underlined that we will not hesitate to take action against any PCR test provider we suspect is breaking the law and exploiting their customers.”
Coscelli added that “competition alone will not do the job”, even when backed up by the enforcement of consumer law.
“The PCR testing market is unusual because its key features are dictated by government policy decisions to fight the pandemic,” he said. “This means a more interventionist approach to shape behaviour in the market from the outset, backed up by monitoring and enforcement, is needed.”
The CMA is also recommending changes to the government’s online list of test providers on gov.uk, which is the most common source used by consumers to choose a PCR test supplier.
It wants the government to create a “one-stop shop list of quality, approved test providers by significantly improving the basic standards” to qualify for inclusion on the gov.uk list.
There should also be a “comprehensive monitoring and enforcement programme” to ensure providers listed on gov.uk meet these basic standards and rules, with those failing to do so being “swiftly” sanctioned and removed.
The CMA added the listings on gov.uk should be enhanced to allow consumers to compare providers properly, while prices and costs should be monitored on an “ongoing basis”.
Coscelli has listed these recommendations in a letter to health secretary Sajid Javid, who originally ordered the CMA review.
“We stand ready to keep working with the government to make this market work better for everyone,” he added.
