UK publishes findings on fertility clinics’ compliance with consumer law

The UK Competition and Markets Authorities (CMA) review found a mixed picture in terms of fertility clinics’ compliance with consumer law, as reported on Friday, September 23.

Concerns regarding UK fertility clinics’s compliance with consumer law were raised by the CMA in February 2020, such as providing unclear price information and advertising misleading success rates.

It also identified a general lack of awareness that consumer law applies in the sector. To help combat this, the CMA published guidance in June 2021 to make clear clinics’ legal obligations to treat patients fairly, and a video and guide to help IVF patients understand their consumer rights.

Following publication of guidance, the CMA committed to review compliance, and the findings of this review – which looked at clinics providing around 40% of self-funded IVF cycles in the UK – have been published today.

The report stated that:

“Compliance issues were found with the majority of clinics reviewed, albeit in some cases the concerns were relatively minor.”

“The provision of accurate, clear and transparent information upfront is critical for patients, particularly regarding prices and success rates.”

“The way in which patients fund their treatment varies widely, from using their savings, gifts from parents, loans from siblings, personal loans, credit cards, inheritance, or redundancy pay-outs to re-mortgaging their house – or often a combination of these.”

“Most patients buying fertility treatment for the first time carry out a shortlisting process, primarily online using clinic websites, and mainly factoring in clinics’ location, prices and success rates.”

“Significant differences exist between what clinics include in their package for a single cycle of IVF making it very difficult for patients to compare prices when shortlisting clinics.”

“The CMA has written to certain clinics to highlight specific issues such as failing to provide key price information, advertising misleading success rate claims (including making unsubstantiated superiority claims) and failing to provide important information about treatment add-ons.”

Louise Strong, Director, Consumer Protection at the CMA, stated:

“Buying fertility treatment can be stressful and is very expensive, with each cycle costing several thousand pounds.”

“It’s crucial that people have all the information they need upfront when they are comparing options so they can make decisions that are right for them, so it’s encouraging to see positive changes from clinics as a result of our work.”

“But clinics cannot be complacent. All clinics must get up to speed now to ensure they are on the right side of the law or risk action from the CMA.”

The news follows a viral post that allegedly highlighted that the UK government had changed Covid vaccine guidelines for pregnant and breastfeeding women, leading the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MRHA) to respond.

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