Choice urges vets to dump high fees and unnecessary charges Guidelines: Dr Robert Zammit, with nurse Joanna Muscat and a patient, says vets can "have no idea what they are charging." Vets should standardise their fees to stamp out overcharging, the consumer watchdog Choice says. The veterinary industry, which generated $2.5 billion in revenue last financial year, operates in a "free market" where prices of the same procedure can wildly vary depending on what the individual vet practice charges, Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey said. "Pet owners put a lot of trust in vets and in return they should be entitled to greater transparency around costs," he said. The Choice investigation found the three common areas for "up selling" by vets were unnecessary diagnostic tests, over-vaccinating and mark-ups on products sold by vet practices. Robert Zammit, a vet in Windsor, agreed there should be more transparency on what vets charge. "Vets have no idea what they're charging," he said. It is not uncommon for vets to anonymously ring another vet to obtain a quote on a similar procedure they were performing, he said. One of Dr Zammit's patients, Sophie, a cocker spaniel, was misdiagnosed by another vet, which cost her owner, Kylie Hibbert, more than $500. Ms Hibbert was charged for four consultations and antibiotics after Sophie jumped over a fence and injured her paw. But the cause of the pain was actually a grass seed that had wedged itself into the eight year-old dog's leg. "It made me so cranky because I had given Sophie antibiotics when it had nothing to do with it," Ms Hibbert said. I'm so lucky to have her with me today. Prices are largely left to individual vet practices, Mr Godfrey said. In times of stress this puts them in a vulnerable position. But the president of the Veterinary Association, Ben Gardiner, defended vet costs, saying price rises had been minimal over the past 20 to 30 years. "You don't become a vet unless you really care about providing excellent care to animals, and you certainly don't do it for the money," Dr Gardiner said. Unlike human healthcare, vets provide a one-stop shop for pets, including medical, surgical, radiography, orthopaedic, oncology, dermatology, psychology, gynaecology and obstetric services.