Britain’s competition watchdog has cracked down on the rampant travel PCR Covid test market after warning firms selling ‘dodgy’ tests were in a ‘race to the bottom’.
Holidaymakers have been forced to pay in excess of £200 for a single swab because of the ‘lottery’ market.
The Competition and Markets Authority warned test providers had been allowed to undercut each other on quality because of a lack of regulation.
It advised the Government to create a one-stop shop list of ‘approved test providers by significantly improving the basic standards to qualify for inclusion and remaining on the gov.uk list’.
The watchdog also called for a more comprehensive monitoring and enforcement programme to ensure test providers meet the Government’s standards and receive swift sanctions for failings.
In a report to Health Secretary Sajid Javid, it said travellers could lose out and called on the Government to have an ‘interventionist’ response.
It was revealed yesterday that ministers are currently considering dropping costly PCR-testing requirements for vaccinated travellers.
The Department of Transport will announce changes to travel rules — which could include dropping the green and amber classifications for countries — at the start of next month.
Currently, fully vaccinated people have to take two tests — one within 72 hours of travelling back to the UK and a second within two days of arriving home. The latter must be a PCR.
Non-vaccinated people currently enjoy the same rules as the double-jabbed when returning from green countries, but have to self-isolate at home for up to 10 days after coming back from amber destinations.
Britain’s competition watchdog has cracked down on the rampant travel PCR Covid test market after warning firms selling ‘dodgy’ tests were in a race to the bottom. Pictured: A woman receives a PCR test at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France
BA chief says UK travel rules are ‘not fit for purpose’ and calls for testing and quarantine to be ‘simplified’
The UK’s travel rules are ‘not fit for purpose’, the boss of British Airways said yesterday, as he called for testing and quarantine requirements to be ‘simplified’.
Chief executive Sean Doyle said Government policy is ‘the biggest single enabler’ of airlines recovering from the virus crisis.
He went on: ‘We had the traffic light system over the summer. There was some progress made. But I think it’s not fit for purpose.
‘It needs to be simplified. It needs to be adapted in the same way that we see in Europe and in the US.’
Yesterday, Gatwick CEO Stewart Wingate called for testing to be removed altogether for travellers who have been double jabbed.
‘Other countries have done this and their aviation sectors are recovering much faster with bookings in Europe recovering twice as fast as in the UK,’ he said.
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Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, 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.
‘However, competition alone will not do the job, even when backed by enforcement of consumer law.
‘The PCR testing market is unusual because its key features are dictated by Government policy decisions to fight the pandemic.’
The CMA surveyed around 2,500 holidaymakers in August to investigate how much they paid for a test and what the service was like.
Brits paid £125 per test on average, according to the survey.
It also found 16 per cent of people who ordered a test from one of the Government-approved providers received it late.
More than a fifth did not receive their results in the timescale outlined by the test provider.
In a report to Health Secretary Sajid Javid, the watchdog said: ‘We do not recommend that [the Department of Health and Social Care] DHSC introduces a price cap at this stage.
‘Instead, DHSC should monitor and gather evidence on price levels and costs on an ongoing basis.
‘DHSC should be prepared to re-evaluate this position if other measures it decides to take do not improve market outcomes.’
Avi Lasarow, EMEA chief executive of Project Screen by Prenetics — one of the Government’s approved test providers that provides testing at the major UK airports, welcomed the CMA’s findings.
He said: ‘We welcome the CMA’s report to clampdown on rogue COVID test providers and make it easier for holidaymakers to find the best test. Hopefully this will drive the cowboys out of town.
‘Many of the recommendations are ones that Prenetics and other leading providers submitted to the CMA and we are pleased to see they’ve been accepted.
‘Holiday PCR testing will be a way of life for travellers for some time to come as we need to protect the UK from new variants entering the country.
‘However, the Government could help travellers even more by abolishing VAT on Holiday PCR tests so they can travel safer and cheaper.’
Consumer rights brand Which? said the review showed the Government has to move ‘urgently’ to tackle the problems in the market.
Travel editor Rory Boland said: ‘The CMA’s review reinforces Which?’s repeated warnings to the government that the current private testing system is not fit for purpose, leaving travellers at the mercy of firms charging extortionate sums for tests, using misleading pricing or taking money for services that don’t exist.
‘The government must now urgently set out how it will implement the regulator’s recommendations and ensure safe, reliable and affordable tests are available for all travellers.
‘Meanwhile, the regulator must continue to come down strongly on any providers not following the rules, to send a clear message to the rest of the market and prevent any more travellers being left out of pocket.’
It comes amid plans to scrap PCR testing for vaccinated travellers after returning from a non-red list country.
Ministers will merge the green and amber classifications and allow people who have had two jabs to come back to the UK without the need for a test, according to The Times.
But the Department of Health is reluctant to agree to the change because PCR tests are vital for genomic sequencing, which can be used to track Covid variants.
A Government spokesperson told the paper: ‘Our international travel policy is guided by one overwhelming priority: protecting public health.’
Previously reports indicated rules for fully vaccinated holidaymakers, who do not have to self-isolate after returning from green or amber countries, would likely remain the same.
The quarantine or testing requirements non-vaccinated people will have to undergo under the new system are still unclear, but they are likely to be stricter than what they currently faced.
It is understood the proposals are still at the planning stage and no decision has yet been made.
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