CMA issues draft guidance on consumer law for IVF sector
The CMA is consulting on draft guidance to help fertility clinics understand and comply with their obligations under consumer law.
The move comes after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) expressed concerns in February about fertility clinics바카라 사이트™ practices, such as a lack of price transparency and misleading claims about success rates, meaning patients may be unable to compare clinics.
Following engagement with the sector, the CMA is concerned that clinics may not be aware of their obligations under consumer law. It is therefore producing guidance to increase clinics바카라 사이트™ awareness of the law.
Today바카라 사이트™s draft sets out what information clinics must provide to patients 바카라 사이트“ and when this should be provided. It also explains what clinics should do to make sure their terms and practices are fair under consumer law.
To get to this stage, the CMA has worked closely with the sector regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), to understand patients바카라 사이트™ experiences and learn more about how clinics operate. The CMA has also spoken to other organisations with knowledge of the sector and carried out further research to understand patients바카라 사이트™ experiences of self-funded IVF.
The consultation for the draft guidance is now open and will last for 9 weeks, closing on Tuesday 5 January 2021. The CMA will continue to engage with clinics and the wider sector to progress its work.
A final version and a summary of responses received will be published next year. Alongside this, the CMA will also issue a short guide for IVF patients to help raise awareness of their consumer rights.
As well as producing guidance, the CMA will continue its work in the sector, including conducting a compliance review once its final guidance has been issued. Should it find evidence that clinics바카라 사이트™ practices or terms are unfair, the CMA will consider enforcement action. At this stage, however, the CMA has not reached a view as to whether or not the law has been broken.
Further information about the CMA바카라 사이트™s work in this sector and a copy of the draft guidance can be found on the Self-funded IVF page.