Legal Basis

Maggie Search is an independent price comparison service for veterinary medicines in the United Kingdom. This page sets out the legal framework we operate under, and the boundaries we work within.

We publish it because a service that talks about medicines and money should be able to show its footing.

What we operate under

Consumer Rights Act 2015

Consumers have a right to clear, accurate pricing information before they buy. Price comparison is a lawful and recognised way of delivering that.

CMA veterinary services market investigation

The Competition and Markets Authority has investigated the UK veterinary sector and identified price transparency as a core consumer concern, including significant price variation between practices and limited awareness among owners of their right to a written prescription.

Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013

Veterinary medicines authorised in the UK have publicly available product information. We reproduce and organise that public information; we do not supply medicines.

UK VMD Product Information Database

Every medicine we list is drawn from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate's official database of UK-authorised veterinary medicines.

Competition Act 1998

Independent price comparison services are lawful and pro-competitive. Making prices visible is precisely what competition law is designed to encourage.

Your right to a written prescription

This is the single most useful right a UK pet owner has, and the least known.

You may ask your vet for a written prescription for a medicine they are prescribing to your animal, and buy that medicine from any VMD-registered pharmacy you choose. A vet may charge a reasonable fee for writing the prescription, but cannot refuse to write one for a medicine they are already prescribing.

The clinical decision stays with your vet. Where you buy is yours.

What Maggie Search does

• Lists UK-authorised veterinary medicines from the official VMD database
• Groups them by active ingredient, so equivalents are visible
• Links to registered UK pharmacies where they can be bought
• Publishes educational articles about the cost of treating chronic conditions

What Maggie Search does not do

• Does not prescribe medicines. We have no clinical role.
• Does not recommend substitutions without veterinary approval. We show that equivalents exist; your vet decides.
• Does not sell or supply medicines. We are not a pharmacy and never handle prescriptions.
• Does not provide veterinary advice. Nothing on this site replaces consulting your own vet.

Affiliate disclosure

Some pharmacy links on this site earn Maggie Search a commission, through affiliate networks including Awin. This never affects the prices shown, never affects the order in which products appear, and never costs you more. More about how we operate is on our about page.

Data protection

We comply with the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). We use no advertising cookies and no third-party trackers. Full detail is in our Privacy & Cookie Policy.

Corrections and complaints

If you believe anything on this site is inaccurate, misleading or out of date, tell us and we will correct it: hello@maggiesearch.co.uk

For data protection matters: privacy@maggiesearch.co.uk. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).