Travel PCR tests have been slammed as a “scandal” by the former chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority.
Lord Tyrie, who criticised the government and the CMA in August for their management of the market, warned then that the government must take advantage of the gap between the summer and the busy winter travel period “to sort this out once and for all”.
He told the BBC: “It was a scandal waiting to happen and it is now happening and it needs very urgent action if we’re to have to have a reasonable chance of protecting thousands of consumers.
“To allow this to continue over the peak Christmas period would be scandalous. Other countries seem to have done better – we’ve got to try harder.”
Concerns over the price of tests have been raised again after the government announced people arriving in the UK would need to take a PCR test before the end of their second day – on top of a pre-flight test.
The government website has recently advertised tests for travellers at prices that have been difficult to obtain.
Lord Tyrie said for the tests to have been “mismanaged” once by the government was a “misfortune”.
Overpriced tests and poor service were “still widespread,” he said.
For the problem to resurface after the summer was the down to the government’s “carelessness”.
Lord Tyrie, a former MP and chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, said: “It appears that some of the worst practices: misleading online advertisements; overpricing; unacceptably poor service among them, are still widespread.”
The government insisted it monitors issues raised by the public and takes rapid action if appropriate.
This action has included the removal of companies from the list advertised, a government spokesperson said, adding: “We’ve been clear that it is unacceptable for any private testing company to take advantage of holidaymakers.”
The health secretary was forced to launch an investigation with the CMA in the summer to look into the operation of firms who were advertising tests.
Thousands of consumers complained that they never received results for tests they ordered and paid for, which were listed on gov.uk.
The Laboratory and Testing Industry Organisation, which works with the government to ensure the UK testing industry has high ethical and professional standards, reportedly said the government had failed to “enforce accuracy” on its providers list.