A BRADFORD firm is being investigated by a competition watchdog following complaints its PCR tests did not arrive on time and it has refused to refund customers.

In a statement, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said: “The CMA has opened a formal investigation following complaints alleging that one private firm, Expert Medicals, has not provided tests and results in a timely manner or at all; has failed to respond to customer complaints; and has refused to issue refunds when due.”

It went on to say the firm, one of the largest providers of PCR travel tests in the UK this summer, has been the subject of a high number of complaints, both to Citizens Advice and more recently to the CMA.

Expert Medicals is a private PCR testing firm based at 12 New John Street, Bradford.

It now no longer appears on the list of testing providers who self-declare that they meet the Government’s minimum standards for Covid-19 testing.

The CMA has also written to a further 19 test providers warning them to improve their pricing information or risk action in the future.

The statement added: “The CMA is concerned that the 19 firms continue to falsely advertise tests at very low prices when they are either not available at that price or include hidden conditions, such as where the tests must be collected from.”

This action comes after the CMA last week sent an open letter to PCR test providers warning that a range of practices in the sector could breach consumer protection law.

Andrea Coscelli, Chief Executive at the CMA, said: "Millions of people have to buy PCR tests in order to travel. If we find that firms have been misleading customers and failing to provide the service that people have paid for, we stand ready to take action.

"Our actions today are the next steps in our work to ensure the PCR testing market works for consumers and we are preparing to take further action in this sector."

The T&A has attempted to contact Expert Medicals and is awaiting a comment.