Thanks - I want to get it from a reliable source so better stay clear of them then!

i go best pet pharmacy for my stronghold, they just keep the same perscription on file so i can now order it without one as i sent them the prescription last year

I would definately order from ChemistDirect again and they were the cheapest I found when I was looking (and the dogs appreciated the treats, I wouldn't normally buy expensive commercial treats but I thought I might as well spend about £6 on treats than £4 on postage!)

You definitely do not need to get a veterinary prescription!! We buy it on line, I will find out the addy from OH and send the address via a PM to anyone who is interested as I don't think I would be allowed to post the link.

Vets charge a fortune for a prescription, which I think is absolutely disgraceful.

I think I am right in saying that all UK sites will insist on a script, but the company we use is based outside the UK, not sure where, but we have been using them now for a good 2 years and they are most reliable. We get everything from them - Advocate, Stronghold, and we also buy our Panacur wormer from them in bulk at a fraction of the price. It is equine Panacur, but is exactly the same formula and because you are buying a large bottle, it is miles cheaper.

The company are allowed to buy prescription medication in that country without a license but it is illegal to import them unto the UK. You are buying them and arranging to have them shipped here so you are the importer, and therefore you're breaking the law.
You're buying from a company that, although may not be acting illegally itself, is aware of the legalities and happy to aid people in the UK to illegally import prescription medication so what makes you think they are that legitimate? Many of these companies sell outdated, unapproved or counterfeit medication - and how do you expect to get any legal recourse for this when you're breaking the law buying the products in the first place? Nevermind the legal recourse though, are you honestly happy to illegally purchase prescription medication without a prescription and trust that it is safe to use on your pet?! I certainly never would. Like I said, at best, it's outdated or incorrectly stored and is no longer efficient, so it's just a waste of your money. At worst, it's counterfeit or unapproved and may make your pet seriously ill or even kill it. A totally irresponsible action you've made just to save some money. Would you buy your own medication from a random online company based abroad? Would you buy it for a child? I certainly wouldn't, and I take the same attitude with my pets.
Even if you face no problems yourself (yet), many do, and it's supply and demand - you keep providing the demand, these companies keep providing the supply, and more and more people's pets get seriously ill or die from dodgy medication (whether that's the meds themselves, or the medication being ineffective and not treating the health issue), or not seeing a vet because people decide to self-diagnose and buy prescription-only medication illegally.

I would urge people to buy legitimate medication from reputable, UK-based companies that will be following UK laws.
My vets charge a whopping (not) £6.50 - a tiny price for the peace of mind of being able to buy products legally. This includes a free checkup to ensure the pet is healthy enough to be receiving these medications - flea and worm treatments may be for our pet's best interests but it's always worth checking the pet is healthy enough to be receiving medication that can cause sideeffects itself. My doctors would charge me £20 to get a sick note (which takes 30 seconds, had it done before) written for work! Pet medication is a lot cheaper than private human medication, maybe the NHS has us expecting free medication and not realising the cost of these things, but I bet if we paid for our healthcare we would definately appreciate vet prices a lot more.

I completey agree, I would not buy unlicensed drugs for my family , never mind my dogs.

They are to precious to gamble the quality of the drugs.

Thanks Gnasher , but no thanks for the links, I will stick to paying for drugs I know are safe, btw , cant beleive you give horse wormers to your dogs

If what you said were true, then I would agree.

But it is not. The products we are buying - Advocate, Stronghold, Panacur - are exactly as if they were bought in the UK. No different - same price - you are just saving on the cost of a prescription from the vet each time you want to purchase your particular product. We have 2 very large dogs, who are Advocate-d, Stronghold-ed at the recommended dosage and timings, and with regards to Panacur, we have to dose them every 12 weeks for 3 days at a time because of the Giardia they pick up from the fields at the back of our house. I don't know about your vet, but our's charges £25 for a prescription per time, we would be bankrupt at that rate! I guess they might be prepared to give us a bit of a discount, but we still cannot afford it.

It is not illegal to buy such items across the internet and I shall continue to do so.

They are not unlicensed, they are exactly the same products as you would buy from your vet or from a UK supplier.

As for your last paragraph, the product is EXACTLY THE SAME. I can actually read - the PIL (Product information Leaflet) gives exactly the same ingredients and %'s in both the horse wormer and the equine wormer. The only difference is in the price - we buy a litre of Panacur horse wormer for I believe £50, whereas that quantity of Panacur for dogs would cost at least quadruple that. The only difference is the packaging!

All the information I have read on panacur says the consistency is different, and from the days when I used to worm my horses, the safety measures around the waste was incredibly high... in as much as "dont leave the syringe laying around, because if a dog gets it it can do harm to said dog...that came from vets BTW.

Your dogs, your choice, I would rather not penny pinch to save a few bob, and put my animals at risk.