A leading skin cancer charity has said it is "disappointed" with a new mole scanning service run by Boots for charging "concerned customers" without providing a diagnosis or solution.
Melanoma UK criticised the service which charges patients £35 for an initial mole assessment and £15 each for up to three more moles.
The service, which is run in partnership with ScreenCancer UK, takes a siascope picture of the moles or lesions and sends it to ScreenCancer's experts to examine.
After seven days patients can expect a report from Boots advising them if they should visit their GP or not.
Dr Christian Aldridge, Melanoma UK's leading dermatologist, said: "The issue here is what happens if/when the nurse calls.
"They have only taken a detailed picture of your mole. If they think it's suspicious they will tell you to see your GP. They cannot do anything else."
He added: "They will tell you to print off the report, show it your GP, who do not regularly read siascope reports, and to ask for referral/removal of mole.
"So, this is a private service, which then relies on the already heavily in-demand NHS to do its work for it."
He advised that for an additional £20 patients can see a private dermatologist for a full body inspection, instead of the maximum four mole inspection the high street retailer offers.
He said: "It is important to know that the NHS has excellent dermatology teams across the country. They are best placed to advise on moles."
Melanoma UK said that a study conducted by researchers at Public Health England found both non melanoma skin cancer and malignant melanoma rose "significantly" from 87,685 in 2007 to 123,808 in 2011.
Gill Nuttall, CEO of Melanoma UK, said: "I'm really disappointed that a large organisation like Boots has found an opportunity to make a profit from this service.
"Perhaps the fear element will get the better of some people, but I'd have been far happier to see Boots offer their assistance for free and really try to make a difference to the alarming increase in the rates of melanoma."
No one from Boots was available for comment.
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