Thank you for entrusting the care of your pet to The Village Veterinary Centre. Please be aware that by using our services, you agree to our terms of business as outlined below.
FEES
All fees and costs are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the time and skill required plus consumables used. They also contribute to the costs of running a well-equipped veterinary surgery every day. Any fee is available upon request. You are liable for any fees incurred in the diagnosis and treatment of your pet even if your pet is brought to us on your behalf by a relative, friend or agent.
METHODS OF PAYMENT
Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your pet or upon collection of medicines/diets. You may settle the account using: Cash or Debit/Credit cards; Switch, Solo, MasterCard, Visa and Delta.
ESTIMATES OF TREATMENT COSTS
We will happily provide an estimate as to the probable costs of a course of treatment. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate – often a pet’s illness will not follow a conventional course. We will try to alert you on the contact numbers you have given us if we believe the treatment costs are going to exceed the estimate costs. If you are not contactable, we will treat your pet as is necessary for its best interests and for the prevention of pain or suffering.
SETTLEMENT TERMS
Should an account not be settled immediately, we will initially send reminders to do so. We reserve the right to add additional accounting and interest charges should that situation continue, and to refer the debt to a collection agency who will legitimately add their own fees to the debt. Any returned cheques or payments not honoured that result in further charges or losses to ourselves will be added to the principal sum.
INABILITY TO PAY
If, for any reason, you are unable to settle your account as specified, we ask you to discuss the matter as soon as possible with Patrick Bullen BVSc MRCVS or Sarah Bullen, The Practice Manager.
Please note that instalments or part-payments of any account may only be sanctioned with the express permission of either Patrick or Sarah.
RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP
This should include regular vaccination, worm and flea control. Micro chipping provides a permanent means of identification of your pet. Please ask for advice on any of these matters.
INSURANCE
The Village Veterinary Centre strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. Insurance provides peace of mind against unexpected illness, injury or accidents involving third parties. We are no longer permitted to advise you about individual companies so do take time to check the degree of cover being offered by those available. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle our account and then re-claim from your insurance company.
Where the treatment cost is in excess of £250, by arrangement, we will allow a Direct Claim to be made. In such cases, you must agree to 1) Within 7 days, hand in a claim form signed by the Policyholder to “Pay Vet” or start the claim off online 2) To pay any excess or items not covered by insurance within 7 days of receiving the invoice from ourselves. Please note that an admin fee of £25.00 will be charged per condition per year for all direct insurance claims. Please refer to our Direct Insurance Claims Terms & Conditions for more details.
COMPLAINTS AND STANDARDS
Our standards and procedures are scrupulously monitored by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. We are fully committed to providing exceptional service and care. Inevitably however, there will be occasions when your expectations have not been met. Most problems can be resolved by discussion with the person concerned at the times they arise. Failing this we request you make a complaint in writing within a month of the incident addressed to Sarah Bullen, Practice Manager. We will reply to your concerns as soon as it is practically possible.
OWNERSHIP OF RECORDS
Case records, including similar documents, are the property of, and shall be retained by The Village Veterinary Centre. Copies with a summary of the history will be passed on request to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case.
OWNERSHIP OF X-RAYS AND SIMILAR DOCUMENTS
The diagnosis and subsequent treatment of your animal’s condition may involve making some specific investigations. This might involve taking x-rays or performing ultrasound scans. Even though we make a charge for carrying out these investigations and interpreting their results, the ownership of the resulting record remains with the Practice.
OUT OF HOURS POLICY
Our Out of Hours is covered by Vets Now, Winchester. They will levy a charge which may be greater than our normal charges in order to cover the cost of this service. A copy of their full terms and conditions are available upon request.
