Terms & Conditions

This is the website and page content for The Pet Vet, trading names of The Pet Vet (UK Veterinary Services) Ltd with Company registration No. 11319585 and Quality Pet care Ltd with Company No. 08249167 respectively both of 158 Doncaster Road, Dalton, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S65 3EW.

On these web pages we refer to the surgeries as being part of one or other company and the use of words such as “us”, “our”, “we” “the surgery” refers to either The Pet Vet (UK Veterinary Services) Ltd or Quality Pet care Ltd.

Each of our national surgeries is a trading entity of the above companies:

The Pet Vet (UK Veterinary Services) Ltd trading as The Pet Vet in:
- Barnsley, Doncaster, Lincoln and Rotherham.
Quality Pet care Ltd trading as The Pet Vet in:
- Bristol, Nottingham, Liverpool, Morden, Portsmouth, Southampton, Waltham Forest and Warrington.

Thank you

Thank you for entrusting the care of your pets to one of our independent, family-owned surgeries, which serve our local communities throughout England. Some of the terms detailed may not be relevant to you and we request that you ask for further explanation or clarification if required.

General

By accepting our services or purchase of goods, you, the customer, contractually agree to the Terms of Business as laid out on our web pages.

Fees

All fees, diets and medication charges are subject to VAT.

Prices for our medication directly change in line with the costs from our suppliers.

For the services we offer, our prices are determined by eg

The time required from our surgery team for a case to be assessed, treated, monitored and/or reviewed.
The consumables and materials used.
The use of external resources.

Our standard consultation length is 15 minutes. However, we operate a triage system at the time of booking an appointment, so that we can offer extended consultation times for particular conditions or symptoms.

On a quarterly basis, we review the prices of the services we offer. The outcome of our price reviews will result in an increase, decrease or no change. If a price has increased, we will honour an existing estimate for 1 month.

We will give an estimate of the price of any treatment before we carry it out. Please be aware that this is only an estimate and may be exceeded, as a pet’s condition may not always follow a predictable course. During treatment, we will endeavour to contact you should the costs rise above 20% of the estimated amount. If this is not possible, and to delay treatment would jeopardise the patient’s care, we will continue treatment.

We accept the following methods of payment: cash, credit/debit cards, cheque and bank transfers (Corporate businesses only).

Offers and discounts

Our surgeries offer discounts of 10% off to Over 60s, BlueLight Card Members and Armed Forces. These discounts are applicable on specific days of the week, so please refer to your surgery for more details.

These individual offers may not be used in conjunction with any other offer or promotion.

Our fair price guarantee

We want you to be confident that the price you pay for our products and services is excellent value for money. If you find the equivalent cheaper elsewhere, we’ll refund you the difference if your claim meets the following criteria:

A claim must be made within 7 days of full and final payment to the surgery.
At the time of making the claim, the competitor price must be presented in the form of a written estimate or available on a publicly printed price list.
The competitor price must be for an identical product or service.
The competitor must be within 10 miles of the surgery.
Prices from on-line providers, charities or not-for-profit organisations do not qualify.
No promotions or Pet Health Plans can be used in conjunction with this offer.
The difference to be refunded will be credited to your account.
In the event of any dispute, the final decision will be made by our Head of Operations.

Cancellation policy

We require a 50% deposit, which is added to your account at the time of payment. The patient’s notes will state that a deposit has been paid, the treatment to be received, and the planned date of treatment.

If an appointment is cancelled with at least 3 days notice, a full refund can be given.
If an appointment is cancelled with less than 3 days notice but more than 24 hours before the appointment, the amount will be credited on your account for future treatment/your next appointment.
If an appointment is cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice, 50% of the deposit paid will be refunded.

Pet Health Plan

Our Pet Health Plans are preventive schemes, which entitle our registered pets to receive some free products and services (such as flea & worm treatment, annual vaccination, nail clips, health checks), and all others at discounted rates. By paying in monthly instalments, it spreads the cost of preventive healthcare.

Vetsure is the administrator of our Pet Health Plan. Vetsure’s Ts & Cs can be viewed here: Vetsure

Our additional Terms & Conditions are:

On sign up, 1 month of flea and worm treatment may be taken immediately.
On sign up, a second vaccination or booster vaccination can be offered immediately, at a discount of 50%.
If a primary course of vaccination is required, 50% of the full course vaccination fee is applicable.
For administration purposes, other products and services can be used from 2 weeks after registration.
10% discount as part of the Pet Health Plan benefits cannot be used in conjunction with other ongoing discounts (e.g over 60s and blue light) but it may be used in conjunction with seasonal offers and promotions.
Your Pet Health Plan benefits are not valid at surgeries other than our own.
If your Pet Health Plan is cancelled, the treatment received from the anniversary of the start date will be offset against how much has been paid up to date, which may incur additional charges.

Pet insurance

It is practice policy to encourage all our customers to consider adequate insurance for their pets. We do not sell insurance and cannot advise you on the merits of specific policies. Customers are reminded that pet insurance is a contract between you and the insurance company. If you are insured, we reserve the right to insist on payment from you while you make a claim. While we will provide all accurate information required in expediting any claim, we cannot and will not negotiate with any insurance company on your behalf. If an insurance claim is unsuccessful, or if there is a shortfall, you will be expected to pay any costs associated with your pet’s care.

Prescriptions

Medication is available from your local surgery for your pet, and you’ll be informed of the price before purchase.

You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines (POMs) from your Vet. These require a prescription and include regular flea & worm treatment, standard medicines, and controlled drugs. Your Vet may only prescribe POMs for a pet that is deemed under their care. A reassessment will be required for repeat prescription, the frequency of which is at the discretion of the Vet based on individual circumstances. A re-examination is charged as a consultation fee.

For your convenience, repeat prescriptions can be ordered via our customer portal. We request that you give us 24 hours notice for any repeat prescription.

Once your pet’s prescription has been dispensed, we are unable to accept any returned medication.

You can request a written prescription and obtain the medicines for your pet elsewhere. A written prescription costs £23. A written prescription may not be appropriate if your pet is an inpatient or immediate treatment is essential. Under normal circumstances, a written prescription will be sent directly to your preferred pharmacy, unless otherwise agreed with your Vet.

Repeat prescriptions

We request that you give us 24 hours’ notice for any repeat prescription. We are only able to prescribe medicines for patients that are deemed to be under our care. Depending on the clinical condition, this means that we must have examined your animal within the past six months.

Out of hours

Our customers and patients receive 24-hour service, which can include in-house overnight hospitalisation. For emergency cases out of hours, please telephone your local surgery.

Ownership of records and radiographs

Clinical notes and radiographs are owned by us. Upon request we can send copies of clinical histories and radiographs to referral practices and to any new practice with which the customer chooses to register.

Client referencing

We reserve the right to reference any new or existing customer’s credit worthiness. This will include credit referencing agencies, CCJs and payment histories with other veterinary practices. Customers that are required to be involved via a limited company may be required to provide a guarantor. We reserve the right to request additional identification from any customer to confirm their accurate details eg full postal address and any other relevant information that may be deemed necessary.

Settlement terms

Payment is due in full on the date of invoice or when an insurance claim is complete and any shortfalls are known.

If the bill remains unpaid 7 days after the due date, we will send out a reminder letter.
Bills that remain unpaid for a further 7 days will incur a 10% late payment fee of the total outstanding balance, and a further reminder letter will be sent.
If the bill remains unpaid after a further 7 days a final reminder letter will be sent.
After a further 7 days if the invoice is not paid it will be referred to our debt collection agency, whereupon additional charges will be levied onto the outstanding bill.
Ultimately court action may be sanctioned to collect outstanding fees.

Persistent refusal to pay bills will result in a written request to seek veterinary treatment elsewhere because we will no longer consider the bad debtor a customer of the practice.

Settlement terms (Corporate businesses and charities only)

Payment is due in full 21 days from the month end of the invoice date.

If the bill remains unpaid 7 days after the due date we will send out a reminder letter.
Bills that remain unpaid for a further 7 days will incur a 10% late payment fee of the total outstanding balance, and a further reminder letter will be sent.
If the bill remains unpaid after a further 7 days a final reminder letter will be sent.
After a further 7 days if the invoice is not paid it will be referred to our debt collection agency, whereupon additional charges will be levied onto the outstanding bill.
Ultimately court action may be sanctioned to collect outstanding fees.

Persistent refusal to pay bills will result in a written request to seek veterinary treatment elsewhere because we will no longer consider the bad debtor a customer of the practice.

Data protection

We promise to only use customers’ details for the purpose of our business. We will not intentionally pass any details onto any third parties, unless detailed below, without your permission. We may, from time to time, contact you with veterinary information or special offers which may be relevant to you. We will aim to maintain your details correctly. You must inform us of your correct current details to allow us to provide services to you and collect any fees due. This includes: name, address, email and other contact details, animal’s details, plus any other information you feel is relevant, or is requested by the surgery.

Zero Tolerance Policy

We value our colleagues highly at all our surgeries and we do our best to provide the highest standards of care and service to every customer, every day.

We feel it is important that customers behave in an acceptable manner towards our colleagues, so we operate a zero tolerance policy to violence, abuse and demanding behaviour. We determine violence as actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety.

Our surgeries will not tolerate unacceptable behaviour such as customers shouting, swearing and being demanding towards our colleagues; or any aggression, bullying or racism.

Customers will be given a warning should any colleagues experience such incidents. The surgery has the right to remove abusive customers with immediate effect in order to safeguard colleagues, other customers and pets. In extreme cases, we will involve the police.

Violent, intimidating or abusive customers may be deregistered from the surgery. In these circumstances we will notify you in writing of your removal from the surgery and record it in your records, stating why you have been deregistered.

Complaints procedure

In the event of a complaint please discuss the matter initially with the surgery. If this proves unsatisfactory, please put the complaint in writing and send to feedback@thepetvet.co.uk. All escalated complaints will be investigated and responded to.