Help with vets bills???

Miss_Cat

Um okay, I have a pets rat who my brother in all his wisdom, when looking after for me, decided to mate with his rat. great.
so last night she goes into labour, gets one baby stuck so he calls the vet.
the vet gave my brother a choice between putting the rat down or giving her a c-section and hysterectomy, the vet warned my brother that to be put down it would be £10 but the c-section etc would be around £120.
my brother, not wanting to have my pet put down as we are both pretty attached to her, decided that as he had £400 left on his credit card, that he would opt for the surgery and pay for it himself, he gave the nurse his credit card details and assumed that she had charged it there and then.
So today we go to pick her up,
the bill is now £226
but the vets tell us that the bill wasnt paid last night, ok, so we try to use the card again, but it's rejected.
Now we are told that the bill MUST be paid for today, they wont keep the rat until thursday (payday) and that if they did she would prob kill the babies anyway and maybe even die herself, that she would be better at home. they wont even let us pay by installments! despite the fact that we have a history with them for paying bills on time in full!
I have insurance for my cat and dog but never even considered it for my rat and im on benefits but cant magic 226 pounds out of thin air! help!

Miss_Cat

i have just emailed the pdsa, dont know if they can help at all

Antispam

To get PDSA you need to be on certain benefits.

You have to register to get PDSA before any work and registry costs £5 I believe via a postal order. Not all vets work with PDSA so you can only have work done through a vets that PDSA use.

There is a time limit to get work done it is usually the following month after you register. You cant just have work done and hope they will pay up afterwards like I said you need to apply and register the pet before hand.


http://www.pdsa.org.uk/

How do I register for PDSA help?
To register for PDSA help, a person must provide proof of receipt of benefit by showing an award letter from their Council or similar documentation. In addition at PetAid hospitals confirmation of personal identification is required. Once registered, the pet owner is provided with a Client Agreement that they are asked to present each time they bring their pet for treatment.

Antispam

slightly old comments below but still applies

http://www.kirksvets.co.uk/pdsa.asp

If you receive Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit you can register a single pet with the P.D.S.A. for only £3.00, and this covers you against unexpected Vet bills for the next six months. The only drawback with this is that to receive free treatment the pet must already be registered with the P.D.S.A. The result being that the people who need this cover most only find out about it when they visit the Vet’s, and then it is too late. So if you qualify, don’t delay, register today.

Miss_Cat

I am on the right kind of benefits however didnt register with the pdsa before all this, the thought hadnt even crossed my mind. worst thing is it looks like she's going to die anyway.
i have the number for local rspca, website says they may be able to help, but they are bot open til tomorrow so will give that a try.