Cheap Vets?

phoebe03cat

Yes I've just had a similar experience. I have two persian cats needing dental treatment. Our vets insist of doing the 'bloods'first at a cost of £20 each and then have quoted £150-£200 per cat depending on what needs doing. Well we both work full time but with two teenage children and two aged parents to support I don't have the available cash. Plus the fact that I'm supporting the upmarket equine end of his market. So tried another two vets in the area who all seem to be supporting the going rate. Wrote to PDSA who wouldn't help as we are not on benefits. I offered to pay full price at cost as a donation but they didn't want to know, even when I said that my animals would have to be destroyed when they began to suffer more. If I was a benefit scrounger they'd be falling over to help. Animal lovers...my ar****.

Kay

The cheapest provider isn't usually the best provider when it comes to pet insurance. What you need to look for is insurance that covers your pet if its illness/treatment goes over 12 months, and that they cover fees up to a decent amount. I used to insure my dog with Tesco's, who were fine, and paid out when I needed them, but only covered up to £2,500 and up to 12 months. I'm now with Sainsbury's who cover over 12 months and up to £6,500. The cost depends on your postcode, but mine cost £110 for a year.

By the way - please do insure your pet - my dog impaled himself on something metal and sharp, severed his tendons and the bill came to £765! The insurance covered it apart from £50 excess - well worth it!

angelwds

Alison_B wrote:

A couple of years ago at Christmas, my sons hampster was really ill - shaking uncontrollably and couldn't stand. Needless to say, my son was hysterical and we thought the hampster was going to die. It was Boxing Day night and nowhere was open except the PDSA hospital about 40 miles away. My husband drove there with the hampster and my sobbing son and they turned them away when they discovered that we weren't on benefits. We weren't expecting the treatment for free and would have gladly paid but instead we had to bring the hampster home and we sat up with him all night until our vets opened the next morning.

I have always contributed to the PDSA but since then I refuse. How can someone do that to a poor hampster and a sobbing child.:( They obviously don't care about the health of the animals, or they wouldn't have done what they did.

Did you try ringing any vets more local to you? All veterinary practices are required (RCVS rules) to provide 24hr emergency service, either from themselves or a dedicated night service such as Vets Now.

angelwds

Kay wrote:

The cheapest provider isn't usually the best provider when it comes to pet insurance.

:j You are absolutely right! The sainsbury's one sounds good though. In my experience as a PIA (Pet Insurance Advisor) PetPlan is by far the best cover but is certainly not the cheapest. They cover certain alternative therapies and homeopathic treatments as well as more conventional treatments. They also process and pay out claims quickly which is far better for both the owner and vet :rotfl: They tend not to query claims either which some of the cheaper companies do as a matter of course. Petplan are also purely an equine/pet insurance company and have been operating for years, not just a bank or supermarket (sorry sainsbury's) who have jumped on the pet insurance bandwagon.

Kimberley

Here is the website for Celia Hammond, they just don't spay animals now, they offer low cost veterinary treatment as well. just go to the "our clinics" link on the left to find your nearest.

http://www.celiahammond.org/index.php?&MMN_position=1:1

Kimberley

Minxz wrote:

I recently took my daughter's hamster to a RSPCA hospital in London. I only had to pay £10 consultation fee, and reduced costs as i get WTC and CTC.

Blimey, i took my girls Hamster to the vets two weeks ago and was only charged £7 for the consultation and that was a private vets :rolleyes:

angelwds

phoebe03cat wrote:

Yes I've just had a similar experience. I have two persian cats needing dental treatment. Our vets insist of doing the 'bloods'first at a cost of £20 each and then have quoted £150-£200 per cat depending on what needs doing. Well we both work full time but with two teenage children and two aged parents to support I don't have the available cash. Plus the fact that I'm supporting the upmarket equine end of his market. So tried another two vets in the area who all seem to be supporting the going rate. Wrote to PDSA who wouldn't help as we are not on benefits. I offered to pay full price at cost as a donation but they didn't want to know, even when I said that my animals would have to be destroyed when they began to suffer more. If I was a benefit scrounger they'd be falling over to help. Animal lovers...my ar****.

Vets cannot insist that you have any treatment, just strongly recommend. We usually recommend bloods before a general anaesthetic if the pets is over 7 years or has a relevent medical condition, but we cannot force a client to agree to any procedure if they do not want it. Are your cats insured? If so some companies will pay out for necessary dental treatment

Why not try another local vets?

In defence of PDSA, they do great work in our area and a lot of animals would suffer without their treatment. However, they are a charity specifically to help people on very low incomes but only for emergency treatment - they do not provide neutering, vaccines, flea treatment etc. They do have very stringent rules, even in relating to benefits.

I know the topic of pet owners on benefits can be a very grey area, and I must admit I find it annoying when people ring up for an appt and assume they will get a reduction because they are on benefits but, not all people on benefits are scroungers, I've learnt this particularly through working at a vets

I hope you don't take this as argumentative, I'm just putting my views across

tankgirl1

hi all- i am a veterinary nurse, though have been out of practice for 6 months or so after having my (gorgeous!!) baby boy! i have worked in many practices offering varying levels of care, and i am sorry to say, that the more you pay, the better care your pet will get AS A GENERAL RULE.
obviously this is not always the case, and there are some money grabbing vets out there who will advise tests and follow ups that your pet does not necc need. however, most vets (despite popular public opinion!!) are not in it for the money, and the high prices reflect the amount of overheads they have, the amount of research necc to use drugs on animals (remember doctors only have to test drugs on ONE species!), the crazy stupid hours that we in the vet profession work, and many other things. most vets i know are not rich, and do not drive posh cars etc, and all the support staff i know ie nurses are permenantly skint!

anyway, rant over - main points:

as a general rule (but not always) you get what you pay for

GET YOUR PET INSURED- i use pet plan, but there are an awful lot of companies out there- avoid policies which cap the amount which can be spent per condition, and avoid policies which exclude illnesses after 12months.

hope all this ranting doesnt offend anyone

tankgirl x

tankgirl1

phoebe03cat wrote:

Yes I've just had a similar experience. I have two persian cats needing dental treatment. Our vets insist of doing the 'bloods'first at a cost of £20 each and then have quoted £150-£200 per cat depending on what needs doing. Well we both work full time but with two teenage children and two aged parents to support I don't have the available cash. Plus the fact that I'm supporting the upmarket equine end of his market. So tried another two vets in the area who all seem to be supporting the going rate. Wrote to PDSA who wouldn't help as we are not on benefits. I offered to pay full price at cost as a donation but they didn't want to know, even when I said that my animals would have to be destroyed when they began to suffer more. If I was a benefit scrounger they'd be falling over to help. Animal lovers...my ar****.

perhaps you could agree a payment plan with the practice manager? most of the practices ive worked in will agree to this- have known it to be as low as £10 per month, with no interest, for a bill that was well up into the hundreds! if you are a known and trusted client, im sure most vets would readily agree.
its also worth asking for a permenant discount to be put on your account- 5% or so is often given to regular clients - you could try asking the practice manager

also, if your pets are not insured, perhaps you could pay your vets a few pounds each month to keep your account in credit for emergencys? some vets ive known will even offer a discount if you do this... just a thought..

angelwds

tankgirl1 wrote:

hi all- i am a veterinary nurse, though have been out of practice for 6 months or so after having my (gorgeous!!) baby boy! i have worked in many practices offering varying levels of care, and i am sorry to say, that the more you pay, the better care your pet will get AS A GENERAL RULE.
obviously this is not always the case, and there are some money grabbing vets out there who will advise tests and follow ups that your pet does not necc need. however, most vets (despite popular public opinion!!) are not in it for the money, and the high prices reflect the amount of overheads they have, the amount of research necc to use drugs on animals (remember doctors only have to test drugs on ONE species!), the crazy stupid hours that we in the vet profession work, and many other things. most vets i know are not rich, and do not drive posh cars etc, and all the support staff i know ie nurses are permenantly skint!

anyway, rant over - main points:

as a general rule (but not always) you get what you pay for

GET YOUR PET INSURED- i use pet plan, but there are an awful lot of companies out there- avoid policies which cap the amount which can be spent per condition, and avoid policies which exclude illnesses after 12months.

hope all this ranting doesnt offend anyone

tankgirl x

Hi tankgirl,

I'm on mat leave too after having little girl (gorgeous too!), a bit of an epidemic at my place as I'm the fourth in a year!! A bit off topic I know... However... totally agree with all you say on all accounts - you get what you pay for. We lost a lot of clients recently when a 'Vets For Pets' opened in the area but they were soon all back for personal and consistent service. As for Petplan, i don't think they can be beaten for cover.