Been Charged over the odds by Vet

charltonfan1

Firstly, I realise I should have arranged insurance for my new puppy but I didn’t prior to him becoming ill. I did apply a few days before he got sick but cannot claim as it doesn’t cover until 10 days after application.

Here is a litter I have written my vet. Please provide any recommendations or comments of any experiences in similar situations:

I would first like to start by saying we appreciate the help you gave our Puppy (Baxter) this week and he is now back to full health.

I would like to make a formal complaint regarding the costs we have been charged for his treatment especially since you were unable to determine the cause of the vomiting. This means that we now have no idea how to prevent him having similar problems in the future.

While you provided me with a list of the maximum possible cost of treatment after the vet had examined him for 5 minutes, you are well aware that pet owners when being told that their pets condition needs urgent attention are not in position to question what treatments cost due to their love of the pet.

With hindsight I am shocked at the level of charges imposed by your practice and therefore I have spent a couple of hours surveying 5 other local vets (Within 4 miles of your practice) to get quotes for what they would charge for identical treatments. I have not considered everything on the invoice that we are being charged for, only the 4 main costs: Blood Profiling, Sedation, X Rays (2 exposures) and Intravenous Drip (+extra fluid bag).

Here are my findings:

1. Blood Profiling – A number of the vets I spoke to told me that they rarely do blood profiles prior to sedation or even surgery as it very rarely throws up anything of use. One Vet specifically stated that it is a common way of extracting extra fees from patients.

Average across the 5 practices: £74.65

Medivet Charge: £156.58

Difference: £81.93

NB. These fees quoted are for full comprehensive blood profiles.

2. Sedation – Again a number of the vets said for a small dog they would not require sedation or general anaesthetic for an xray for a dog with stomach/digestion issues.

Average across the 5 practices: £54.90

Medivet Charge: £92.42

Difference: £37.52

3. X Ray (2 Exposures)

Average across the 5 practices: £140.56

Medivet Charge: £210.41

Difference: £69.85

4. Setup and administration of Intravenous Drip with Extra bag of fluids

Average across the 5 practices: £65.08

Medivet Charge: £154.81

Difference: £89.73

As you can see your practice is consistently overcharging for treatments showing the charges are not of a reasonable level.

I did a survey of costs in July before registering with yourselves for some standard things that any new dog owner would consider – vaccinations, First consultation, neutering and microchipping. You came out the cheapest for these items by a small margin. This suggests you deliberately price these introductory treatments at low levels to entice customers and then charge unreasonable amounts for more involved treatments and I believe this is a clear example of sharp practice and this is not acceptable.

I would like you to reconsider your charges in this instance on the basis of the evidence I have collected today. If you are not able to do this I will be forwarding my complaint onto the BVA and RCVS and publishing my findings on all available forums including writing to BBC watchdog and local/national newspapers as I believe the charges levied are wholly unreasonable.

I am perfectly willing to pay a charge comparable to your competitors to finally settle these costs.

Please confirm receipt of this email and I look forward to your response on the matter.

Kind Regards

sparklysaver

I think that surveying local practices and showing that you've done your homework is sensible and the first part of the letter reads entirely reasonably, the only thing I'd say is that the latter part of it does come across as perhaps slightly too combative for a first contact?

I'm not sure I'd be threatening the BBC etc until they've at least had a chance to say no.

ETA: just re-read your post, and now I'm not sure if you've already sent the letter to your vet & are looking for advice from people who've succeeded in similar situations? In which case, just ignore me, because I don't qualify.

rising_from_the_ashes

First of all, sorry to hear Baxter's been unwell but glad he's on the med again.

Secondly, although you will have a 10 day exclusion period, any conditions that you've received treatment for (including this one) will in all likelihood be excluded from the new policy.

Thirdly, having read through your email, I think you need it to be a bit softer ... although you are perfectly entitled to request to have the charges reviewed etc, the practice don't have to do this so you need to get them on your side - not threaten them with going to Watchdog etc which is likely to just p*ss them off right at the start - you've basically accused them of running unnecessary tests!

Prices vary from practice to practice even within the same towns and often by huge amounts and there is no set charging formula and they are not obligated to charge a certain amount.

However, an estimate should always be given before proceeding with treatment and this shouldn't be exceeded without your prior consent or outwith a "reasonable" amount - say 10 to 20%.

When looking for a vets always go on personal recommendation - it may be that you want to look for a new one now so ask around friends/colleagues/neighbours for their experiences.

charltonfan1

Thank you so far. I definitely will ask around before choosing my new practice.

I perhaps have been a little harsh up front with them but in my experience of complaint letters in the past they are ignored unless you threaten action.

An estimate was provided but was a worst case scenario so this included surgery and further tests and x rays and came to £1800. I realise in hindsight i should of obtained quotes at this time prior to proceeding with treatment but i was being told there might be a blockage which could be killing the tissue around it if action wasnt taken right away.

rising_from_the_ashes

I think the difference here is that they've not actually "broken any rules" as there are no set charging amounts etc.

By all means write and ask for the charges to be reviewed and highlight the charges other practices are making but they are not obligated to charge the same so it's really up to them if they decide to give you a reduction in the charges - and you therefore need to be a bit softer in the wording of your email to encourage them to re-look at the charges/reduce them.

If you did follow up with going to watchdog, bbc, forums etc - so what (sorry) they're not going to worry as they've not done anything legally wrong.

On the spur of the moment when your pet is ill, you need to know & trust your vets will do their utmost to "fix" your pet at the most reasonable cost possible.

It's the same as dentists etc - I had a crown done and it cost me about £250, my friend had one done and it cost £400 - you may pay more for "x" treatment at your vet but then "y" treatment may be cheaper than at another practice .... prices vary on just about everything so you unfortunately can't just choose one on this basis alone.

For "basic" things such as vaccinations, neutering etc the charges will be pretty similar between most practices in an area - yes, they want new people to come to them and if they charge way more than everyone else, they won't. I always ring round and if my vets were charging a huge amount more, I'd mention it and see if they could get a bit closer to the price.

For any illness/injury I would never dream of doing this - I want my pet treated by someone I trust to look after them - part of that trust is that they won't charge me double what others would. HTH

charltonfan1

Thanks, yes its this trust which they have completely lost with me.

elliesmemory1

I may be wrong but was medivet the subject of a tv programe recently?
news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid.../8842399.stm

charltonfan1

Very interesting thanks

ska_lover

I think they were on watchdog or something, I watched it. They were on there for overcharging and for having untrained staff perform medical procedures. Shocking. They did some hidden camera work, and the staff were not very kind to some of the animals

gettingready

Yup, Medivet was on telly not that long ago......for various reasons - none of them very good I have to say....

It was Panorama not Watchdog

http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8842000/8842399.stm

Glad your pup is better though...

Francesanne

gettingready wrote: »

Yup, Medivet was on telly not that long ago......for various reasons - none of them very good I have to say....

It was Panorama not Watchdog

http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8842000/8842399.stm

Glad your pup is better though...

I believe they're VERY expensive too.