Urgent vet bill help.

Sarah69

I have insurance on my dog. Unfortuneately he needs an op 2morro and the cost is going to be approx £3200, my insurance will only pay £2000, I am on benefit can anyone suggest where I can get any help to cover the extra £1200 I don't have that sort of money. Thanks.

McKneff

Not much help really but could you ask the vet for a payment plan or get a loan.

Mrs_Egg

I've just taken some information from previous thread on this subject -

The RSPCA & Blue Cross might be able to help
http://www.rspca.org.uk/
http://www.bluecross.org.uk/web/site/home/home.asp

Or the PDSA if your in the right postcode - www.pdsa.org.uk or ring them on 0800 731 2502

To be eligible for PDSA-funded veterinary treatment you must be in receipt of either Housing benefit or Council tax benefit and live within the defined catchment area of a PDSA PetAid hospital or PetAid practice.

Also i would talk to your vets, many will set up a payment plan if you explain the situation. What is the operation? have you phoned any other vets for quotes? I know some vets differ in prices.

I hope everything works out for you and the operation goes well today.

vax2002

Contact your insurers, they will have a guide price for the operation.
The reason for the £2000 might be thats the going rate, you can "shop" around, you can also obtain a second opinion, another vet may advise another treatment.
for £3200 I would want a gold plated dog.

Sarah69

Thanks for the advice I have tried various charities and managed to get some help but nowhere near the amount to cover the op.

I've not been able to shop around my vet referred him straightaway to an orthopaedic vet. He has a disk pressing on his spinal chord leaving his bag legs useless. Once it's removed he will have movement back in his legs.

My policy is with pdsa and apart from paying the insurance they will only help with the insurance excess. RSPCA will only help with £15. Although I appreciate the help it is nowhere near enough to cover the left over amount.

vax2002

call the vet and ask for details of the operation in technical terms.
Dig out the phone book and call round for some prices.

Unless you are prepared to shop around, then you will have to pay the first price given.
You might be better getting some advice on the likely hood of failure as well from other vets. If the operation fails the vet will still want paying
Once these people know you are desperate, they are like any other business, they will fleece you .

charlie3090

thats really helpful.

soolin

Certain posts have been reported. Can I please ask that people don't quote these malicious posts as it makes it hard for the forum team to rid threads of the remarks.

RuthnJasper

Sarah69 - I hope you aren't feeling too hurt by the cruel and insensitive post above, to which Soolin has referred. People who post such offensive remarks don't deserve a voice on a public forum.

I know how you must be feeling; my lovely Jasper lost a brief but plucky fight with the Big C earlier this year - as I cannot have children, he was the next best thing (though, obviously, I am well aware that he was a dog and NOT a substitute child )

As Mrs_Egg has suggested, do have a word with your vet. Although not ALL vets can always be so amenable, I wrote to my vet, outlining the difficulties I was having in paying for Jasper's treatment. He was very kind and we were able to come to an arrangement whereby I pay them whatever I can afford each month.

As I mentioned, not all vets are able or necessarily willing to do this - but vets generally are in the business of curing and helping animals and restoring them to a responsible owner (whether it is a farmer's herd of cattle or a small child's hamster) rather than having gone through years of veterinary training merely in order to fleece pet-lovers out of their cash.. It's always worth asking.

Also, if it's a small practice and they are unable to accommodate a payment arrangement, would you be able to offer to clean the reception/office area for a few hours in the evening each week, in lieu of payment for the dog's op.? Again, just a thought...

Do you have a local credit union? Or friends/family who might be able to help?

Whatever the financial outcome, I think it's great that you are doing the best for your canine chum. Very best wishes to you both. x

Sarah69

Thanks for the advice. The post made me angry at how vile some people can be.

My dog had his op yesterday. As suggested earlier in a post I did not have the time to ring lots of vets to compare prices he needed to be admitted immediately. I'm also at a disadvantage that I don't drive and could only get to my vets mon eve. He really should of gone on Sunday but I don't have the money for an out of hours vet.

My dog is at a specialist vets and when we discussed the cost he quoted that the £3200 would be the most, it maybe less. From what he was saying they would not do any kind of payment plan, as he said that a lot of people had picked up their pets and never paid.

I have rang a few charities and they are able to help with small donations. I've looked at 1 credit union and you have to have been paying money into it for 13 weeks.

I'm not able to offer any help at the vets as its about 30 miles away. If I was able to I would be there like a shot. I love animals.

Friends and family are not able to help due to their own financial circumstances.

I've had to put it on my credit card but I know I will not be able to pay the repayments.

Thanks again for all suggestions.

RuthnJasper

Sarah69 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. The post made me angry at how vile some people can be.

My dog had his op yesterday. As suggested earlier in a post I did not have the time to ring lots of vets to compare prices he needed to be admitted immediately. I'm also at a disadvantage that I don't drive and could only get to my vets mon eve. He really should of gone on Sunday but I don't have the money for an out of hours vet.

My dog is at a specialist vets and when we discussed the cost he quoted that the £3200 would be the most, it maybe less. From what he was saying they would not do any kind of payment plan, as he said that a lot of people had picked up their pets and never paid.

I have rang a few charities and they are able to help with small donations. I've looked at 1 credit union and you have to have been paying money into it for 13 weeks.

I'm not able to offer any help at the vets as its about 30 miles away. If I was able to I would be there like a shot. I love animals.

Friends and family are not able to help due to their own financial circumstances.

I've had to put it on my credit card but I know I will not be able to pay the repayments.

Thanks again for all suggestions.

That was how my problems got "a bit" out of control - my second dog Tess died aged 7 after a brave battle with the Big C. I had to put it all on a CC.

Contact your credit card company - they may be able to set up a payment arrangement with you for the next few months. Or take a trip over to the Credit Cards, Loans or DFW threads and ask for some advice there on meeting the repayments.

Having referred to my episode with Tess, please don't think I mentioned this to alarm you. Even though it caused me a problem, every single penny was well-spent and I'd do it again if I had to. I would never, ever, needlessly prolong the life of a suffering animal - but, as long as she wanted to keep on fighting and was enjoying her life, it was up to me to support her and give her that chance.

Very best wishes to you and your dog. It'll be OK. xxx