Vets!!!!!!!!!!!!

savingsara_2

Last time I picked up one of my dogs' tablets from the vets and found there were four short. Immediately rang and asked them to post me them which they did - in a wage envelope inside a larger brown envelope, the result of which was that although two arrived OK the other two are crushed beyond belief!

The tablets work out at about 71p each therefore the missing 4 would have left me out of pocket to the tune £2.84 (this is not the first time they've been miscounted). Also had I had to go and fetch them it would have cost me 11 miles worth of petrol there and back :mad: !

I'm going to pick up new supplies tomorrow, would you say I'm justified in asking for another two tablets? I kept the crushed ones.

Froglet

Sara,which pills do you have,and are they on a regular basis? When i found out you can get almost all pills and potions,even those only on prescription,over the internet from a great number of places,i started doing that and save a good third off the price each month.By law the vet cannot charge you for the prescription.

I would be only too pleased to give you some web addresses of the best sites.

savingsara_2

Froglet wrote: »

Sara,which pills do you have,and are they on a regular basis? When i found out you can get almost all pills and potions,even those only on prescription,over the internet from a great number of places,i started doing that and save a good third off the price each month.By law the vet cannot charge you for the prescription.

I would be only too pleased to give you some web addresses of the best sites.

Thanks Froglet, yes they're RIMADYL 50mg palatable.

Eels100

Of course you're justified in asking for more Sarah, you have paid for them but not received them in usable condition. It's a simple customer service issue. I'm sure they'll give you replacements. I am surprised they've been miscounted - Rimadyl comes in 14, 30 and 100 packs ready to dispense without the practice counting them, not many practices would bother to split a container for an animal on long term meds.

saxy1 wrote: »

Too right!! Vets fees are outrageous, I know it takes longer to train to be a vet than to be a doctor, but does that really justify the fees they charge, ours is £14 just to swing the door!!!

It doesn't take longer - in fact, if you count the time doctors have to spend after they finish the degree course they spend longer training than vets do. I think a £14 consultation fee is pretty reasonable, actually - try getting a private doctor or dentist's consultation for that sort of money, it wouldn't buy you 2 minutes! Plus, the consultation fee pays for the equipment and knowledge the practice needs in order to respond effectively and skilfully when your pet becomes ill or is injured. Wouldn't be so handy for your pet if you only paid a fiver for a consult but there was no out-of-hours provision, or no diagnostic equipment.

It amazes me how in this country we have no grasp of healthcare costs simply because we have the NHS to pay for all our treatment - it means that vets get an eternally hard time for 'overcharging' when private veterinary practice is generally a heck of a lot cheaper than the human equivalent!

savingsara_2

Of course you're justified in asking for more Sarah, you have paid for them but not received them in usable condition. It's a simple customer service issue. I'm sure they'll give you replacements. I am surprised they've been miscounted - Rimadyl comes in 14, 30 and 100 packs ready to dispense without the practice counting them, not many practices would bother to split a container for an animal on long term meds.

Its a ruse to extract as much dosh as they can out of me! 50 is the most I've been offered at a time. Initially they dispensed thirty at a time, though I have since said I would be prepared to pay for a larger quantity and thereby make some saving (!) And of course they will only dispense so many times before I have to take my dog in for a check up.
Perhaps I should ask for a bottle of 100.....maybe the fact that she has one a day doesn't warrant having so many all at once!

Eels100

Most practices would charge on a per-tablet basis, so pack size wouldn't make a difference to your costs. By law for an animal to be receiving prescription-only meds they must be under veterinary care (your vet would be liable if they gave you meds or wrote prescriptions willy-nilly without checking her regularly), hence the regular check-ups. You should ask their policy on long-term meds. We see animals for checks every 3 months, which is still a long time (if a dog goes a year without seeing the vet it's like you or I going 7 years without seeing the doctor, and try as I might even I can't manage that!), but at least then the vet can assess the animal's condition, discuss any concerns you have and hopefully detect any problems with the treatment early on. It's generally a good-value way of having your pet's health monitored closely. Plus, I often find when a vet has close involvement with a case we feel more confident in altering dosages safely, so you might even find your vet can help you manage her condition in other ways and therefore on a reduced dose of the Rimadyl - now that's moneysaving!

Hope that helps you understand a bit more about how it works - vets have to take responsibility for the animals under their care and that means they have to see them once in a while. I get the impression you possibly don't have a fantastic relationship with your vet, but I'm sure you could get more benefit from them by asking for support in managing your dog ... most vets love clients who want to know more and be involved in the control of their pets problems.

tigs78

savingsara wrote: »

Thanks Froglet, yes they're RIMADYL 50mg palatable.

I buy all my medications, frontline etc from https://www.vetuk.co.uk On their site the Rimadyl 50mg palatable are £0.49 per tablet, you can order any quantity you like. You do require a prescription but by law your vet cannot charge for issuing one as long as the pet is under his/her care. Just ask your vet for a prescription (mine used to give me a repeat prescription so I could get 3 months worth) post it off to vetuk or similar website and then order online.

Vetuk has free delivery on everything apart from food items and I've always found their service to be really quick, delivery was normally within 24 to 48 hours. I sadly lost my cat to cancer a few months ago but still use vet uk for the basics like Frontline and Drontal, neither of which require a prescription, for my two new arrivals.

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=206

golly99

Completely agree with Eels100, my partner is a vet nurse and the number of people who kick off and try to pay later etc is unbelievable. Please bear in mind that nurses are on just above the minimum wage for often working long hours including weekends and at the end of the day, a Vets is a business and has to be ran as one.

Froglet

Hi Sara.I actually use different ones each time as the cost of her pills can vary from month to month,so i check regularly.I too have used Vetuk.i also find Vetscriptions,Viovet,and Animalpharmexpress to be the best for Rimadyl.My dog is on Rimadyl 20mg and has been for almost 2 years,she is on 2 per day,which is the normal dose for her size.Her arthritis is very bad and is the only way to keep her pain free.She also has Aktivait,which again i get from the internet.Best thing is to google Rimadyl and you will find lots of sites come up! It is time consuming checking them all out but well worth it.

I take mine for a check up every 6 months and that is how long the repeat prescriptions last. I then get 100 tablets each time.

golly99

"My pets are insured, but for people who can not afford insurance it is expensive (in some areas) for vets fees."

You have to ask yourself the question then...what are they doing getting a pet in the first place?! Anybody with half a brain before they get a pet should stop and think can I either support this pet with a monthly insurance contribution or am i willing to pay for any treatment should it be required without insurance. There's nothing more annoying than someone going into a vets wanting to put a healthly pet to sleep with a minor condition just because they can't afford it.

emmie1234

Hiya, We rescued a dog from our local dogs home in September last year. She has an eczema condition that has to be treated with Prednicare and piriton tablets daily. We enquired about pet insurance when we bought Nell home as we though that her treatment could be quite costly. When we looked into it, the costs for her eczema treatment would not be covered by petplan etc as it is a pre existing condition. After some searching around we found a vets nearby that offered it's own pet scheme. We pay £11 pounds per month, which entitles us to free flea and worm treatments twice a year.
Free vaccination boosters, two thorough health checks per year, and 20% off consultation/medication costs. So this has worked out a lot better for us. We only have to pay around £7 per month for her tablets. Also, included in the £11 per month is an optional accident insurance policy, in case emergency treatment is needed. Being in the plan also entitles you to be able to spread the cost of your animals treatment over 2/3 months if emergency treatment is required and funds are short. If we had joined petplan we would have been paying around £27 per month for insurance. I must admit our vets are lovely, always very friendly and accomodating even if the dog isn't lol
They are based in the wolverhampton area, if anyone is interested, pm me and I'll pass on the details.

Em