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Dispute on vet bill advice
mrssalvator
Posts: 20 Forumite
I am here on behalf of my sister in law, we are looking for some advice regarding an op her dog needed and she is disputing the cost so was hoping someone could advice her on what she can do about it.
her small papillon dog damaged her leg and was obviously in a lot of pain, she contacted the vet who checked her out and told her the leg was broken and they needed 500 up front before operating. She couldn't afford this and obviously upset went home with the dog and with some pain relief. She quickly rallied round selling some of her items and managed to raise 275 they agreed to treat the dog if she paid that amount upfront. They told her to take her dog to the local surgery and the vet would take the dog through to the larger surgery as he was going that way.
Over the next few days she contacted some dog charities hoping for some help and to her relief some agreed to help. In total 3 charities sent 325 to the vet in part payment for the op.
The vet contacted her and told her she could pick her dog up from the larger surgery last Sunday. She was all ready to collect the dog when they phoned again and told her they were going to keep her another night and on the evening they would bring her down to the local surgery for collection.
On the Monday when she collected her dog she was given one heck of a hefty bill. Included in the itemised bill was
Collection and return costs of 15 each way, which she is disputing as he offered to bring her back with no mention of it been at a cost to her.
2.47 per tin of hills dog food which they charged her 5 times for baring in mind the dog is half the size of a cat for he five nights.
They have also charged her for everything from cotton buds to numerous rolls of tape
2 consultations for the first day when she first took it and then again when she took it back.
All the theatre equipment including gowns, masks Ect
The reason she was kept in 5 nights was because they had to order the plates in.
She has been charged 85 and 63 per plate even though she only has one plate.
She's not disputing everything above but obviously just wants to know if this is all usual practice.
She then paid another 200 upon collecting her dog. So after her 475 and the 325 from charities the remaining balance is 922. Does that sound like a reasonable cost for the pinning of a dogs leg?
Sister in law has offered to pay the remaining costs at 100 per week to which the vet told her that's not enough. She's a single unemployed parent and even people in employment would describe 400 a month as a pretty decent amount.
She understands the vet has to make a profit but has just had a very rude and not very good experience with the vets and has nothing else to compare with. So any advice would be greatly appriciated.
Our advice to others reading is get some insurance!
Thanks in advance.
her small papillon dog damaged her leg and was obviously in a lot of pain, she contacted the vet who checked her out and told her the leg was broken and they needed 500 up front before operating. She couldn't afford this and obviously upset went home with the dog and with some pain relief. She quickly rallied round selling some of her items and managed to raise 275 they agreed to treat the dog if she paid that amount upfront. They told her to take her dog to the local surgery and the vet would take the dog through to the larger surgery as he was going that way.
Over the next few days she contacted some dog charities hoping for some help and to her relief some agreed to help. In total 3 charities sent 325 to the vet in part payment for the op.
The vet contacted her and told her she could pick her dog up from the larger surgery last Sunday. She was all ready to collect the dog when they phoned again and told her they were going to keep her another night and on the evening they would bring her down to the local surgery for collection.
On the Monday when she collected her dog she was given one heck of a hefty bill. Included in the itemised bill was
Collection and return costs of 15 each way, which she is disputing as he offered to bring her back with no mention of it been at a cost to her.
2.47 per tin of hills dog food which they charged her 5 times for baring in mind the dog is half the size of a cat for he five nights.
They have also charged her for everything from cotton buds to numerous rolls of tape
2 consultations for the first day when she first took it and then again when she took it back.
All the theatre equipment including gowns, masks Ect
The reason she was kept in 5 nights was because they had to order the plates in.
She has been charged 85 and 63 per plate even though she only has one plate.
She's not disputing everything above but obviously just wants to know if this is all usual practice.
She then paid another 200 upon collecting her dog. So after her 475 and the 325 from charities the remaining balance is 922. Does that sound like a reasonable cost for the pinning of a dogs leg?
Sister in law has offered to pay the remaining costs at 100 per week to which the vet told her that's not enough. She's a single unemployed parent and even people in employment would describe 400 a month as a pretty decent amount.
She understands the vet has to make a profit but has just had a very rude and not very good experience with the vets and has nothing else to compare with. So any advice would be greatly appriciated.
Our advice to others reading is get some insurance!
Thanks in advance.
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Comments
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Re post in the Pets section for more expert advice!"if the state cannot find within itself a place for those who peacefully refuse to worship at its temples, then it’s the state that’s become extreme".Revd Dr Giles Fraser on Radio 4 20170
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This is why insurance should be compulsory.0
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This is why insurance should be compulsory.
Why?
The vet could have prescribed lead instead as they do with horses. Life is all about choices.
OP your SIL went to large vet chain which are unfortunately becoming all too common now. It sounds as if the bill has been itemised to the nth degree which is fair enough but they are a bit cheeky on some of the minor charges you highlighted which I would be annoyed about too.0 -
Why?
The vet could have prescribed lead instead as they do with horses. Life is all about choices.
OP your SIL went to large vet chain which are unfortunately becoming all too common now. It sounds as if the bill has been itemised to the nth degree which is fair enough but they are a bit cheeky on some of the minor charges you highlighted which I would be annoyed about too.
Because then you don't get hit with bills you cannot afford to pay.0 -
I would of thought £900 for an operation of that kind is more than reasonable. My local vet charges us about £50 everytime just to look at our dog, throw in medication and return check ups it gets very expensive very quickly.0
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I would of thought £900 for an operation of that kind is more than reasonable. My local vet charges us about £50 everytime just to look at our dog, throw in medication and return check ups it gets very expensive very quickly.
I read it as the remaining balance was £900 - therefore it was £1.7k altogether.0 -
My spaniel had two broken legs both of which required plates. The costs the OP mentions seem reasonable. And yes I got an itemised bill down to the specific screw order numbers. In all I paid just under £5k but thankfully was insured for a lot of that.
Pet insurance probably should be mandatory.
I really feel for the OP in this case. Must have been really tough.0 -
Thanks guys shes obviously gutted and the vets have requested she goes back every 3 days for a bandage change at the cost of £20 per visit so the bill is still going up.
I also think 900 is resonable for an operation she was told it would cost around a 1000 when she took the dog but unfortunately the entine cost ended up been more like 1700 plus0 -
I think she needs to consider whether there are any things in the bill which were not received. From what you say, she could query the outward transport costs explaining that the vet offered to take the dog as he was 'going that way' and therefore she did not expect to be charged for this (did she have transport? Would she have taken the dog herself if she had known they would charge £15?) When they told her they would bring him back to the local surgery did she ask whether she could collect him from the larger one?
If she is 100% certain that they only used one plate then she can ask them to explain why there appear to be 2 on the bill - is she sure it is not one plate in two parts?
In relation to the food, she can ask them why she has been charged for 5 tins if the dog only eats 1/3 tin per day (or whatever).
On the rest - it sounds as though there were 2 consultations on the first day - it will have taken up the vet's time on each occasion.
If she was originally told the cost would be around £1,000 it is not unreasonable to ask them to explain the higher costs and to clarify when they became aware that the initial estimate would be exceeded, and why they didn't inform her, but over all, they did treat the dog, it sounds as though it was a fairly significant op, and the charges don't sound unreasonable.
It may be sensible for her to look into whether there is a local RSPCA or Blue Cross surgery which might be able to offer subsidised care in future, and for her to look into getting insurance.All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)0 -
mrssalvator wrote: »Sister in law has offered to pay the remaining costs at 100 per week to which the vet told her that's not enough. She's a single unemployed parent and even people in employment would describe 400 a month as a pretty decent amount.
She understands the vet has to make a profit but has just had a very rude and not very good experience with the vets and has nothing else to compare with. So any advice would be greatly appriciated.
I fail to see what her personal circumstances have got to do with this.
By all means dispute any part of the charges that are incorrect. However, subject to any adjustment for that reason then I think she is being totally unreasonable.
Did she agree in advance with the vet that she would pay the remainder of the bill in instalments? I assume not.
Would she expect the same facility at Tesco if she didn't have the money to pay the bill at the till?
Does she expect the vet's staff to wait a similar amount of time for a proportion of their wages?
Having run a small professional practice myself (in a different field) I can well understand how costs add up. What seems a lot to a customer may well be the minimum that is economic. Vets generally earn a great deal less than doctors despite spending the same amount of time training and, often, needing higher qualifications to even get on a course in the first place.
Within reason I can forgive the vet for being "rude" with people who run up bills they can't pay within the agreed terms.
Sorry, probably not what she wants to hear.0
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