Vets4Pets and Complete Care packages - expensive versus worth it

jbkmum

So I have two dogs and two cats

I pay £14, £12, £10 and £10 per month for a complete care thing. This covers all their vaccinations and flea/worm. So £46 a month, £552 a year. With that I can get a free nurse consult per year per animal, pretty sure I used to get one free vet consult but its not on the list anymore. I don't use the other "deals" such as 10% off microchipping.
I'm trying to work out if Vets4Pets are expensive and also whether I'm wasting my money on flea/worming for £552 when I could do vacc for life for each animal and flea and worm at home. I use Bravecto on the dogs as they love water and since using it I've not seen a single tick but I wouldn't be able use that if I went to "high street" treatments.

I wondered what everyone does. I haven't taken any of the animals to the vets ever so have never paid a vet consult fee. I was going to get a price list for a local vet and see what they charge but the reason I'm annoyed is because I was charged £25 for a flea house spray that I was able to get on amazon for £7. So then I started thinking.....is £46 a month a shed load of money? Am I getting value? 

sheramber

I don't treat for fleas unless they have them.  That has only happened twice in over 40 years of dog ownership.
I live in a tick area and use a scalibor collar which lasts for 6 months. I buy it online. You do need to read the instruction leaflet to make sue it is suitable for your circumstances . One thing is you need to remove it for swimming as it is poisonous to fish.  I just slip the collar off when needed.
You can get a seresto collar which treats fleas and ticks for 9 months. This used to be from vets only but is now available online 

KiKi

That seems expensive to me. I have 2 cats, and their boosters are around 75 a year, for both of them. That booster visit also includes a consultation, and that's pretty standard for vet practices. I only de-flea when necessary, but if I did de-flea regularly, I'd be paying around 50 a year for Advocate. 

Products at the vets are notoriously expensive. So either don't buy them there, or get a prescription and buy online afterwards. 

Katiehound

Don't be so sure that you can get the 'vaccinations for life' deal as someone posted recently that they have been removed from that deal! Op assumed they weren't spending enough on routine things....
When my dogs get their booster from the vet they always get a health check too- not from nurse, from the vet.

I buy my wormers & flea/tick treatment from online pharmacies. I certainly don't use the supermarket stuff!

jbkmum

@katiehound are you buying prescription stuff? How does it work buying it online 

Katiehound

No I buy things that are not POM.
However the worming tablets are exactly as I would buy from vet ie Drontal Plus, or Cestem (cheaper equivalent) or you can get Panacur. I shop around for the best price.

The flea stuf is either Advantage or Frontline Plus. My need is really for tick stuff as my hounds don't collect fleas but sometimes get ticks.

If you need a POM medication you can ask the vet to write you a scrip- however that is chargeable.You can ask for more than one month supply- but I don't know the maximum. Whilst vets are supposed to charge a 'reasonable' amount they have been known to charge the difference between online and their price!! I think you then register that scrip with your online supplier... If in doubt ask the supplier how to proceed

RelievedSheff

We are part of the Vets4Pets complete care package and we don't think it is bad value for money. It costs us £12 per month for our dog Sydney so £144 per year for his boosters and flea and worm treatment plus a health check with the nurse and a consult with the vet if required plus 10% of subsequent visits to see the vet.

We really got our money's worth out of that the first year we had Syd as he was a rescue that came to us in a very bad way so the savings soon mounted up. Last year he was fine and didn't go to the vets other than for his boosters. So it is swings and roundabouts.

jbkmum

@RelievedSheff Thats the thing, I've been trying to work out if it saves money and struggling. If I new 100% that I was getting a good deal I wouldn't be so grumpy about it, I think £552 sounds like such a big number over the year (and insurance on top) that I just wondered. I actually phoned a local vet as I was thinking about switching vets and they're more expensive, although highly rated so I think I'll just keep ploughing on with the care scheme. At least there is the peace of mind that they're covered. And I've got 10% off neutering for the terrier so that helps I guess! 

WhySeaEm

I pay £16.60 at a local independent vet. Vets4pets are only £12 per month but I'm happy with our vets and you get a six monthly MOT rather than yearly. Also 20% off neutering which we intend to do. 

Fireflyaway

I'm paying £8 a month at vets4pets for our cavapoo which covers flea and work treatment and vaccinations. I think it's good value and handy being able to spread the cost. 

KxMx

When I had my cat I was signed up to the Vets scheme as well as insurance. 
It was so handy budgeting wise to spread the cost and having done various research I knew I was saving money too.