Disputed vet bill

Heartbroken123

I will try and keep this as brief as possible, I took my dog to the vets with a suspected respiratory infection and moderate dehydration, it's a long story but within 2hrs of being at the vets he had to be put to sleep on vets advice , by this time he was so severely dehydrated he couldn't even stand, and his skin just stood up, I had been told he had received Amoxicillin and a bolus of IV fluids, something didn't add up and when I received my itemized bill the antibiotics were not listed, I requested his clinical records the vet has recorded everything but the antibiotics, I made a complaint asking for a full investigation and listing the questions I wanted answers too also my SAR and said I am withholding payment until I get answers and that I am very dissatisfied with the service my dog received    , 55 days later I receive a reply none of my questions were answered, apart from one and the reason given for the antibiotics not being recorded is confusion had arisen, and the nurse didn't transfer the info from his hospital sheet to my account and as a good will gesture they won't charge me for the antibiotics, she did not answer why the vet also did not document the antibiotics on his clinical records, and no entry from a nurse or how many ml of the bolus of fluids my dog received and the duration ( a bolus is normally 250 mls over 60 mins) ( I have been  charged for a bag of fluids) despite sending 4 emails and making the questions very clear that I want answers to these are valid questions, she has refused to answer including explaining what the confusion was and has sent a letter stating she will not answer my questions, this has now been reported to the RVCS, I received a letter saying that if I did not pay bill within 7 days they will place the matter into the hands of a debt collection agency who will start collection proceedings and the agency chargers of 25% plus vat, will be added to my outstanding balance , I sent an email and told them that until I am given answers to my questions I am withholding payment , 14 days later I receive another letter from the vets , informing me that they have referred my outstanding balance to an external debt company and gives a new outstanding balance this is 25%, giving 26 days to pay the full amount with added costs and if I do not pay they will dispose of my dogs ashes ( only half of the bill is for cremation)  it lists the name of the debt company and contact number , I called the debt company who told me that they had received a referral, but it is on hold, and the 25% that has been added onto my original bill is not from them, it is from the vets who have added a late payment fee, is this even legal? as the vets have led me to believe, that the 25% is from the debt collection company and have not  informed me of a late payment fee, what are my rights? the vets have me over a barrel because they know I will pay because I couldn't bare my dog's ashes going in the bin, I have strong evidence that my dog did not receive any antibiotics and I strongly suspect no or very little IV fluids

Aylesbury_Duck

Heartbroken123 said:

I will try and keep this as brief as possible, I took my dog to the vets with a suspected respiratory infection and moderate dehydration, it's a long story but within 2hrs of being at the vets he had to be put to sleep on vets advice , by this time he was so severely dehydrated he couldn't even stand, and his skin just stood up, I had been told he had received Amoxicillin and a bolus of IV fluids, something didn't add up and when I received my itemized bill the antibiotics were not listed, I requested his clinical records the vet has recorded everything but the antibiotics, I made a complaint asking for a full investigation and listing the questions I wanted answers too also my SAR and said I am withholding payment until I get answers and that I am very dissatisfied with the service my dog received    , 55 days later I receive a reply none of my questions were answered, apart from one and the reason given for the antibiotics not being recorded is confusion had arisen, and the nurse didn't transfer the info from his hospital sheet to my account and as a good will gesture they won't charge me for the antibiotics, she did not answer why the vet also did not document the antibiotics on his clinical records, and no entry from a nurse or how many ml of the bolus of fluids my dog received and the duration ( a bolus is normally 250 mls over 60 mins) ( I have been  charged for a bag of fluids) despite sending 4 emails and making the questions very clear that I want answers to these are valid questions, she has refused to answer including explaining what the confusion was and has sent a letter stating she will not answer my questions, this has now been reported to the RVCS, I received a letter saying that if I did not pay bill within 7 days they will place the matter into the hands of a debt collection agency who will start collection proceedings and the agency chargers of 25% plus vat, will be added to my outstanding balance , I sent an email and told them that until I am given answers to my questions I am withholding payment , 14 days later I receive another letter from the vets , informing me that they have referred my outstanding balance to an external debt company and gives a new outstanding balance this is 25%, giving 26 days to pay the full amount with added costs and if I do not pay they will dispose of my dogs ashes ( only half of the bill is for cremation)  it lists the name of the debt company and contact number , I called the debt company who told me that they had received a referral, but it is on hold, and the 25% that has been added onto my original bill is not from them, it is from the vets who have added a late payment fee, is this even legal? as the vets have led me to believe, that the 25% is from the debt collection company and have not  informed me of a late payment fee, what are my rights? the vets have me over a barrel because they know I will pay because I couldn't bare my dog's ashes going in the bin, I have strong evidence that my dog did not receive any antibiotics and I strongly suspect no or very little IV fluids

There's a lot to take in there, and it's not an easy read, but am I right to summarise that it's the antibiotics and the IV costs that you're disputing, and that they've subsequently waived the cost of the antibiotics?  If that's correct, it seems wrong for you to be withholding all of the payment.  

How much is the bill, and how much are you disputing?  I'd have thought it better to pay the bill and pursue the matter afterwards, because all you've done is incur charges, more hassle and now the emotional leverage of disposal of your dog's remains.

Manxman_in_exile

+1            

Heartbroken123

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Heartbroken123 said:

I will try and keep this as brief as possible, I took my dog to the vets with a suspected respiratory infection and moderate dehydration, it's a long story but within 2hrs of being at the vets he had to be put to sleep on vets advice , by this time he was so severely dehydrated he couldn't even stand, and his skin just stood up, I had been told he had received Amoxicillin and a bolus of IV fluids, something didn't add up and when I received my itemized bill the antibiotics were not listed, I requested his clinical records the vet has recorded everything but the antibiotics, I made a complaint asking for a full investigation and listing the questions I wanted answers too also my SAR and said I am withholding payment until I get answers and that I am very dissatisfied with the service my dog received    , 55 days later I receive a reply none of my questions were answered, apart from one and the reason given for the antibiotics not being recorded is confusion had arisen, and the nurse didn't transfer the info from his hospital sheet to my account and as a good will gesture they won't charge me for the antibiotics, she did not answer why the vet also did not document the antibiotics on his clinical records, and no entry from a nurse or how many ml of the bolus of fluids my dog received and the duration ( a bolus is normally 250 mls over 60 mins) ( I have been  charged for a bag of fluids) despite sending 4 emails and making the questions very clear that I want answers to these are valid questions, she has refused to answer including explaining what the confusion was and has sent a letter stating she will not answer my questions, this has now been reported to the RVCS, I received a letter saying that if I did not pay bill within 7 days they will place the matter into the hands of a debt collection agency who will start collection proceedings and the agency chargers of 25% plus vat, will be added to my outstanding balance , I sent an email and told them that until I am given answers to my questions I am withholding payment , 14 days later I receive another letter from the vets , informing me that they have referred my outstanding balance to an external debt company and gives a new outstanding balance this is 25%, giving 26 days to pay the full amount with added costs and if I do not pay they will dispose of my dogs ashes ( only half of the bill is for cremation)  it lists the name of the debt company and contact number , I called the debt company who told me that they had received a referral, but it is on hold, and the 25% that has been added onto my original bill is not from them, it is from the vets who have added a late payment fee, is this even legal? as the vets have led me to believe, that the 25% is from the debt collection company and have not  informed me of a late payment fee, what are my rights? the vets have me over a barrel because they know I will pay because I couldn't bare my dog's ashes going in the bin, I have strong evidence that my dog did not receive any antibiotics and I strongly suspect no or very little IV fluids

There's a lot to take in there, and it's not an easy read, but am I right to summarise that it's the antibiotics and the IV costs that you're disputing, and that they've subsequently waived the cost of the antibiotics?  If that's correct, it seems wrong for you to be withholding all of the payment.  

How much is the bill, and how much are you disputing?  I'd have thought it better to pay the bill and pursue the matter afterwards, because all you've done is incur charges, more hassle and now the emotional leverage of disposal of your dog's remains.

Manxman_in_exile said:

+1            

Hi, there is a lot more to this story, if I had known my dog had not been given antibiotics I would never of agreed to have him put to sleep I was told he had, also if I paid the bill I doubt I would have even received a reply, the vets have also been dishonest regarding what the added 25% is for, unfortunately there isn't much of a choice of vets where I live, and this practice overcharged me hundreds of pounds for another one of my dogs, they had made a mistake but refused to refund me the difference

Alderbank

I'm very sorry for the loss of your dog.
He would have been very sick and close to death if he had to be euthanised so quickly but he, and you, were in the best hands at that time.

I don't think that the disputed cost of a few mls of saline is really the root of your problem.
Your post, and the way you have written it, says you are suffering from grief, which is very understandable.
Please contact the Blue Cross (not RSPCA) Pet Bereavement Support Service 
https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-bereavement-and-pet-loss
Their trained team will support and counsel you without charge through this difficult time.

As above, you do owe the bill for the emergency care. If I were you I'd just pay it. One less thing to be bothering you.

I've taken many faithful friends on that that final journey myself and I do understand.

Heartbroken123

Hi, it is a long story, 2 hours prior to him being taken to the vets he was following me around he wasn't himself, but he was not dying, he was taken to the vets because of a respiratory infection and dehydration on the same day he was displaying symptoms, he was absolutely tiny therefore dehydration will be much quicker, because he was left untreated by the vets this then developed into Pneumonia, he had been kept in by the vets, you can't treat a respiratory infection without the use of antibiotics and because he was such a small dog his condition would escalate very quickly if left untreated, this is why I knew something did not add up, but because I can't post everything on here I do understand why you would think it's because I can't accept lost, and I thank you for your kind words, this isn't about grief,

Aylesbury_Duck

The pragmatic approach here is to settle the bill, then dispute the type and quality of care received, through the regulatory body if necessary.  You're not in a position where you can refuse to pay the bill simply because you disagree with the care plan provided.  You're only adding to your costs by doing so.

Alderbank

Heartbroken123 said:

...because he was left untreated by the vets this then developed into Pneumonia, he had been kept in by the vets, you can't treat a respiratory infection without the use of antibiotics...

No.
Lay people often demand them but many respiratory infections cannot be treated by antibiotics.
Pneumonia, for example.

Heartbroken123

Aylesbury_Duck said:

The pragmatic approach here is to settle the bill, then dispute the type and quality of care received, through the regulatory body if necessary.  You're not in a position where you can refuse to pay the bill simply because you disagree with the care plan provided.  You're only adding to your costs by doing so.

Hi, it's already been reported to the RVCS

I received a letter saying that if I did not pay bill within 7 days they will place the matter into the hands of a debt collection agency who will start collection proceedings and the agency chargers of 25% plus vat, will be added to my outstanding balance , I sent an email and told them that until I am given answers to my questions I am withholding payment , 14 days later I receive another letter from the vets , informing me that they have referred my outstanding balance to an external debt company and gives a new outstanding balance this is 25%, giving 26 days to pay the full amount with added costs, it lists the name of the debt company and contact number , I called the debt company who told me that they had received a referral, but it is on hold, and the 25% that has been added onto my original bill is not from them, it is from the vets who have added a late payment fee, is this even legal? as the vets have led me to believe, that the 25% is from the debt collection company and it isn't it's from them there is no fee from the debt agency the vets also have not  informed me of a late payment fee, what are my rights?

eskbanker

Heartbroken123 said:
the 25% that has been added onto my original bill is not from them, it is from the vets who have added a late payment fee, is this even legal? as the vets have led me to believe, that the 25% is from the debt collection company and it isn't it's from them there is no fee from the debt agency the vets also have not  informed me of a late payment fee, what are my rights?

The principle of late payment or debt collection fees is legal and valid, reflecting the incremental costs incurred in collection and/or lost interest, etc, but what do the Ts & Cs for your arrangements with the vets state?

powerful_Rogue

Heartbroken123 said:

Aylesbury_Duck said:

The pragmatic approach here is to settle the bill, then dispute the type and quality of care received, through the regulatory body if necessary.  You're not in a position where you can refuse to pay the bill simply because you disagree with the care plan provided.  You're only adding to your costs by doing so.

Hi, it's already been reported to the RVCS

I received a letter saying that if I did not pay bill within 7 days they will place the matter into the hands of a debt collection agency who will start collection proceedings and the agency chargers of 25% plus vat, will be added to my outstanding balance , I sent an email and told them that until I am given answers to my questions I am withholding payment , 14 days later I receive another letter from the vets , informing me that they have referred my outstanding balance to an external debt company and gives a new outstanding balance this is 25%, giving 26 days to pay the full amount with added costs, it lists the name of the debt company and contact number , I called the debt company who told me that they had received a referral, but it is on hold, and the 25% that has been added onto my original bill is not from them, it is from the vets who have added a late payment fee, is this even legal? as the vets have led me to believe, that the 25% is from the debt collection company and it isn't it's from them there is no fee from the debt agency the vets also have not  informed me of a late payment fee, what are my rights?

I don't think it really matters who charges it, you was given warning that if you fail to pay it would incur an extra charge.