£6 charge for address update on dogs chip.

JIL

It was pointed out at the vets  that I hadnt updated my address details on my dogs "chip".

Phone number hadn't changed, so if my dog had gone walkabout I could be contacted
Later on at home, I logged on, changed the address myself and was charged  £6. 

What on earth was the £6 charge for?

How on earth is this a good idea? If we have to by law, chip our dogs, surely it's in everyone's best interests to keep the address up to date and that does not include a £6 fee.

Lavendyr

I paid a one off fee of £20 or so I believe when I registered each of my cats which covers everything - future name, address changes etc. 

Ultimately it costs to make changes to details. £6 to change an address doesn't seem that much to meet a small legal obligation around pet ownership.

JIL

I have since found out that there are a number of companies who hold a chip data base and all have different charges.

The one I didnt know I was using charges £6 to update the address because they receive no funding.  I still cant see why there is a charge as I did the update myself, no interaction. 

I stand by my original post in that the charge will put many people off updating a system that is only as useful as the information it holds and the address is key?

theoretica

JIL said:

Not sure how it costs to make any changes? I logged on to a database and did it myself no interaction and update made. 

The point for me is that this is a database of which a current address is key, how many people will avoid updating their addresses due to this charge?  


Seems ill thought out.

Making and maintaining the database and website will need to be paid for somehow.

JIL

theoretica said:

JIL said:

Not sure how it costs to make any changes? I logged on to a database and did it myself no interaction and update made. 

The point for me is that this is a database of which a current address is key, how many people will avoid updating their addresses due to this charge?  


Seems ill thought out.

Making and maintaining the database and website will need to be paid for somehow.

Agreed, but a user activated change of address charge will discourage others from updating it.

Especially when the same company sells various merchandise, on the website, has advertising also on the website and sends out free texts to remind owners of a vaccination being due.
I almost didnt bother updating my address. They had my email and phone number. I was just bothered that they charged £6. Which to some is a weeks dog food.

Lavendyr

I don't think there is much you can do about it. it's a small price to pay which needs to be factored into the cost of pet ownership. I'm not sure why you expect it to be free. It's a service, a maintained database. 

Personally I care enough about my pets that I would always update the database for changes. I'd hope any pet owner would feel the same. 

Exodi

I spoke to one such company recently.

As others have said, these database companies don't run for free and paying your vet to put a microchip in an animal doesn't pay the ongoing costs of these companies. If they massively front-loaded the cost of micro-chipping, less people would get it done, which seems like a lose/lose.

Doing the change yourself online is a red herring, because someone would have had to pay to develop the website, pay for the storage, pay for backups, pay for the customer service team, pay for the sales team going into the vets, pay for the response services, etc, etc.

They say they make very little money from the vast majority of customers, and they have to make money somehow.

JIL said:
I almost didnt bother updating my address. ... <snip> ... I was just bothered that they charged £6. Which to some is a weeks dog food.

Then I think you need to take a step back because you've obviously got carried away with this.

£6 is money well spent ensuring my lost pet can be recovered to me. If my cat "which we call 'babykins' went missing, I can confidently say I would pay virtually anything to get her back. If it's only the cost of 'a weeks dog food' then it seems like a no-brainer.

JIL said:

I stand by my original post in that the charge will put many people off updating a system that is only as useful as the information it holds and the address is key?

Then those pet owners will be pretty stupid to be happy to go through the process of micro chipping their pet, feeding them and pampering them at significant cost for many many many years - but are simultaneously happy to lose their animals because they draw the line at paying £6 to update their address.

I think you'd have a heart attack if you found out what some car insurers charge paid policyholders to update their address.

JIL

To be clear, I paid the £6.

There was a lot of advertising on the site so another income stream.

I am merely commenting on the fact, I did it myself on line no interaction with anyone and was charged £6.

Not everyone Pampers their pets, and circumstances change from original chipping to changing address.
Think of the pensioner, whose late partner died and they move into new accommodation. Not everyone has the same circumstances.

Insurance companies charge for changing addresses because insurance is reassessed.

My comment is merely a database that is run and needs up to date information is charging for this to happen. It's not encouraging everyone to use it.

I commented about £6 being a dogs food, for some, you only have to read the reports from dog charities about the number of dogs being handed in because owners cant afford to feed them during this cost of living crisis.
Food banks for dogs are at an all time high.

I have learned since I did my opening post that there are different companies that do this and I will be more selective with future pets. 

sheramber

Seems you gota bargain.

Petlog charge you £10 to change your address unless you take out  Petlog Premium at a cost of £19.95 , when changes of address is free.

With Identichip you have have Plus or Premium to update your address. If you only have Basic you need to pay to upgrade.

maisie_cat

Given the costs of running a website, managing a database, complying with legislation, hardware, server storage etc etc £6 isn't bad. When I updated the cats it was £20 but that was 15 years ago and I suspect included an employee updating the database. 

Exodi

JIL said:

To be clear, I paid the £6.

There was a lot of advertising on the site so another income stream.

I am merely commenting on the fact, I did it myself on line no interaction with anyone and was charged £6.

Not everyone Pampers their pets, and circumstances change from original chipping to changing address.
Think of the pensioner, whose late partner died and they move into new accommodation. Not everyone has the same circumstances.

Insurance companies charge for changing addresses because insurance is reassessed.

My comment is merely a database that is run and needs up to date information is charging for this to happen. It's not encouraging everyone to use it.

I commented about £6 being a dogs food, for some, you only have to read the reports from dog charities about the number of dogs being handed in because owners cant afford to feed them during this cost of living crisis.
Food banks for dogs are at an all time high.

I have learned since I did my opening post that there are different companies that do this and I will be more selective with future pets. 

Seems you don't have your listening ears on. Most people in this thread think you've got a bargain. Doing something yourself online does not mean there is no cost to the business providing the facility.

And while certainly an emotional example, your hypothetical destitute pensioner whose partner died and doesn't have two pennies to rub together is irrelevant. You could just as easily crack out the violins and use the same example while you grill Bakers for charging for their dog food. It's not their problem.

I wish you the luck with your search, though I personally find £6 extremely reasonable as I know other companies charge a lot more. Identibase (of whom my cat is microchipped) requires a subscription to change the address.

I don't even begrudge them for this - these companies don't run for free!!!!