Costs
All fees, food, shop sales & drugs are subject to VAT. Fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case & according to the drugs, materials, consumables, & diets used. A fee list can be made available with prior notice. You will receive a detailed invoice for every consultation, surgical procedure & transaction with us.
Methods of Payment
Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your pet & upon collection of drugs, diets & shop sales. You may settle the account using cash, or credit card/debit card – MasterCard or Visa.
Estimates of Treatment Costs
We will endeavour to provide an estimate for the probable costs of a course of treatment, when informed consent is given for veterinary procedures at any of our surgeries. Any estimate given can only be approximate. Often a pets illness will not follow a conventional course & unforeseen expense may occur. We will endeavour to discuss additional costs at our earliest opportunity depending on your pets safety. Please note for long term hospitalised patients account updates can be given daily upon request.
Terms of Business
Any account not settled within 14 days will be referred to our credit control department. After two months, we reserve the right to charge interest to the outstanding balance. Interest will be 5% of the outstanding balance and will be added fortnightly. After due notice to you, any overdue account will be referred to our debt collecting agency or court action taken. This will incur further costs in respect of collecting the debt, production of the reports, correspondence, court fees, attendance at court, phone calls, home visits etc. Any cheque returned by our bank as unpaid, any credit card payment not honoured, and any cash tendered and found to be counterfeit will result in the original account being restored to the original sum with further charges added in respect of the bank charges and administrative costs.
Inability to Pay
If you are unable to cover the costs of the estimate as specified please ask to discuss the matter with a member of staff, prior to treatment where the options available will be discussed and a formal contract entered into before treatment is given.
Veterinary Care
All Creatures Veterinary Surgery will endeavour to provide veterinary services in accordance with reasonable standards denoted in the RCVS guidelines for practice standards, and the professional conduct of veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses. Guidelines are available at www.rcvs.org.uk. Please note veterinary care will be withheld from clients who appear aggressive and abusive to staff members.
Pet Health Insurance, Microchipping & Vaccination
All Creatures Veterinary Surgery strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accident. Please note all fees need to be settled at the time the veterinary work is performed, and claimed back from your insurance company. In certain circumstances, and by prior arrangement, fees over £500 can be claimed back directly from the insurance company, as long as an owner completed insurance form is presented to us at the time of treatment. In these circumstances excesses should be paid at the beginning of the veterinary treatment. We will endeavour to complete and submit to the insurance company an insurance claim within 2 weeks of presentation. Please note if insurance companies fail to cover veterinary treatment, the debt incurred will be subject to full payment by the animal owner/agent.
All Creatures strongly support having your pet microchipped & regularly vaccinated. Any member of staff can supply you with details about these important actions that you can take to protect, care for, & identify your pet.
Out of Hours Service
Our out of hours service is provided by Veteris. Please call our number 020 7228 0648 and you will be diverted to Veteris, a 24/7 house call emergency service. Veteris direct number: 0330 808 9066
Other local out of hours services are: Elizabeth Street Veterinary Surgery, 55 Elizabeth Street, Belgravia. SW1W 9PP 02077309102 and The London Animal Hospital, 7 Kenbury St, Camberwell. SE5 9BS 02038161010
Ownership of Records, X-Rays & Similar Documents
The care given to your animal may involve making some specific investigations, for example taking blood samples, X-Rays or performing ultrasound scans. Even though we make a charge for carrying out these investigations & interpreting their results, the resulting records, clinical or otherwise, remain the property of the practice. Case records can be copied &, on request, can be passed to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case. There may be a charge incurred for copying any veterinary records and documentation.
Complaints & Standards
We hope that you never feel the need to complain about the standards of service received from All Creatures Veterinary Surgery. However, if you feel there is something you wish to complain about, please contact Nicola Seed MRCVS 85 Lavender Hill, Battersea, London SW11 5QL
Dispensing of Drugs
Prescriptions are available from this practice. You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines, Category V, (POMVs) from this practice OR ask for a written prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or a pharmacy. Written prescriptions are charged at £15.00 per drug prescribed. We can prescribe POMVs only for animals under our care. However we can provide POMV drugs if presented with a prescription from another veterinary surgeon. A prescription may not be appropriate if your animal is an in-patient or immediate treatment is necessary.
You will be informed, on request, of the price of any medicine that may be prescribed for your animal. The general policy of this practice is to re-assess an animal requiring repeat prescriptions at least every 6 months, however in more complicated/unstable cases re-examinations will be more frequent depending on the professional judgement of the veterinary surgeon managing that case. The standard charge for a re-assessment is £47.00
No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by the Practice Director. No agent or person employed by, or under contract with, the practice has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in anyway.