Sadly our amazing vet sold his practice about 2 years ago, something I understand completely as he wanted more time for himself and his personal life.
I never thought this would be much of an impact until I started hearing stories earlier this year; close friends received a letter from the Kennel Club stating that they would not be paying for a couple of the charges that had been itemised on the costs associated with their spaniel operation last year.
You can imagine my surprise when they told me there had been a charge of £4.64 for picking up a poo and £70+ charge for making a call to refer him to a specialist clinic! Given this, I am surprised Toby wasn’t charged for breathing while he was with them…..
Add to that they now charge us £30 for making a claim direct to PetPlan unless you pay them in full each time (fine when you just need to pay for annual jabs etc, but I don’t keep £4k in my current account for that emergency surgery or CT scan a pet can need. We never needed to pay before; what next, am I to be charged when they invoice me or print off a receipt?!
Best was being quoted £1,790 for removing a wart and getting one of my dogs’ teeth cleaned up.
A £6 bone from the local pet shop did the trick to clean her gnashers and she removed the wart herself !
If anyone else has a pet, the Competition and Markets Authority has launched a review looking at consumer experiences and business practices in the provision of veterinary services for household pets in the UK.
If you’ve got a pet and been affected by similar doubling or more of pricing and would like to input, here’s a link for their form:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-respond-to-the-veterinary-services-market-for-pets-review
Click on the link about a third of the way down the above page.
