Terms and conditions
Thank you for entrusting the care of your pet(s) to OrtonVets.
Detailed below are our Terms & Conditions. Some aspects of the terms may not be relevant to you. Please ask for further explanation or clarification if required.
Registration
It is essential for us to maintain accurate records of our clients and patients. To do this, we will periodically ask you to confirm the details that we hold for you. If your details change, please inform us so that we can ensure our database is as up to date as possible.
Costs
All fees, food, reception sales and drugs are subject to VAT. Fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case, and according to the drugs, materials, consumables, and diets used. You will receive a detailed invoice for every consultation, surgical procedure and transaction with us. All prices quoted, whether on our price list or in an estimate, are inclusive of the current rate of VAT.
Methods of Payment
Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your pet and upon collection of drugs, diets and reception sales. You may settle the account using cash or credit card/debit card; MasterCard, Visa, Delta. We are unable to accept cheques.
If you do not pay your invoice when it becomes due, we shall take such action as we consider appropriate to recover our fees, which may include engaging third party debt collection agencies and/or instigating proceedings against you in the county court. In such cases, any costs levied by the debt collection agency will be added on to the outstanding balance owed by you and/or we will seek to recover any legal expenses from you.
Please note that the use of debt collection agencies and the county court could affect your future credit rating.
We shall be entitled to suspend the provision of any further goods and/or services until you have paid any outstanding sums in full. Where we consider it appropriate to do so we may require payment on account before goods and/or services are provided.
Return of unused drugs
We are happy to accept unused medications back into the practice for disposal only. However, as drugs which have left the premises are no longer fit for resale, no refund can be given. Drugs purchased from any other supplier will not be accepted for disposal.
Prescriptions
Written prescriptions are available from this practice. You will be advised of the prescription charge when you contact the practice. Prescription charges are applied only when you request a prescription from us but go elsewhere to have the prescription filled. Animals requiring repeat prescriptions for ongoing medications will need to be re–assessed periodically by the veterinary surgeon dealing with the case. The re–examination interval will vary between clinical cases to a maximum of 6 months. Please give us 48 hours notice for any requests for a repeat or written prescription.
Pet Health Insurance
OrtonVets strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accident. For invoices over £500 we can claim directly with the insurer as long as we have a completed claim form. A proof of a current and valid insurance policy is needed.
We also require the policy excess, and any co–payments or exclusions paid on or before the collection of your pet. If your insurance company does not pay the outstanding balance, then you will be responsible for paying this upon notification that this has occurred.
If you are concerned that your insurance company will not cover the costs, then with many companies we can submit a pre–authorisation prior to the treatment being carried out (if treatment is not very time sensitive) which will give indication as to if the insurance company are likely to pay.
Estimates of Treatment Costs
We endeavour to always provide you with an accurate estimate of the treatment your pet(s) requires. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate. Often a pet’s illness will not follow a conventional course and unforeseen expense may occur. We will endeavour to inform you of any additional costs at our earliest opportunity, depending on your pet’s safety.
Home visits
Home visits are available at an extra charge and if booked in advance. In an emergency it is usually in the best interests of your pet to be seen at a surgery where facilities and a full range of drugs are available. It is not normally possible to carry out home visits outside normal working hours though this is at the discretion of the Emergency Veterinary Surgeon. Please see our Home Visits page for more info.
Consent
Written signed consent for procedures is required in all cases of admission to the hospital. Any alterations will be agreed prior to action being taken. Consent is also required for the use of medications in species for which they were not licensed e.g., rabbits and rodents. In this case a consent form will be provided to allow this to be done without asking for specific permission in each separate case. These drugs are used under the “cascade” where there is no licensed appropriate drug for the species being treated. We must then use drugs which have a proven activity and efficiency despite this lack of licence.
Consent is also required if your pet is hospitalised into our care out of hours. If a situation changes and further or different procedures are required whilst your pet is in our care, we may obtain verbal consent over the phone.
Cancellations
If you need to cancel or rearrange your appointment, then please give as much notice as possible. We understand sometimes it is unavoidable.
If you consistently cancel or fail to attend appointments at short notice (less than 24h) then we reserve the right to ask for payment.
Monitoring Telephone Calls and Emails
Telephone calls, emails and messages or social media to and from the practice may be recorded or monitored. By using such communication methods, you are consenting to the recording or monitoring of the same. When will take payment over the phone we will pause the recording to not capture any of your payment details.
