Fees
All fees and costs are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the time and skill required plus consumables used. They also contribute to the costs of running an accredited fully manned veterinary hospital 24 hours daily. Any individual fee is available upon request. You are liable for any fees incurred in the diagnosis and treatment even if your pet is brought to us on your behalf by a relative, friend or agent.
Appointments
The current demand for veterinary appointments is very high. If on more than one occassion appointments are made and not attended, a missed appointment fee will apply.
Methods of Payment
Accounts are due for settlement on the same day as treatment, or upon collection of medicines/diets. You may settle the account using: Cash, Cheque, Credit/Debit, MasterCard or Visa, BACS payments, and in some cases relevant vouchers that are valid and in date. We do not accept American Express cards.
Estimates of Treatment Costs
We will happily provide an estimate as to the probable costs of a course of treatment. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate, and often a pet’s illness will not follow a conventional course. We will try to alert you on the contact numbers you have given us if we believe the treatment costs are going to significantly exceed the estimate costs. If you are not contactable, we will continue to treat your pet as necessary for and in its best interests for the prevention of pain or suffering.
Settlement Terms
Should an account not be settled within our terms and conditions, we will send reminders and ask for the debt to be settled before further treatment can be sought. We reserve the right to add additional accounting and interest charges should that situation continue; and to refer the debt to a collection agency who will legitimately add their own fees to the debt. Any returned cheques or payments not honoured that result in further charges or losses to ourselves then these charges/losses will be added to the principal sum. If, for any reason, you are unable to settle your account as specified, we ask you to discuss the matter as soon as possible with a member of staff. Please note that we do not have a credit licence and therefore are unable to offer extended credit terms.
Responsible Pet Ownership
This should include regular vaccination, worm and flea control. Micro chipping provides a permanent means of identification of your pet. Please ask for advice on any of these matters.
Insurance
This provides peace of mind against unexpected illness/injury or incidents involving third parties. We are no longer permitted to advise you about individual companies so do take time to check the degree of cover being offered by those available. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle our account and then re-claim from your insurance company. We levy a small fee for completion and processing of each claim that may also sometimes require subsequent correspondence with the company involved.
Complaints and Standards
Our standards and procedures are scrupulously monitored by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in order to retain the practice status as an accredited hospital. We are fully committed to providing exceptional service and care, unfortunately, there may be the rare occasion when your expectations have not been met. Most problems can be resolved by discussion with the person concerned at the times they arise. Failing this we request you make a complaint via email to enquiries@seadownvets.co.uk or in writing to the practice address within a month of the incident addressed to the Directors. We will reply to your concerns as soon as is practically possible.
Ownership of Records
Case records, including radiographs and similar documents are the property of and will be retained by the practice. They can be released to another veterinary surgeon upon request.
Out of Hours Policy
We provide 24 hr services to our patients. Out of hours fees charged are greater than those made during the “normal” working day to help support the cost of such service provision. If you are not a registered client of the practice or have not received treatment from us e.g., those of responsible pet owner, in the last 15 months then we reserve the right to charge an additional “non-client” fee for services provided Out of Hours.