Elston Veterinary Clinic's Terms & Conditions

Thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your pet to Elston Veterinary Clinic.  This page details our Practice Terms and Conditions.  Some aspects of the Terms may not be relevant to you and we request that you ask for further explanation/clarification if required.

Fees

All fees, diets and drug charges are subject to VAT at the current rate.  Fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case and according to the drugs, materials, consumables and diets used.

Details of our fees are available on request and a detailed invoice is provided for every consultation, procedure or transaction. Estimates can also be provided on request – see below.

Methods of payment

Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your pet or upon collection of drugs/diets. You may settle the account using:

• CASH
• CHEQUE – with current banker’s card
• CREDIT/DEBIT CARD – Switch, MasterCard, Visa, Delta, Electron

Estimates of treatment costs

We will, upon request, be pleased to provide an estimate as to the probable cost of any treatment, but please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate – often a pet’s illness will not follow a conventional course.

Settlement terms

Payment will be requested at the time of treatment. For accounts not settled within 14 days a reminder will be sent with an additional accounting fee in respect of administrative costs incurred. These however may be deducted if payment is made promptly. In the event of non payment within one month, one further reminder with a non refundable administration charge will be sent.

Overdue accounts, after due notice to you; will be referred to our Debt Collection Agency if satisfactory repayment arrangements have not been made with ourselves. This will incur you further costs whilst collecting the debt.
Any cheque returned by our bank as unpaid, any credit card payment not honoured will result in your account being restored to the original sum with further charges added in respect of bank charges and administration costs.
Persistent late payment will result in the need for all fees to be paid at the time of treatment or withdrawal of our veterinary services.

Inability to pay

If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of being unable to pay your account please discuss this matter as soon as possible with a member of staff. Instalments or part payments of any accounts may ONLY be sanctioned with the express permission of Dr Frantilla.

Pet health insurance

Elston Veterinary Clinic strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. Please ask for details about insurance from any member of staff. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle your account with ourselves and then reclaim the fees from your Insurance Company.

We require a one off administration fee of £5 for each new condition. We do not routinely do direct claims but we will consider direct claims in certain situations.  A one-off administration fee of £20+VAT is charged for direct claims, which reflects the greater degree of work involved in processing and chasing up these claims, as well as the risk of non-payment.  We will require a deposit in advance of treatment.  Once we have received payment from the insurance company, the deposit is returned to the client minus any deductions made by the insurance company.

Complaints

We hope that you never feel the recourse to complain about the service received from Elston Veterinary Clinic. If you do wish to complain please direct your comments in the first instance to Alice Babbings.

Feedback

We are always pleased to receive feedback on the service we provide.

Ownership of records

Case records, x-rays and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by Elston Veterinary Clinic. Even though we make a charge for carrying out the investigations and interpreting the results, ownership of the resulting record e.g. x-ray remains the property of the practice.

Upon request, copies of records with a summary of the history of your pet will be passed to another veterinary practice taking over your pets care and treatment.

Phone calls

All phone calls to the practice are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

Prescriptions

Prescriptions will be supplied on request, following 48 hours notice.  There is a small charge for this service.

Variations in terms and conditions

No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless specifically agreed in writing by Dr Frantilla.  No person or agent employed by or under contract with the practice has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in anyway.