SWANZDALE VETERINARY CARE CENTRE TERMS AND CONDITONS
Estimates
Estimates are provided verbally either at the time of booking the appointment
or during the consultation itself. Written estimates are available on request. All
estimates given are only approximate, and the final fee could be higher or lower
than this estimate depending on complications during treatment and patient
response to treatment. We will endeavour to contact you as soon as we have
reason to believe that the costs could be significantly higher than the estimate.
Fees
All fees for services and prices for goods (including food, accessories and drugs)
are subject to VAT at the applicable rate (currently 20% for standard-rated
items). Prices for goods are as marked or notified at the point of purchase. A full
fee breakdown will appear on your invoice.
Fees for services include our professional fees in respect of the veterinary
services provided along with the cost of any drugs, materials or consumables
used in the provision of the services. Professional fees vary according to the
time spent on a case, and the level of expertise required of the staff looking after
your animal.
Payments
Please refer to the specific terms regarding payment for small animal and large
animal and commercial work below.
The following general payment terms apply in all cases.
If you become unable to pay your account according to the standard terms, this
must be discussed with the veterinary practice as soon as possible.
In the absence of any other arrangement agreed with the veterinary surgeon,
accounts not settled within our standard terms will be subject to a late payment
interest charge of 5% above the Bank of England base rate accruing from the
date payment should have been received until final settlement. In the case of
commercial work interest and charges shall be shall be calculated in
accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
If you do not pay your invoice when it falls due we shall take such action as we
consider appropriate to recover our fees which may include engaging third
party debt collection agencies to recover the outstanding fees 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.
You must pay for all goods (including drugs) at the point of purchase.
You must pay for all services as they are received. You will be advised exactly
when payments are due depending upon the nature of the services that we
provide to you but you should expect to make payments at the end of each
consultation and upon the discharge of your pet from our care. In the event that
your pet is hospitalised we may require part payment in advance of any period
of hospitalisation and/or stage payments for longer periods of hospitalisation. If
your pet is hospitalised we will try to phone you each day to discuss the
progress of your animal and the fees incurred once the veterinary surgeon has
completed their morning rounds.
Payment is accepted by cash, debit/ credit card, or BACS transfer. Please note
that if a pet is registered with our practice we will assume that any person other
than the registered pet owner who may bring the pet in for treatment is duly
authorised by the registered pet owner to seek treatment for the pet and to
incur costs for which the registered pet owner will be liable. Where a pet is not
registered with our practice we will assume that the individual requesting
treatment accepts liability for all costs incurred.
Insurance
We strongly support the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected
illness or accidents. Subject to satisfactory insurance with a Swanzdale
approved insurer, the practice can, at the clinicians request, submit a claim
directly to the insurer. In such cases, the client must pay the excess and any
excluded amounts at the end of the consultation or upon demand and, in the
event that a claim is refused by the insurers, will remain liable for our fees. In the
event that an insurer fails to acknowledge our claim or respond to
communications from us within 30 days we will treat this as a refused claim and
seek to recover the full cost from you. You may, of course, seek to recover the
costs directly from your insurer should this occur. The practice does not make
any charge for this service.
You must advise us prior to any treatment if you wish us to submit a claim to
your insurer in respect of our fees and complete an Insurance Claim Declaration.
If you do not advise us in advance that you us to submit a claim directly to your
insurer you will be liable to pay our fees as they become due and may then seek
to recoup the cost from your insurer yourself.
It is your responsibility to provide a claim form if a paper claim is required or provide
policy details should an online claim be possible. It is your responsibility to ensure
that you advise us of any changes to your insurance provider or to your existing policy.
We will endeavour to process all insurance claim requests within 4 weeks of receipt.
If you have an insurance policy with a time limited claim then it is your responsibility
to provide an insurance form in a timely manner and to advise us of any cut off dates
for the claim. If you require an insurance claim to be processed in a more rapid time
period a charge may be applied for this service.
For all other Insurance information please see our Insurance Claims Policy.
Home visits
In most cases your pet will receive better treatment if it is brought into the
surgery where we have the equipment, facilities and staff necessary to treat
them. However, there are some cases when it may be preferable to provide
treatment at your home. These are usually done at a mutually convenient time
(usually between 11:30am and 3pm), in an emergency the veterinary surgeon
will attend as soon as possible. There is an additional charge for a home visit.
You will be provided with an estimate of fees when calling to book a visit.
If a home visit is requested out of hours it is important to find out why such a
request has been made. It is perfectly acceptable for the veterinary surgeon to
point out reasons why s/he believes the animal should be brought to the
surgery. If transport to the surgery is not believed to be detrimental to the
animals condition and the veterinary surgeon has concerns regarding his/her
own safety then a home visit may be refused, however this is rarely the case.
Out of hours care and hospitalisation
From 7th November 2022 our out of hours emergency care will be provided by Aldegate
Veterinary Hospital in Bridlington. Outside normal hours our phones will transfer to their
answering service.
If your animal requires hospitalisation at our practice s/he will be kept in
suitable, warm, clean, safe accommodation. There may not be always be a
member of staff in the building but each animal will receive the appropriate care
to its condition and will receive regular checks throughout its hospitalisation, if
your animal requires constant supervision then this level of care will be
provided.
Prescriptions
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 will need to be re-
assessed periodically by the veterinary surgeon dealing with the case. The re-
examination interval will vary between clinical cases. Please give us 48 hours’
notice for any requests for a repeat or written prescription. There is a charge for
a re-examination, details of which will be provided on enquiry.
Please note that we cannot accept the return of any prescription drugs as such
items cannot be resold. If you wish us to safely dispose of any unwanted
medication we can do so.
Client records
Client and clinical records, and other such similar documents (including, but not
limited to, digital imaging results), are and shall remain the property of
Swanzdale Limited. Copies of clinical records may be passed to another
veterinary surgeon on request should you move surgeries.
We never discuss or sell confidential records to any third party other than if you
move surgeries or are referred to another veterinary surgeon.
Liability
Our liability in respect of all and any claims, damages or losses arising in respect
of the goods and/or services provided by us or arising in connection with any
attendance at our practice or attendance at any property by one of our vets
shall be limited in accordance with our insurance cover as detailed above. In the
event of any uninsured claims, damages or losses our liability shall be limited to
the value of the goods and/or services to which the claim, damages or loss
relates.
Data protection
When you register your animal with our practice or request that we provide
veterinary services we will collect personal data about you and, where relevant,
your employees and/or agents. We will only collect data that we need to
perform the services, take payment or contact you such as names, contact
details and possibly some financial details. Please note that we may pass your
details to debt collection agencies or our legal advisers for the purpose of
recovering unpaid fees if you do not pay invoices when they fall due. From time
to time we may also use your contact details to provide you with information
about reminders, new services or special offers offered by Swanzdale Veterinary
Care Centre or selected third parties.
We comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will take reasonable
precautions to ensure that your data is kept securely, used appropriately and is
not shared with third parties except as required for the purposes outlined
above. You are entitled to be provided with details of the data that we hold
about you upon request and payment of a £10 fee.
Complaints
We pride ourselves on offering a quality service, and take customer complaints
seriously. Should we not meet your expectations on any aspect of our service,
please let us know at the time where possible.
Alternatively, should you wish to raise a formal complaint, we ask that you
contact the practice in person, by telephone or in writing within three months of
the complaint event. The practice manager will then investigate your complaint
in accordance with our Complaints Procedure.
If you are not happy with the outcome of the investigation, you may ask for a
review or re-investigation in accordance with our Complaints Procedure within
three months of the outcome of the first investigation.
If you are not happy with the outcome of a second investigation, we
recommend that you refer your complaint for external mediation through the
Veterinary Client Mediation Service within three months of the outcome of the
second investigation.
Alternatively please feel free to email any feedback or complaints to
info@swanzdale.co.uk