Vet fees........

[Stuart]

Ok people time to pool our resourses and see if we can help each other!!!

As you may know Sophie had to have some stiches on Tuesday due to a little accident on the last Gery outing!

I'm pleased to say she is doing fine and apart from a nice club coloured (Purple) bandage is none the wiser!

What you probably dont know is that her treatment cost in total £185!!! <- (My face!) Now i'm not too concerned about that becuase she is insured and we only have to pay £50, but I think we should get together a list of the best priced vets in our local areas, because they charged us £15.... £15 just for her bandage! (again) and £23 for a FOUR MINUTE consultation fee!

I think its disgusting and I will NEVER be using COASTLINE VETS IN CARLTON COLVILLE again, consider yourselves named and shamed!

I think you should post here good and bad vets so other people can see where to go and where NOT to go COASTLINE VETS!!!

[Johnny]

I agree that the bill seems very high.
I don't know what the law is on this issue.
It would be commonsense to expect the vets to inform you in advance as to their prices though.
When we take Star and Sugar to our local Vets (Eaton, Norwich), they always make a point of telling us how much the treatment will be in advance.
If vets were to tell you in advance as to their pricing structure - then you would be better informed to make a decision. However, by that time they would still have charged you the "consultation fee".

Perhaps it might be an idea to ask your vet for their pricing structures, and we can compare the prices?
::

[Sara]

Blimey - that does seem a bit steep!

We were charged £105 when Pixie cut her foot and had to have her toe amputated, she had a general anesthetic & was kept in for the day and that also included 4 follow-up appointments to check the wound and have the stiches removed etc.
That was with Anchorage Vets in Acle, who I always thought were expensive but I'm not so sure now!

Hope Sophie is ok, Pixie & Palace send their love

[Stuart]

Sophie is doing well, she has her sticthes out on Saturday, but I dont think she will be able to have a run with her brother on Sunday Oh well at least we can meet him!

[Franky]

That does sound pretty expensive. Did they give you this price after they found out she was insured?

[Sara]

::
Hmmm, good point Franky

[Tuesday's Rose]

Actually the nurse asked us when she went in for the stiches if she was insured!!!!!!!!!!! I was talking to my neighbour about it yesterday and she said she used the same vets but she kept getting ripped off so she changed!!!

[Stuart]

I just think that COASTLINE VETS IN LOWESTOFT are rip off artists full stop!

Once Sophie has had her stiches out, I will be telling them that they can transfer her papers to Haven Vets in Gt Yarmouth and they wont be seeing us back there again! ::

[Franky]

Well while i've been off the boards due to aol!! Munchy ran into a rose bush and ripped a piece of skin off her front leg, had to take her to see emergency vet at night, bandaged up then it got infected had two lots of cream, two lots of antibiotics and two lots of other drugs which cost all together £75.

Its still not right yet but is slowly getting better.

[Tuesday's Rose]

It's so expensive to take ur pet to the vets, i know when u take on an animal u have to be prepared for extra costs but they do rrip people off!! Hope munchy is ok

[tanya1]

not dogs but a horse vert bill, my old boy has a reoccurring eye infection problem , not a bad one but flares up up from time to time, optrex infected eye is usually all he needs , so i ring the vets for a tube to be no visit required as on going and known problem, so how much do you think one tube of cream cost? bearing in mind it cost 68p to produce and is under £5 at the chemists???







£188.79!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tinabow]

pity you lot live so far away my vet brilliant never charges anyone con fee only pay for medication there friendly talk to dog before handling take you step by step threw tells you price before treatment and are the cheep vets around jabs(pups) £25 for the 2 jabs

back last sept my young dog had to have his veg off (medical reasons)
thought would cost about £100 no 50 quid was well pleased

[Johnny]

Nice to hear of a vet like that.

When our two have to go to the vets, it's always time to see if Johnny's overdraft is in place!

[Sara]

tanya1 said:

not dogs but a horse vert bill, my old boy has a reoccurring eye infection problem , not a bad one but flares up up from time to time, optrex infected eye is usually all he needs , so i ring the vets for a tube to be no visit required as on going and known problem, so how much do you think one tube of cream cost? bearing in mind it cost 68p to produce and is under £5 at the chemists???







£188.79!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would ask if you're joking but unfortunately I know you're not!!!

[affieluver]

hi all on the subject of vets darcy my whippet had an accident and needed 4 stiches on her head i took her to the vet and was charged 140 pounds which is fine as i only have to pay the first 80 pounds as she is insured can anybody tell me why you have to settle the bill when you collect your dog even when she is insured i thought this was the whole point of having insurance in the first place so you werent lumbered with such huge unpayable bills any ideas folks?

[Johnny]

Vets usually work like that.
We have the first £50 to pay on our policy, and will claim after the dog is better.

I believe there are some schemes out there, whereby the vet does the work, and then claims it direct from the insurance company. You'd have to ask the vet about that though.
Please remember - If buying/changing an insurance policy, always compare companies, their premiums and what they actually cover.

[affieluver]

hi jhonny it wasnt that we didnt compare prices we did and felt at the time that was the best policy i was just confused as to having to pay the bill upfront i suppose if the bill ran into thousands your insurance would cover it anyway and i suppose people do rip vets off so theyhave to safeguard themselves also

[sarahjayne]

Having lived and worked in dog kennels in Canada (I didn't live in the kennels, just to clarify!!!) I've experienced horrendous vet fees out there. They make ours look miniscule by comparison, even the examples here. They usually charge at least twice what we pay in the UK.

And also I saw only one greyhound whilst I was out there, and lots of pit bulls, wolf hybrids (my, they are fun!), rottweilers, boxers, huskies, malamutes. And, get this, lots of Jack Russells!! Mainly owned by very rich businesswomen (I'm not joking!). This was just after Frasier and Eddie got big.

Also as a note when I lived there there was one car insurance firm (run by the Government) and insurance is mandatory for car drivers. Hence very high premiums!

I know vets do charge too much here, although I must say I have always been happy with my vets, they seem to be reasonably fair.

SJx

[Tuesday's Rose]

Ok after taking sophie to the vets today, I feel I need to have a ramble . She looked like she had a blood shot eye yesterday so I bathed it and gave it another look this morning. It was no better so we took her to the vets. Poor sophie has conjuctivitus.. if that's how you spell it . Ayway she has some drops, but i also got some frontline spray and three worming tablets and it came to £71!!!! The consultation was about 25 !! I should have trained to be a vet ! Still the most important thing is that sophie is ok ... Still i needed as ramble

[tanya1]

if they ever have conjuntivitis go to chemist and get optrex infected eye it is exactly the same , please read both labels and you will see, also get frontline and flea and tick treatments online form canine chemist, also drontal and drontal xl are approx half the price!!!

[cathy]

Last time I took Tiggy to the vets (Anchorge, Acle) was in November when he started worrying an insect bite on his back.

Consultation fee - £20.84

Anti-itch injection - £7.86

The vet said he didn't think Tiggs had fleas, but I made the mistake of asking for Frontline anyway. Wished I hadn't when I came to pay!!!

Frontline - £31.63 (And how much is it in the pet shops?)

Total bill - £60.33

Next time I think I'll tell Tiggs to go scratch!!!!

[cathy]

While we're on about vets, Tiggy may need his teeth sorted out soon. I remember someone saying on the board that their hound had had dental work done. Which vet did it, and how much did it cost?

Anchorage have not examined Tiggy's teeth but have quoted around £300 as a ball-park figure for possible extractions and scaling. I don't know if I can claim this on insurance - will have to check - but does it seem a reasonable price?

[tanya1]

sadly i think you will find thats about the price because of the G A and wok involved? far too expensive i think but its a licence to print money!!! oh and dont forget you will then NEED prescription dog food!!! , its a joke! give him raw chicken wings or turkey necks , they will really give his teeth a work out and clean up, i fed raw and my dogs have great breath and teeth , hope this is of some help

[Sara]

cathy said:

While we're on about vets, Tiggy may need his teeth sorted out soon. I remember someone saying on the board that their hound had had dental work done. Which vet did it, and how much did it cost?

Anchorage have not examined Tiggy's teeth but have quoted around £300 as a ball-park figure for possible extractions and scaling. I don't know if I can claim this on insurance - will have to check - but does it seem a reasonable price?

Hi Cathy,

Palace had her teeth done recently at Anchorage, we were charged £122 in total, however she thankfully didn't need to have any teeth removed.

Have you tried Stalham? They were cheaper than Acle when we had our cats neutered

[Sara]

P.S If you go to Anchorage, ask for Kelly and say Pixie the Greyhound recommended her.. She's a lovely vet and likes the gerys