Vets

[patricks148]

It used to be said that the biggest crooks for charging for everything were lawyers, but in my opinion now the biggest are vets.

Our local vets got taken over a few years ago by Omni vet ( no doubt part of Omni corp from Robocop) and since then all they are interested in is making money. Every time my dog has a problem its £70 for a couple of minuets consultation. The dog drank some contaminated water at the weekend ad was ill on Monday, was taken in for a days observation £200 including some drugs, they asked for her to go back today just to check her temperature and again £70 plus tried to charge me £40 for some tablets I didn’t get and some sort of squirty goo another £20 again that we didn’t get.

It used to be that vets cared about animals now it’s just a rip off to get as much cash out of you for you much loved pet as possible!

not expecting them to work for nothing, but its getting beyond a joke the costs vets are now charging.

 

[The Gopher]

Vets prices are horrendous just now, £70 for what you explained is just insane. How can they charge so much for so little time ? Is there nowhere you can go that is cheaper ?

 

[bladeplayer]

It used to be said that the biggest crooks for charging for everything were lawyers, but in my opinion now the biggest are vets.

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Totaly agree & the small animal clinics are the worst as its easy money most of the time , the large animals can be heavy going .. Have ya tried pet insurance , seemingly its pretty good , having grown up on a farm ive had my fair share of dealing with vets , talented profession but some seem to be still living in the boom times

 

[JustOne]

Get pet insurance or don't have a pet.

 

[Iaing]

Totally agree, their prices are shocking. I think it makes sense now to have you're pet insured, although the premiums certainly ain't cheap.
Unfortunately, I believe the vets are playing on the insurance angle, looking at ripping off the insurers rather than joe public.

I don't think it's a new thing though. My mother was a pharmacist and I remember her having many an argument with the local vet over the cost of drugs that were, in her opinion, the equivalent of certain drugs for humans which were available over the counter at a fraction of the cost.

 

[Mungoscorner]

A law unto themselves,and more so when they take you for an idiot and try and sell you medication your dog doesn't need.My father bred and kept lurchers for over 40 years,and his father before him,i have been around dogs since i was in nappies,and have forgotten more than some of the so called vets who are only 5 minutes out of vet school,and nothing more than salespeople.
The Leptospirosis vaccination is one of there classics,a vaccine that apparently protects your dog/puppy from the dangers and potentially fatal disease ? There are hundreds of strains of Leptospirosis,yet the vaccine only offers protection from 2 of them,and this is a vaccine that has caused adverse reactions in many many dogs !!!
The neutering/castration hard sell is another classic,apparently this stops aggressive behaviour ? protects your dog from potentially fatal illnesse's ? and is a must for any "responsible" pet owner !!!
Rant over.

 

[Mungoscorner]

Unfortunately, I believe the vets are playing on the insurance angle, looking at ripping off the insurers rather than joe public.

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That is exactly whats happening.

 

[The Gopher]

the equivalent of certain drugs for humans which were available over the counter at a fraction of the cost.

I have tablets for my back pain, I take 1 in the morning and 1 before finishing work if I feel I need it. My boss noticed his dog was on the exact same tablets !

 

[Mungoscorner]

Get pet insurance or don't have a pet.

I'd love to answer this,but unfortunately i'd be banned for swearing.

 

[JustOne]

I'd love to answer this,but unfortunately i'd be banned for swearing.

I'll start for you



You had pet insurance and..........

 

[palindromicbob]

Get pet insurance

This is why prices are going up. It's private companies providing a private service and where insurance is available they feel they can charge more (take a look at some of the repair companies recommended by car insurance companies compared to an independant provider). If you don't have insurance then tough luck. Personally I have all my cats and my dog insured. The dog was important because being a Cavalier his breed is prone to long term conditions in later life that would be very costly even at the most resonable of vets.

Take this as a warning if we let the NHS go private then healthcare will be similar to what you are experiencing at the vet. We are already seeing it with the dentist.

Luckily here in N. Ireland there aren't many big corporate vets. In my area there is about 5 independant vets and I use one that speacialises in small animals (the rest do mainly farm work). It is owned by a the vet and is a true family business. They are very resonable. We usually take multiple animals for appointments and where some places would charge consultation per animal we only get charged once. Medications are also resonable and he'll always try low cost solutions before jumping straight to one with the most profit. We have such a good relationship with him that often if our guinea pigs are sick (my girlfriend is very experienced with them) we just phone up and tell him what we need. I have used a vet in the past that refused to do this without first seeing the animal (and therefore charging consultation as well) and then give what we asked for in the first pace anyway!

In fact we like our vet so much it is one thing that makes us relucatant to leave the area!!!

 

[patricks148]

Get pet insurance or don't have a pet.

We have pet insurance and guess what ? we have a comp excess of £70...

This morning i checked the bill and found 2 items we didn't recieve, how may people don't check and just pay cos they take their word for the costs.

 

[Yerman]

I have tablets for my back pain, I take 1 in the morning and 1 before finishing work if I feel I need it. My boss noticed his dog was on the exact same tablets !

But take it easy on the Winalot

 

[granters]

Our vet has claimed over 20grand over the years for our everlasting dog. He wouldn't be here without pet insurance. Funnily enough they did an operation on our rabbit 300 quid cheaper than the local vet closer to us. They make it up as they go along some of them. They always role out a red carpet when we walk in...

We're donating barney to scientific research when he finally goes,vet expected him to go 3 years ago. We call him Mum-Ra these days

 

[RGDave]

I don't know what's going on. Around here £17.50 for small animals, £22.50 for dogs and cats.

Took the dog out of hours a few months ago. £129. (2 am in the morning). They were "lining up" a treatment bill of £1,400 before I told them "we'll take our chances".

HID almost divorced me.

 

[AmandaJR]

Had this 3 weeks ago with Max and a rash on his chin. First question "is he insured" followed by an estimate of £750 to find out what the rash was. Total rip off and even taking the cream and anti-biotics option was £170. The cream was £27 and can be bought online for £8 (and they're making money on it). Needless to say we cancelled the appointment after 7 days "to check how he is" as we could see it was improving although added our own treatment for ear mites and fungal infection which was more likely the cause. His boosters are due and have found a family run vets we're going to try.

They are very good at making loving owners feel almost guilty at questioning the fees. Rip off...

 

[RGDave]

I don't think it's a new thing though. My mother was a pharmacist and I remember her having many an argument with the local vet over the cost of drugs that were, in her opinion, the equivalent of certain drugs for humans which were available over the counter at a fraction of the cost.

Interesting that. My Father in Law was a pharmacist. He said it was "depressing" the amount of poor people (that's not well off, not poorly) that came in with £7 prescriptions for drugs he could sell to them for under £1. No doubt, it's the same with animal pharmacy too.

 

[6inchcup]

I have tablets for my back pain, I take 1 in the morning and 1 before finishing work if I feel I need it. My boss noticed his dog was on the exact same tablets !

is that why you keep trying to sniff your knackers!!!!!!! thought it was a scottish thing.

 

[alnecosse]

I have had the same recently and have now found an internet site for my dogs meds, thanks to forummers who replyed to my post about rip off vets. Its got to the stage now where it is blatant greed and at the end of the day probably it's the animals who suffer as
if you can't afford the visit what do you do. Insurance is also great for covering the major things that could go wrong but with the excess on policys £60 £70 £100 VISITS WITH THE OBLIGATORY COME BACK NEXT WEEK. Not long in making some easy money.

 

[chris661]

My vet over here is exceptionally cheap. My older dog managed to get a womb infection and had to be spayed cost €75 euro and she was in overnight. Annual booster is only €15 per dog too.