Terms and Conditions
Terms and Conditions of Business
You should keep a copy of these terms and conditions for your records.
Thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your pet to our Practice. This letter details our 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.
You enter into a legally binding contract: A contract between you and us will come into being when you sign the client registration form or agree orally that we should provide Services to you. The binding contract shall come into force on the date you first receive treatment after becoming a client.
Providing Services: Once you have entered into a legally binding contract with us we will normally start providing Services to you from our premises and if applicable straight away or on a date agreed between us with/without further discussion with you. Occasionally, Services will be provided at some other date or time or be dependent on a number of factors. Our aim is to always provide you with Services in the following manner:
- using reasonable care and skill;
- in compliance with commonly accepted practices and standards in veterinary practice;
- in compliance with Scottish Law and regulations in force at the time we carry out the Services
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. Our written fee list is available on request. You will receive a detailed fee note for every consultation, surgical procedure or transaction with us.
Estimates of Treatment Costs: We will happily provide a written estimate as to the probable costs of a course of treatment. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate - often a pet's illness will not follow a conventional course.
Management of a Veterinary Practice is a complex business - we have many suppliers of medication and equipment for example that require prompt payment. Therefore, in order for us to deliver outstanding service to you and your animals, it is essential that clients also make payments to us at the time of treatment. Like any business, we need strict procedures in place to recover money not immediately forthcoming and sadly also have to resort to the use of a debt collection agency.
Settlement Terms: Payment for our Services is normally made in two ways, either at the time we finish performing the Services or within 14 days. If we do not receive payments in 14 days we will write to you putting you on notice that your account is overdue and that if payment is not made then administration charges will be incurred. If payment is still not received within 14 days of the chasing letter, a charge will be applied to your account and your details will also be passed to our debt collection agents Vetdebts Limited, so that your data may be shared with other vets in the region. We shall also charge you interest (at the Bank of England's base interest rate plus 3%) on any outstanding amounts if those outstanding amounts remain unpaid for more than 14 days from the date of our invoice or when we asked you first to pay them. We may suspend our services for remaining works until you make payment. Any further charges in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt will also be levied: such as production of reports, correspondence, court fees, attendance at court, phone calls, home visits, etc. Any cheque returned by our bank as unpaid, any credit card payment not honoured and any cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in the original account being restored to the original sum with further charges added in respect of bank charges and administrative costs together with interest on the principal sum.
Communicating with us and Data Protection Notice: We are a registered Data Controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. We will use your personal data to inform you about our services and information which may be of benefit to you and your pet. We may share and disclose your name and your post code with third parties including other vets about how you conduct your account. Your information may be linked to other vets' records and accessed by other vets via a secure website located at http://www.vetdebts.co.uk which may contain your data relating solely to your account. Other third parties may use this information to make credit decisions about you. Please note if you provide false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we will record this. If you feel that your details have been wrongly entered into the Vetdebts system, you should contact them through their website or contact us directly.
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 Bank Card
- Credit/Debit Card - Switch, Solo, Mastercard, Visa, Delta
Inability to pay: 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 instalments or part-payments of any account may only be sanctioned with the express permission of the Practice Partners and will require your signed credit agreement before being activated.
Pet Health Insurance: Our Practice strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. Please ask one of the vets for details about insurance. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle our account and then reclaim the fees from your Insurance Company.
Complaints and Standards: We hope that you never have recourse to complain about the standards of service received from the Practice. However, if you feel that there is something you wish to complain about, please direct your comments in the first instance to our Practice Manager.
Ownership of Records: Case records including radiographs and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by, the practice. Copies with a summary of the history will be passed on request to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case.
Ownership of Radiographs and Similar Records: The care given to your animal may involve making some specific investigations, for example taking radiographs or performing ultrasound scans. Even though we make a charge for carrying out these investigations and interpreting their results, ownership of the resulting record, for example a radiograph, remains with the practice.
Amendments to the contract terms and conditions: We will have the right to amend the terms and conditions of this contract where we need to do so in order to comply with changes in the law or for commercial or regulatory reasons. No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by the practice partners. No agent or person employed by or under contract with, the practice has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in any way.
Contacting each other: If you wish to send us any notice or letter then it needs to be sent to the practice address and should be marked for the attention of the Practice Manager.
Law and jurisdiction: This contract shall be governed and construed by the law of Scotland and you and we agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of Scotland.