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. 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. Out of hours care and hospitalisation From 7th November 2022 our out of hours emergency care will be provided by Aldgate 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 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 more intensive care overnight than can be provided by our surgery then you will be offered to transfer you pet to Aldgate Veterinary Hospital which is staffed 24/7. 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 Please tick the box below to confirm you have read and agree to our terms and conditions.