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By deary
![[gb]](/images/flags/gb.png "United Kingdom")
Date 27.08.02 14:07 UTC
I had to post this as my next door neighbour lost her 3 year old GSP last night due to the fact that she did not have any money on her.
last night about 11.30pm her pointer started to have a fit and she rushed of to the only vet that was open M***vet.
She was taken through into the consulting room and was told how much it would cost before they had even givin the dog anything. She was livid , there was her dog having a fit and they were already talking money.
She shouted at them to just get on with it, but was told before we do anything, do you have the first installment on you , she replyed no ( she was in such a rush she forgot her purse ) but said the dog is insured whats the problem, she was told you have to pay upfront before we do anything, she told them get on with it and that she would go and get her purse, she was told that would be fine.
When she got back she was told that they had tried but the dog had already passed away and continued to ask her for £400 for the treatment that they had done.
She walked out in disgust.
She is so distrught and there is nothing that can be done , she has phoned the royal vet college etc and no-one can help her , she has been told it is down to the single practice policy of how they conduct their business.
Does anyone know where she can go from hear ?
Has anyone ever dealt with this before ?
Please any advice would be really appreciated
Sam
That is disgusting :(
Why aren't vets covered by something akin to the Hippocratic Oath? Sounds more like the Hypocritic Oaf to me
:(
Melody
By Leigh
Date 27.08.02 14:20 UTC
Sam, if they
refused to treat the animal then I would be taking legal advice!
If she doesn't want to approach a solicitor at this point, get her to have a word with the
Citizens Advice Bureaux first. They are very helpful on legal matters.
By deary
Date 27.08.02 14:31 UTC
It was the CAB that told her that it is up to the individual practice how they run things,
does not leave much hope does it.
As for speaking to people i think that she has givin up , that is why i am trying to find out if there is anything else that can be done to help her out.
She has stayed home today with the curtains drawn and does not want to speak to anyone at the moment. she will come round but it will take time , she is still in shock.
Sam
By issysmum
Date 27.08.02 15:15 UTC
That is disgraceful. My vet has a sign up in reception saying that all treatment must be paid for at the time however financial circumstances WILL NOT affect emergency treatment.
The vets don't deserve to be practicing and I think a letter to the local paper is in order.
I hope she does take action - this kind of behaviour cannot be allowed to continue.
Fiona
x x x
Hi Sam she should still make a complaint to the RCVS. They have the complaint procedure online & she can fill it in, its on their web site, while there have a look at their code of conduct/ethics. Try writing to the doggy papers & mags see if they are interested. Disgusting behaviour
Christine2
By philippa
Date 27.08.02 15:52 UTC
Hi sam, I would do two things, first of all I would flatly refuse to pay the bill ( at least for now) and I would write to the RCVS, asking for an immediate reply, and stating that maybe the dog could have been saved , had they started working on him straight away. I think I would also have a first consulatation with a solicitor. Lots of practices now do a first consultaion free of charge.
By deary
Date 27.08.02 16:22 UTC
Thanks guys , i will pass this on to her tomorrow, i have just been round there and she is not in a good way.
But she did say that she is not going to let it rest!!
Once again thanks and any more ideas are more than welcome.
Sam
Sam you dont need the permission of the RCVS to make a complaint, please just do it on line here is the site.
hhtp://www.rcvs.org.uk/links.html
Christine2
By Crazy Cockers
Date 27.08.02 19:48 UTC
Sam I am gobsmacked :(
What is going on with these vets??:(
Is money so important to them that they are forgetting why they spent 7 years plus studying to become a vet..?
I don't know what to say?? I would have suggested as Leigh did..the CAB..but if they said that it's up to the individual practice., I don't know what else to suggest. Apart from phoning the Vet Collage and refusing to get off the phone until she can speak with someone who can give her some sort of an answer.
I can't believe that these vets are so money mad, that they are willing to sacrafice an animals life to make sure they will get their money:(
Natasha
By Dawn B
Date 27.08.02 20:48 UTC
Sam, I am disgusted, report the vet and his conduct to the Royal College Of Veterinary Surgeons, and let them deal with it. A vets' first concern SHOULD be for his patient. Give your neighbour my best wishes.
Dawn.
Some of them studt seven years to be able to ern good money, :(!
By ilovecockers
Date 27.08.02 21:11 UTC
Hi there, I am so sorry to hear about your neighbours loss - it's always especially sad when they are so young. I work in a vets and like on an earlier post we also have a sign that asks for treatment to be paid at the time but credit can be given for emergencies. Also a vet is LEGALLY obliged to administer emergency first aid regardless of the financial situation and the fact that the poor dog was insured just adds to the horror. I wouldn't let this matter drop if it was one of my dogs and would write a letter to either the practice manager or the actual owner and demand an explanation and apology. Tell her to kick up the biggest stink imagineable and please let us know how she gets on
By lorraine1000
Date 27.08.02 22:40 UTC
hi
i am so sorry to hear this news it just makes me feel sick to the teeth that a vet can do this. the same sort of thing happened to me about 2 weeks ago. lady my bull terrier lost 5 pupies and nealy her life as well all because of the vet he did not think i could pay the £950.00 for the c-section she needed he did not even call me to find out i had signed the form for him to do it but he never and it was left to late. i called the RCVS and they sent me the forms i needed to make the complant which i have not had to do this at this time. the reason for this is i called the vets up and asked to talk to the boss i did not think he would do anything about it but he has there is going to be a meeting this week and the vet will most likly lost his job. the vet also lied about me and said that he had phoned me and that i told him that i did not want him to do the c-section he also rewrite his notes so that it made him look in the right but they had already give me a copy of them when i went to get lady to take her to my vet. they will try anything to get out of what they have done. you must tell your friend not to let them get away with this they have a job to do and that is take care of the anaimal not take care of there pocket first. please tell your friend not to let him get away with this. also please send her my best and i am so sorry to hear about her lost.
lorraine
By Schip
Date 27.08.02 23:02 UTC
I'm sorry about your friends dog but can tell you that if my dog had died under those circumstances I would be taking the body with me for an PM by a different practise or vet - how can they prove that they even attempted to treat the dog, it's a case of their word against your friends.
I had to take one of the boxer x puppies to the vets out of hours and not my usual surgery when he got a little over excited and no amount of frozen products would make 'percy' go back to bed! I was not charged a penny or even asked for any money before or after his treatment and was given an appointment for the following morning for a follow up - then I paid the bill. Mind I have set a solicitor on that particular practise for threatening me with the baliff's for a bill that belonged to a puppy living in the area that I'd bred! Yes they did know it was one of mine and that the bill should have gone to the dogs owner not me, the owner had never recieved a bill so had no idea they owed any money!
I make a habit now of letting all the local vets know that I will take all and any action necessary to sort their act out including the legal options, at the end of the day you are paying them for their services how many restuarants do you go to and pay for the food before you've even ordered let alone eaten?
Good luck to your friend this is a most disgusting and horrifying situation.
By deary
Date 28.08.02 07:45 UTC
I hate to tell you this but she did ask for the body of her dog to be returned and she was told that it would be but only after she had paid the bill..
She is going to phone today and get the forms to put her compliant in writing.
I hope that the chap is stuck off.
Sam
By lorraine1000
Date 28.08.02 08:49 UTC
can they do this hold on to the body of her dog till she has paid the bill. sorry but this is well what i want to say i can not on here. please let us know how your friend gets on i just dont know what to say anymore what is this world coming to. all because of money
lorraine
By Leigh
Date 28.08.02 09:30 UTC
Sam, not sure if these people can offer any advice, but it has to be worth checking it out:
Justice for Dogs :-)
By mr murphy
Date 28.08.02 10:40 UTC
Speechless.
My vet always wants paid imediately after the treatment. However if you dont have the money he will allow you to pay in a couple of instalments.
This is becoming more of a problem with vets. Do we not have a vet who is a member of champdogs who would like to comment on this.
My friends bull terrier slipped a disc and the vets in GOUROCK INVERCLYDE SCOTLAND wanted £70 to let us in the surgery as it was a sunday
Mick
By dot
Date 28.08.02 14:48 UTC
Sam,
Wait till I pick my chin up off the floor........
What's happening to the world. It's becoming money and greed everywhere and don't I sound old?! I'm not - REALLY - Well not THAT old :)
What a horrible time for your friend and even worse with the vet practice attitude. Please pass on our good wishes and keep us posted.
Dot
By deary
Date 28.08.02 15:06 UTC
Thanks for everyones well wishes, my friend has read your replies but cannot bring herself to write on here as she said that it would be more than sensored:)
She has taken it up with the right bodies and will hopefully be hearing from them soon.
Once again thanx
Sam
By lorraine1000
Date 28.08.02 18:42 UTC
hi sam
i hope your friend is feeling a bit better today. but can you please let us know what they do about this. i hope he suffer for what he has done there was no knee for it. i do hope your friend well with this
lorraine
By nutkin
Date 28.08.02 19:19 UTC
How terrible. When I think how many times I have rushed to
the vet without my purse.
Let us know how she got on. Did they not treat the dog and
because of that it died? How distressing for your friend.
Nutkin
By Crazy Cockers
Date 28.08.02 19:40 UTC
Sam
I can't believe this vet., what planet is he on :(
Since when do you refuse to give a dog back to the owners., because you are waiting for payment., he should be struck off for what he's doing...its disgusting.:(
Natasha
By sweep
Date 30.08.02 11:54 UTC
Is there any update on this awful story?
Sweep x
By deary
Date 30.08.02 19:46 UTC
Not yet still waiting to hear from the complaints dept, but as soon as i hear anything i will let you all know.
By chloedog
Date 30.08.02 21:00 UTC
sorry to hear what has happened, I am a little confused as to what the bill for £400 is for ? did they treat the dog? was a diagnosis given ? as already stated vets do have to treat animals in an emergency regardless of whether the client has any money or not. I do not understand why they are holding on to the body, in a situation like this they wouldn't want to make themselves look even worse surely? I would demand the body back for a pm at another 'understanding' vets. I am afraid the rcvs will probably not be much help if any treatment was given.
By deary
Date 31.08.02 10:07 UTC
They say that treatment was givin when she left to get her purse so she cannot prove them wrong.
However things are in motion and hope fully we will hear some thing soon.
Sam
Hi Sam
If it "was" eplipsy surely all they needed to do initially was give diazepam - I assume you can give it rectally to dogs as you can to humans in emergencies? This is not a particularly expensive drug.
Christine
By chloedog
Date 01.09.02 18:11 UTC
Christine,
that was my line of thinking too ! thats what we usually give to fitting animals!
By aoife
Date 13.11.02 21:54 UTC
please pass on my condolences to your friend for the tragic loss of her dog, if it is not enough to loose your pet, then have to have this terrible situation with these vets, hope some justice is done for your friend and her dog, regards tina
By newf-mad-mama
Date 01.09.02 19:58 UTC
This is a truly upsetting thing to happen, you would think that in this day and age of supposed animal lovers, things like this would never happen. However this is not the first time I have heard of a vet demanding payment before treatment. A few years ago, a friends Yorkie got run over and was obviously not long for this world, and suffering greatly. My friend rushed his dog to the vet for the sole purpose of putting the dog out of its misery. The vet refused to do so until he had been payed in advance for his services. In the end to cut a long story short, my friend had to leave his watch with the vet while he sped home to get the funds, only then would the vet put the poor little thing to sleep. He was suffering for over an hour!!!
So I suppose I should not be shocked at this other event but I still am. Please tell your friend, that we are all thinking of her in her time of grief.
Lynsey
By deary
Date 01.09.02 20:21 UTC
Newf mad mama, nice to know that i am not the only one with newfs on this site!!
Sam
By newf-mad-mama
Date 02.09.02 09:53 UTC
Sam
Great to hear from another Newfie owner. I only found this site last week isnt it brill.
Lynsey
By Zoebeveridge
Date 13.11.02 20:55 UTC
hello!
im glad to find newf owners !
i go to see my pup this Sunday , and providing i meet with the breeders approval i will become the very proud owner of my very own newf this December!!!!!
By aoife
Date 13.11.02 22:44 UTC
sorry did not see the date on this thread, wonder why it has become active topic, sorry, tina
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