Is there anyone you can complain to about vet surgeries? Firstly, our 15 year old border collie was rushed to the vets and they treated her for three days before telling us that it was best to put her to sleep. Bless her, she was old and her legs had given way so we took the vets advice . We were so distressed that the vet said don't worry about payment yet just pop back later. My dad didn't go back until the next day as he couldn't face going back there on the same day and the receptionist who is also the claims officer, told him that he should of paid the day before. The bill was for £1500. A few days later, my cat was rushed to the vet with what we now know was a blood. We gave the same receptionist our details who gave us a funny look then when to speak to the vet. She came back and said 'as it is an emergency, the vet has agreed to treat your cat but on the condition that you pay today as you left your payment for a day when your dog was put down.' This made my mum very angry who replyed and said that it was just a business who only care about money (which it is, a chain of vets in southern england who charge the earth) to which the receptionist replyed 'put it this way, i don't go to tesco and walk out without paying for my food- thats exactly what you are doing'. This is all while i had my dying cat in my arms which was screaming in pain. Then the vet came and got us and took us into the treatment room which is right next to reception. The cat then took a turn for the worse and she rushed it out to put him to sleep as it was in such a state she didn't want us to see it like that. In her haste, she left the door open. Me and my mum were literally screaming because we were so upset at losing two animals in a week and this receptionist was laughing away at something with a friend who had bought her dog in for something. As we had left our house in a rush, we had no means of paying and they haven't got an account with our insurance company so the receptionist said that they would only give us our dead cat back when we pay. Thankfully, the kind nurse had already wrapped him up and given him to me so we just walked out. My mum and dad have been with the same vets for 30 years and have paid every bill and we have all our animals insured and while i had my dying cat in my arms she said this. Can you imagine someone saying that in a funeral parlour? All we wanted was a bit of compassion. We are going to make an appointment with the head vet who is back on tuesday after a holiday but we dont just want an apology from him. I wouldn't wish that woman on anybody.

So sorry to hear that you've lost 2 pets in such a short time.  After the experiences you've had I would advise one thing - Change your vet !
There's no excuse for the way you've been treated and they don't deserve your custom.  Hope you can find somewhere more caring.

You could try writing to the BVA and putting your concerns in writing. Even if you change vets it will alert them to what has happened and they might be able to warn the practise how to deal with things a bit better next time to save other clients going through a similar experience.
I am very sorry about your loss. Having just had surgery on one of my dogs I know just how you feel.
Take Care. Remember you gave your best to your beloved pets

what a awful woman :(
id write a letter to the vets if i was you.
its not all vets at mine the receptionists are lovely.
in the meantime id have a good look around at some other surgeries,so you know of your options if you decide to move.
so sorry to hear of your loses,
from a fellow BC fan

So sorry to hear about your losses.

I had 2 bad experiences with the same vet. The first instance was one like yours, where I had to put my cat to sleep and I was in such a state, he was only 4 years old and the receptionist asked how I would like to pay. As you can imagine at this time, I was in tears. I asked if I could deal with it in a day or 2 and was told 'No. The 2nd instance was I thought another cat was pregnant, could he confirm it, his response was and this is word for word 'She's not pregnant, she's just bl**dy fat, put her on a diet'. I took his word for it thinking he knew best but 3 weeks later she had kittens. I was so angry, I was giving her less food, when she may have needed either the same or more. One kitten died.

I complained to the Royal College of Vetinary Surgeons, not that they did anything, but at least the acknowleged my complaint.

I changed vets straight after the kitten fiasco and have been with the most fantastic practice for the past 9 years.

Hi...
sorry to hear about your losses :-(

if people dont care about animals and their welfare then why on earth do they bother to get jobs that involve animal care etc

Sorry to hear about your losses. The last thing you need at those moments is a person with no feeling.
Agree with previous reply. Change your vets. I would certainly complain about this receptionist/nurse. If she's like this with everyone else then I'm sure there will have been other complaints. She shouldn't be working there. I would speak to the head vet. Go along when your feeling calm as reliving the incidents are going to upset you. If you are not happy with what he/she has to say then tell them you will be taking it further.
Take care of yourself. You've had a horrible time.

i dont know how you didnt hit her... i think i would have done but then im bad tempered lol... No seriously though change vets asap there is no way you should be treated like that, our vet is great and the receptionists and nurses are all really nice too

http://www.rcvs.org.uk/HomePage.asp?NodeID=89614
You report them here.
Dawn.

sorry to hear about your losses and I think you'd be well justified to make a complaint.  When we had our 15 year old lab put down last year we were told by the vet not to worry about payment but just to leave and not even to stop at the reception on the way out.  They then sent us a bill about a week later.   You need a bit of compassion at a time like this.
sarah x

its out of order but that what this cuntry is coming to. gimme gimme gimme

Friends of ours had similar problems with their vet, they changed, their new vet treats the animals first then sorts out how to pay the bill afterwards, even if it takes 6 months to pay, they still go ahead and treat the animal.

im sorry to hear what you had to go through. i worked in a vets as both a receptionist and then a vet nurse/assistant. as a policy we never even metioned payment when a customers animal had to be put to sleep.

we used to wait for a week and send the bill out with a symphathy card with a loverly poem in it. giving the owners a chance to clear there heads.

if the coustomer mentioned payment then it was fine, but other than that we never once asked.

I had to have two dogs PTS last year & the receptionists were lovely(had my run ins with one now retired in the past there)I wanted to pay ASAP for the boy who I had PTS in normal working hours & use gave them my debit card & they never mentioned money, they also arranged for him to be collected & cremated & returned to me. The other boy was PTS on sunday evening & I went back the next day & again just handed over my card with nothing being said(they know me well so knew why I was there). They don't send out bills for pets being PTS either & I know that people are allowed to pay late for this last treatment for their pets

When I took my new puppy for his jabs they managed to fit me in on my way home from collecting him(& they are always fully booked)& I didn't know how long it would take me to get back from collecting him

The other practices in the area all expect to be paid for the treatment even pets being PTS when the work is done

I am so sorry to hear of your experience - its a traumatic enough time having to have a beloved pet PTS without being treated like this.

I work in a vets surgery and we have had a big problem with unpaid bills in the past. We now have a policy where all bills must be paid at the time of treatment unless it is an emergency or a case of a pet being put to sleep. I have found some people prefer to pay when they come out whereas others can't get out quick enough which is completely understandable. As a  rule, we send unpaid accounts out at the end of a month so if the bill hadn't been paid by then, we send one out less an account charge. There are so many people in the veterinary profession who are so heartless it makes you wonder why they do it. On the other hand, maybe I'm just too sentimental - who knows.

Even if you do change vets, I would most certainly write a letter of complaint about this woman. Perhaps suggest her employers send her on a customer care course ;-)