Terms & Conditions

This document details our Terms and Conditions.

By accepting our services and/or purchase of goods you are contractually agreeing to Castle Veterinary Groups Terms of Business as printed below.

 

OPENING HOURS

Monday – Friday8.30am to 6.30pm

Saturday8.30am to 3.00pm

SundayClosed

Consulting times by appointment only

 

OUT OF HOURS

The practice provides its own out of hours emergency cover at and from the premises  Pennygillam Industrial Estate, Pennygillam Way, Launceston PL15 7ED

The emergency number is 01566 772211

 

There is staff on the premises weekdays from 7.00am until 11pm. At other times the on call duty vet will care for inpatients and will assess the level of attendance on the animals needs (the use of remote monitoring will also aid this).

 

FEES

All fees, consumables and drug charges are subject to VAT at the current rate.

Professional fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case and according to the drugs, resources, materials and consumables used. Details of our fees are available on request and a detailed invoice is generated and issued for every consultation, procedure or transaction.

Whenever possible we can give you an estimate of costs (not a quotation) of treatment but this will only be approximate as variations and complications may arise resulting in further costs incurred.

Out-of-hour supplement fees are charged when a veterinary surgeon is called to attend your animal(s) outside of the normal surgery hours.

The supplement depends on the time of the emergency.

 

PAYMENT TERMS

Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your pet or upon collection/ordering of drugs/diets etc.

We reserve the right to charge a late payment fee of 2% per month on balances remaining unpaid 7 days after the date of the invoice.

Non-payment after 60 days may result in court action, incurring additional administration charges which will be added to the total debt.

Overdue accounts, after due notice to you, will be referred to a debt collecting agency if satisfactory repayment arrangements have not been made with ourselves and all costs incurred will be passed to you.

Any cheque which you issue which is returned unpaid, any credit/debit card payment not honoured any cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in your account being restored to the original amount together with any fees incurred in the process.

Failure to comply with payment terms may result in you no longer being able to have credit facilities with the practice. All treatments will then have to be paid for at supply of goods and services or veterinary care will be withdrawn at our discretion.

 

METHODS OF PAYMENT

Our preferred method of payment is by Debit card or cash, Visa, Maestro or Switch.

We also accept payment by Credit card, Cheque or bank transfer.

We can provide you with banking details for you to make electronic payment through internet banking.

WE DO NOT ACCEPT AMERICAN EXPRESS

 

INABILITY TO PAY

If, for any reason you are in the unfortunate position of being unable to settle an outstanding account, or further treatment required by your animal please call the practice straight away to discuss this matter with a Partner or the Practice Manager.

Please be advised that instalments or part-payments of any accounts can only be sanctioned with express permission of the Partners.

Late payment fees will still be levied onto your account each month until the account is paid off in full.

 

DISPUTES

Any disputes with fees/services presented must be put in writing to the Practice Manager within 3 days of receiving the invoice. Where any dispute is not proven and as a result the payment is late, then overdue accounts procedure will become effective. Therefore clients are always advised to settle their account on time, and if there is a dispute this payment is made without prejudice.

 

COMPLAINTS

We hope that you never feel the need to complain about the standard of service that you have received from Castle Veterinary Group.

However, if you feel that there is something you wish to complain about, in the first instance please speak to a member of the management practice team, you should feel free to raise your concerns and ask questions, in most situations your points can be addressed and resolved in a conversation.

However, if you feel unable to do this, or this has not resolved your concerns, please email/write to us with detail of your complaint for the attention of the Practice Manager.

Please include the following, within your communications with us:

  • Keep the complaint factual.
  • Explain why you are dissatisfied.
  • Be concise in the terms of the events.
  • Be clear about what you would like the practice to do.

Upon receipt of your complaint, your email/letter will be dealt with by one of the management team and they will forward acknowledgement of your email/letter within a maximum of 7 days, along with our complaints procedure.

We will then respond to your complaint by day 14, this allows us time to investigate the issues raised and to respond to you. From time to time, we may need additional time to look further into your complaint, due to its complexity or if the staff member(s) involved are absent from work, in these circumstances we will respond within 56 days.

If we are unable to act within these time frames, we will let you know the expected time frame and what action we are taking.

If you do not hear from us by day 56, then please contact the practice, in writing highlighting this and ask for confirmation of when the response will be finalised.

It is important to remember that should your animal/pet require urgent treatment whilst your complaint is underway, you should still seek this from the practice, or if you feel unable to return, please attend another practice. Do not delay its veterinary care.

Whilst this is a difficult and at times, frustrating process, please allow the practice time to fully investigate the complaint properly. By us working together it will help us resolve the complaint more promptly.

Once you receive our response to your complaint, please follow these steps;

  • Take time to reflect and consider the response.
  • The practice will set out in some detail the reasons for their conclusions.
  • If needed, discuss the outcome with the practice and if satisfied, accept the explanation and agree for the complaint to be closed.
  • The practice will confirm the outcome in writing.
  • If you remain unhappy with its conclusion, ask for this to be referred to the Partners for further review and discussion.
  • At this point the Directors may ask to meet with you to discuss the complaint in person and in more detail to hopefully agreed to its resolution.

If after these steps, you remain unsatisfied about how your complaint was handled, please contact the VCMS (Veterinary Client Mediation Service) for all parties to enter mediation.

 

TERMINATION OF SERVICE

You can ask us to stop treatment of your animal(s) at any time.

We can stop treatment if you do not accept our advice, fail to pay your account or if we are prohibited by law from doing any further work. On termination of work we will invoice any work already done and we reserve the right to hold your animal(s) records, x-rays etc.

 

MEDICATION AND PRESCRIPTIONS 

Prescriptions are available from this practice. The fee for a written prescription is £21.00 (including VAT).

You may obtain Prescription only Medicines, category, POM-V from your Veterinary surgeon or ask for a prescription and obtain these from another Veterinary surgeon or pharmacy. Your Veterinary surgeon may only prescribe POM-V for animals under his/her care. A prescription may not be appropriate if your pet is an in-patient or immediate treatment is necessary.

You will be informed, on request, of the price of any medication that may be prescribed for your animal(s).

We can only prescribe medications of animals that are registered with our practice and have already been treated  by one of the practices veterinary surgeons. To comply with current Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons regulations we cannot supply medication or prescription without first seeing the animal.

The policy of this practice is to re-assess any animal requiring repeat prescriptions every 3 months

We ask that you give us 48 hours notice when ordering repeat prescription drugs either for collection from the practice or to be posted. All drugs must be approved by one of the Veterinary surgeons before we are authorised to issue them to you and in some cases, We may have to order the drugs into stock so please allow enough time.

All drugs are to be paid for either at the time of ordering or at time of collection.

 

TREATMENT

Subject to our professional duties as veterinary surgeons, we reserve the right to make final decisions on treatments.

We retain the responsibility for radiographs and ultrasound scans but at your request these can be forwarded to another Veterinary surgeon.

 

INSURANCE

It is your responsibility to submit claims to your insurer and to be reimbursed by them after settling our account.

If the outstanding amount for treatment is over £500 a direct claim to the practice may be made once your insurance company has agreed to the claim in principal and  it has been authorised by a Partner.

The insurance form must be signed and you will be required to pay the excess and any costs not covered by your insurance.

We are unable to liaise or negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf but we are happy to answer any veterinary queries where necessary.

Please be aware that your insurance company will request the clinical history from us so do make sure you have answered all questions on the claim or renewal form correctly with regard to any previous claims, treatments etc concerning the animal you are making the claim for.

Any discrepancies may cause a delay or rejection of your claim.

Castle Veterinary Group accepts no liability if your claim should be rejected, either in part or full and will ask that any outstanding invoices be settled in full for any veterinary treatment given to your animal(s)

 

The administration cost to complete a claim form for a new claim is £28.93.

There are no charges for a continuation claim within a 12 month period

It is the responsibility of you, the policyholder, to ensure that your insurance company settle your account promptly.

 

DATA PROTECTION

We promise to use client details only for the purpose of our business. We will not intentionally pass any details to third parties, unless specifically detailed below, without your permission. We may, from time to time send your veterinary information relevant to you. We aim to maintain your details correct on our database. You, the client, will provide us correct and updated personal information to allow us to provide our services to you. These include name, contact details, animal details, details of owners or those looking after the animals and details of any other vet the animal has been registered with.

 

OWNERSHIP OF RECORDS 

Case records, x-rays, scans and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by Castle veterinary Group. Even though a charge may be made for carrying out and interpreting the results, ownership of the resulting record (eg; an x-ray or ultrasound scan) remains the property of the practice. Upon request, copies of records with a summary history of your animal(s) will be passed on to another Veterinary surgeon taking over the treatment and care of your animal(s)

Castle Veterinary Group will hold these documents for 7 years.

 

REFERRALS

At Castle Vets we have both a Small Animal and a Farm Animal Referral policy. Should you require a referral, please ask at the Practice for further details.

 

PREVIOUS MEDICAL HISTORY

By registering as a client, Castle Veterinary Group has permission to contact your previous Vet(s) for any relevant medical history.

 

VARIATION IN TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS

No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless specifically agreed in writing by the partners at Castle Veterinary Group. Additionally no agent or person employed by or under contract with the practice have the authority to alter or vary these terms and conditions in any way.

Terms and Conditions may be revised from time to time and will be posted on the website.