Terms and Conditions

This document details our Practice Terms and Conditions. By accepting our services and /or purchase of goods you are contractually agreeing to Hird and Partners LLP Terms of Business as printed below.

 

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 examination, 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 being incurred.

Out of hours fees are charged when a Veterinary Surgeon is called to attend your animal(s) outside the hours of 08.00-17.30.

There are occasions when we incur costs on your behalf, such as tests performed at specialist laboratories and these will be invoiced to you on return of the results.

In giving instructions, either in person or by someone acting on your behalf, for an animal to be treated, you will be responsible for those charges.

 

PAYMENT TERMS

Accounts are due for settlement within 14 days of the invoice date.

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

Any cheque you issue which is returned unpaid, any credit/debit card payment not honoured and 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 our payment terms may result in the withdrawal of our veterinary care, 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 (with the exception of American Express), cheque or bank transfer. Our bank details can be found at the bottom of your invoice for making an electronic payment via your bank.

 

NEW CLIENTS

Details, including relevant medical history, will be obtained from the previous attending Veterinary Surgeon, with your confirmation.

 

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 either a Partner or the Practice Manager. Please be advised that instalments or part-payment of any accounts can only be sanctioned with the express permission of the Partners.

 

DISPUTES

Any dispute 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, our 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 AND STANDARDS

We hope that you never feel the need to complain about the standard of service received from Hird and Partners LLP. However, if you feel that there is something you wish to complain about, please direct your comments in the first instance in writing to the Practice Manager.

 

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 request a claim form from your insurance company, complete and sign your part of the form and provide it to us. It is advisable at this point to give your authorisation to your insurance company, to enable them to discuss your policy with us if required. If the insurance form is signed so payment is made direct to this practice, you will be required to pay the excess amount and any costs that will not be covered under the terms of your policy.

We will be able to liaise/negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf. 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 forms correctly with regard to any previous claims or treatments concerning the animal you are making the claim for. Any discrepancies may cause delay or rejection of your claim. Hird and Partners LLP accepts no liability if your claim should be rejected, either in part or full and will ask that any outstanding invoices are settled in full for any veterinary treatment we have given to your animal(s).

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

 

INSTRUCTIONS

In certain situations, we understand that requests will be made by persons acting on your behalf. We will require your express permission to discuss your account/animal(s) or take instruction from anyone other than the account holder.

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 within our terms or if we are prohibited by law from doing any further work. On termination of work we will invoice you for any treatment already carried out and we reserve the right to hold any records/xrays for your animal(s).

 

MEDICATION AND PRESCRIPTIONS

Prescriptions are available from the practice and are chargeable.

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 a POM-V for an animal under their care. A prescription may not be appropriate if 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 for animals that are registered with our practice and have already been treated and/or inspected by one of our Veterinary Surgeons. To comply with current Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) regulations, we cannot supply medication or prescriptions without first seeing the animal in question.

The policy of this practice is to re-assess any animal requiring repeat prescriptions every six months and you will be charged the normal examination fee. This is to comply with Government legislation and therefore cannot be avoided.

We ask that you give us at least 24 hours notice when ordering repeat prescription drugs, either for collection from the surgery or by post. All drugs must be authorised by one of the Veterinary Surgeons before our reception staff are able to issue them to you and in some cases, we may have to order the drugs into stock, so please leave enough time.