Green Door Vets Ltd. Is registered in England and Wales with registration number 10934884 The registered office is 10 Victoria Road South, Southsea, Hampshire, PO52DA
This document sets out the terms of the contract established between Green Door Vets Ltd. and yourself which comes into being when you register your animal with our veterinary practice or ask us to provide veterinary services.
Should you have any queries regarding any aspect of these terms of business please do not hesitate to ask us for further clarification.
Our Services
The Practice conforms to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (“RCVS”) Practice Standards and all of our veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses (“Veterinary Staff”) are subject to the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct.
We may need certain information from you so that we can carry out treatments on your animal and provide the veterinary services. We will contact you to ask for this information. If you do not give us this information within a reasonable amount of time of us asking for it, or if you give us incomplete or incorrect information we will not be liable for any delay in carrying out a treatment or other veterinary service or any injury or death caused to an animal as a result.
Consent
As part of the ongoing treatment of the animal, our Veterinary Staff will recommend treatment plans and courses of action to promote the animal’s welfare. Wherever possible, we will obtain your consent before undertaking any procedure or course of treatment and require you to sign and date our consent form (“Consent Form”). The Veterinary Staff will discuss possible treatment options before you sign the Consent Form or give consent.
In exceptional circumstances, our Veterinary Staff may need to provide emergency treatment (“Emergency Care”). In the event Emergency Care is required, practice staff will take reasonable steps to contact you to obtain your prior consent but you acknowledge and consent that we are authorised to take all such steps as the Veterinary Staff reasonably believe are necessary to promote the welfare of your animal and that you will be responsible for the costs incurred in taking such steps, whether or not your consent has been obtained. We will provide you with full details of the treatment provided as soon as is reasonably practicable.
Prescriptions
Prescriptions are available from the Practice. You may obtain prescription only medicines, Category V (“POM-Vs”) from the Practice or ask for a prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or a pharmacy. We can only prescribe POM-Vs for animals under our care. A prescription may not be appropriate for an in-patient or where immediate treatment is necessary.
The Practice will advise you about prescription charges (“Prescription Charge”). Prescription Charges are 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.
We require at least 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 the Practice cannot accept the return of any prescription drugs as such items cannot be resold however we can assist with the safe disposal of medication that is no longer needed, further details are available from our Practice staff.
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.
Payment
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.
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.
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.
Liability
Nothing in this agreement shall limit or exclude either party’s liability (a) for death or personal injury caused by their negligence, (b) for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) for any other act, omission, or liability which may not be limited or excluded by law.
If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach of this agreement or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable.
We only supply products to you for domestic and private use and we will not be liable for business losses.
Data Protection
We take our responsibilities under data protection legislation seriously and have in place policies, procedures and security measures to look after your data. Please see a copy of our privacy policy, available from Practice staff, for full details of what personal data we collect and how we use it.
Client and clinical records, and other similar documents (including, but not limited to, digital imaging results), are and shall remain the property of the Company. Copies of clinical records may be passed to another veterinary surgeon on request should you move surgeries.
The care given to your animal may involve making some specific investigations; for example taking radiographs or performing ultrasound scans. Even though we make a charge for carrying out these investigations and interpreting their results, ownership of the resulting record, for example a radiograph, will also remain with us.
As part of our ongoing commitment to the development of the veterinary profession, from time to time the Practice may share anonymised data with research institutions. Please talk to our Practice staff for further information.
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 clinical director will then investigate your complaint thoroughly.
Insurance
We strongly support the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents.
Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurer. Green Door Vets is not a party to that contract and cannot guarantee that your insurer will accept a claim or pay any particular amount. Our role is limited to providing relevant clinical information, invoices and other factual information required to support your claim.
At your request, and subject to our agreement, we may assist with an insurance claim and ask your insurer to pay the insured amount directly to Green Door Vets. Our agreement to process a direct claim does not transfer responsibility for our fees to your insurer. You remain personally responsible for the full amount owed to Green Door Vets until we have received cleared payment.
You must tell us as early as possible and, except in an emergency, before treatment begins if you would like us to consider a direct insurance claim. You must provide complete and accurate policy information, any claim forms or declarations required, and any other information reasonably needed to process the claim. You must also complete and sign our Direct Insurance Claim and Client Liability Agreement.
By asking us to process a direct claim, you authorise Green Door Vets to communicate with your insurer and to provide relevant clinical records, invoices, estimates and other factual information reasonably required to assess and administer the claim.
Acceptance of a direct claim is at our discretion and may be subject to verification of your policy details, confirmation that your insurer accepts direct claims, any required pre-authorisation, and payment of any deposit or contribution requested by us.
Insurance claim administration fees The following administration fees apply:
- Initial direct insurance claim: £39 including VAT
- Continuation direct insurance claim: £8 including VAT per subsequent submission
An initial direct insurance claim is the first submission made in relation to a particular condition under a particular policy and policy period.
A continuation direct insurance claim is a subsequent submission of further invoices or treatment costs relating to the same condition, policy, policy period and insurer after the initial claim has been submitted. Where more than one invoice is included in the same continuation submission, one continuation fee will apply.
A claim relating to a different condition, a different insurance policy, a different insurer, or a new policy period requiring a new claim will be treated as an initial direct insurance claim and charged at the initial claim rate.
The initial claim fee and continuation fee will not both be charged for the same submission.
The applicable administration fee must be paid before we begin preparing or processing the relevant submission. Administration fees are non-refundable once processing has begun and remain payable whether your insurer accepts, partially settles or declines the claim. Your insurer may not reimburse these administration fees.
Amounts payable by you:
Before treatment, discharge or submission of the claim, as reasonably required by us, you must pay:
- the applicable insurance claim administration fee;
- your policy excess;
- any percentage contribution or co-payment;
- any known exclusions or non-covered items;
- any amount above your policy limit;
- any known or anticipated shortfall;
- and any deposit or payment on account requested by Green Door Vets.
You remain responsible for any amount not paid by your insurer. This includes any shortfall resulting from policy limits, exclusions, pre-existing conditions, deductions, co-payments, excesses, cancellation or expiry of cover, inaccurate policy information, or any decision made by your insurer.
You must respond promptly to requests from Green Door Vets or your insurer for information required to process the claim. A delay or failure to provide information may result in us ending the direct-claim arrangement and requiring payment from you.
Declined, partially paid or delayed claims:
If your insurer declines the claim or pays only part of it, you must pay the outstanding balance in full within seven days of our request.
If your insurer does not acknowledge the claim or provide a substantive response to our reasonable communications within 30 calendar days of the claim being submitted, and no information remains outstanding from Green Door Vets, we may notify you that the direct-claim arrangement has ended. You must then pay the outstanding balance in full within seven days of our request.
An insurer‘s failure to respond within 30 days does not prevent you from continuing to pursue reimbursement from the insurer yourself.
If we receive payment from your insurer after you have paid some or all of the outstanding balance, we will credit the payment to your account or refund the relevant amount to you after deducting any other sums owed to Green Door Vets.
Claims not accepted for direct payment:
If you do not tell us before treatment that you wish to request a direct claim, do not provide the required information or authorisation, or we do not agree to process the claim directly, our fees will be payable by you in accordance with our normal payment terms. You may then submit the claim to your insurer and seek reimbursement yourself.
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. We endeavour to come out to your home at your convenience but we ask that you call the surgery in the morning so we can arrange this around other duties. There is an additional charge for a home visit. You will be provided with an estimate of fees when calling to book a visit.
Out of hours care and hospitalisation
We have provisions in place to provide emergency care for outside normal surgery hours. In circumstances where this is provided by a third party operating from our premises, any fees incurred during the out of hours times will be payable directly to that third party. Further details concerning the precise arrangements for emergency service are available in the practice