Terms & Conditions
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF HILLS VETERINARY SURGERY
Thank you for trusting Hills Veterinary Surgery with the care of your pet. This document details our Practice Terms and Conditions. Please ask a member of staff should you need clarification of any aspect of these terms.
MONITORING TELEPHONE CALLS
All telephone calls to and from the surgery are recorded and used for training and monitoring purposes. By using this communication method, you are consenting to the recordings.
VETERINARY CARE
Hills Veterinary Surgery is accredited with the RCVS PRACTICE STANDARDS SCHEME and will endeavor to provide the standard of care within the guidelines of the profession.
OUT OF HOURS
When we are closed please refer to Veteris Home Visit Vet 020 4586 1496 or Vet 24, 11 Belsize Terrace, Hampstead NW3 4AX, 020 7794 4948.
CONSULT FEES
All veterinary consultations, face to face or on the telephone, with a qualified veterinary surgeon will incur a consultation fee.
CONSENT FORMS
Written consent is required on admission for any hospital procedures. It is important you provide an up-to-date telephone number as we may need to call you regarding your pets procedure.
GDPR
ZERO TOLERANCE
ESTIMATE OF COSTS
Written estimates are available upon request and are provided as part of the consent form. It’s crucial to understand that these estimates represent approximate costs and are subject to change. Hills Veterinary Clinic will make every effort to inform clients of any increases in costs that may occur during the pet’s stay compared to the original estimate.
OWNERSHIP OF XRAYS, ULTRASOUNDS & RECORDS
While charges are incurred by clients for services provided, it’s important to note that the ownership of x-rays, ultrasounds, and medical records will remain with the surgery. Upon request from the client, these records will be transferred to other veterinary surgeries as needed.
INSURED PETS
INSURANCE CLAIMS
PAYMENT METHODS
Clients can settle their account by cash, cheque, debit or credit cards. Please be aware we can only accept English sterling notes when payment is made by cash.
INABILITY TO SETTLE ACCOUNT
SETTLEMENT TERMS
Unless otherwise agreed upon in advance, all payments for fees, services, treatments, and goods are required to be settled in full on the day of the appointment before clients leave the surgery. If pets are admitted to the surgery, payment is due upon collection of the pets.
In the event that payment is not made on the day as agreed or agreed installments are not completed, an invoice will be sent for the full payment to be made. Following due notice, any outstanding accounts will be forwarded to a debt collection agency. Additional charges will be added to the outstanding amount to cover the costs of this service.
Please note that emergency treatment will always be provided regardless of payment status.
APPOINTMENTS FOR ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATES/CANCELLATION PERIOD
We require a £100* deposit for Animal Health Certificate (AHC) appointments. This deposit will be deducted from your total bill when you attend the original appointment.
However, please be aware of the following conditions:
- Failure to attend the appointment without giving prior notice.
- Not providing at least 3 days’ notice of cancellation via telephone or email.
- Providing incorrect information necessary for completing the AHC.
- Having the wrong person attend the appointment for signing the declaration.
In any of these cases, the deposit is NON-REFUNDABLE. If you wish to schedule another AHC appointment, a further deposit will be required, subject to the same conditions.
NEW CLIENT APPOINTMENTS/INCLUDING C4 SCHEME REGISTRATION FEE
For new clients, a non-refundable registration fee of £48* is required in advance at the time of booking their first appointment. This fee will be deducted from the total cost of the initial appointment. However, please note that this fee will not be offset against any fees in the event that you are unable to attend the scheduled appointment and fail to provide at least 2 hours’ notice of cancellation, whether via telephone or email.
NON- CANCELLATION FEE
DISPENSING OF MEDICATION
Veterinary Licensed Medications will typically be provided for your pet’s treatment. However, there may be situations where your veterinarian recommends the use of veterinary products intended for other species or human medications (off-licensed/off-label). In such cases, your veterinarian will thoroughly explain the reasons behind these alternative options.
WRITTEN PRESCRIPTIONS
New protocol for written prescriptions will apply from 1st August 2023. Hills will email the written prescription direct to the online company. We ask clients to order their medication from their online company as usual, and then provide Hills with the order reference number, the medication strength and quantity, and the place they ordered it from for their transactions. Clients will no longer be able to collect the written prescription from the surgery or receive this to their personal email addresses.
The cost of written presctiptions are displayed in our recption area.
RETURNING MEDICATION
The surgery will dispose of any unused medication that we have supplied. Refunds cannot be given once the medication has left the premises.
COMPLAINTS
We at Hills strive to offer a good service to our clients but if there is any issue you wish to raise, please direct any complaint or comment in writing to the Practice Manager, practicemanager@hillsvets.co.uk Acknowledgment of your letter will initially be made while further investigations are carried out. We hope a final reply will be made within 14 days, but this may be longer depending on the staff involved.
Reviewed & Revised 06/03/2024 P Sabino
*Deposit payments correct at time of reviewing.