am i right to be a bit cross

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happyhacking:)

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my mare was admitted to Rossdales for weight loss examinations a couple of weeks ago and i got the bill today.:mad:

I made it very very clear to them when i dropped her off that there was a maximum of £1000 for the investigations and other costs as that was what was left of the insurance money. The bill has come in at £2300!! :mad:

They have also charged me for steroids that i took there for her!:mad:
 
A bit cross? I'd be furious! I'd definitely straighten them out about your steroids right away but unfortunately unless you put the price limit in writing I can see you having difficulty there I'm sorry to say. Do you remember the name of the person you spoke to initially? That might help you. I'd definitely argue it with them but be prepared for them to say they knew nothing about your limit. Good luck, and let us know how you get on.
 
I took a 2 year old filly in to a Newmarket vets practice a few years ago with what they decided was a virus, she wasn't eating. She went in on the Friday and I was asked if she was insured, (no) I deliberately told them I was not prepared to spend loads of money and after two days I said to the vet nurse that one sure way to cure it was lead shot. When I got called up to the accounts office my bill was printing off, I was told it would be about £200 to get her scoped when she went in, not expecting her to have to stay so I doubled it in expectation. It came to £1200 and then they said that as they hadn't been able to pinpoint he exact problem they would grant me a credit of £400, still a bigger bill than I'd estimated, and no result. I think some of these vets practices do try it on a bit sometimes! I'd be inclined to stand your ground over your bill and see what they say?
 
im not 100% sure if i had it in writing or not ( i sent her with loads of info and it may be in with that) but i defo had a conversation with the admitting vet witnessed by both my mate and the guy who transported there stating clearly that it was not to go over the £1000 mark.

My concern with making a big deal out of it is that she is due to go back in next month for surgery so i have to continue dealing with them.
 
I think regardless of whether you had it in writing or not, you told the admitting vet not to exceed a stated amount. They should have therefore called you to discuss if it was going to cost more.

Don't worry about 'causing a fuss' if you have to deal with them in the future. Vets always have clients that are funny with bills - not saying you're being funny (you have every right to be cross with them!) but I mean they are used to bill disputes and stuff, it shouldn't alter how they deal with your horse in the future.
 
Mmm, tricky one as the surgery alone would take you sailing past £1,000.

How do the costs break down, and how long was she there for?
 
I would be paying the £1000 straight away and disputing the balance with them, not that you wont necessaily get away without paying it, but certainly not for the steroids and the rest at the very least they should take in instalments, probably with a discount for not following your instructions.

They have put you in an unfair position, you arent disputing a bill after blithely acting like you were Mrs Moneybags but were clear and upfront with them. Ideally the limit would have been in writing but at least you have witnesses that it was understood.
 
My advice would be to not go in all guns blazing - ask to speak to the admitting vet and let him know that a mistake has been made regarding the steroids, remind him about your request for a £1000 limit and politely say that you are aware that mistakes can happen, and you would appreciate it if he could look into it for you. I think you will get far more joy if you play "Mrs reasonable" and say, "someone has made a mistake please could you help me sort it out." people do make mistakes, give them the benefit of the doubt rather then being cross and i am sure you will have more chance of sorting it out. (i have learnt that this technique works really well from experience)
 
When she was admitted did you not sign a consent form with an estimate of her treatment? It's more and more standard practice with vets and it does help in such cases.
Other than that I don't have anything useful to suggest - very difficult position to be in hope you get it sorted.
 
I would dispute it with them straight away and follow it up with a very strongly worded letter to the head of practice.

I have done it before - albeit for less money and with my regular vet - and it ended with the conclusion that if I had been advised by my vet that my upper limit was all they would go to then they had to stand by it, I only paid what was agreed for me to pay.

I wouldnt be worried about her having to go back in after kicking up a fuss, your within your rights to do so!
 
I would ask for a meeting asap with the head of practice. Is it written down on the consent form anywhere ?

So sorry, must be such a shock - if that happened to me and insurance wouldn't cover it, I'd have to sell the car.

Hope you get it sorted.
 
I was very naive when one of mine went there when he was found in the field with a very deep wound to his knee. I was told he might have to stay a couple of days, but he ended up staying 3 weeks! Coincidentally the bill came to just short of £5000 - the limit for my vets fees on my insurance. Everything possible was billed for, including every pair of gloves the vets used. Horse still needed dressing changed from wound for a month after he left, so lots of visits, plus the injury to his knee happened on a Sunday, so the original vet call out wasn't cheap. Final costs almost £8000. And this for my 'cheap field companion' I had only had 3 months!
I wish more had been explained to me at the time. I'm not disputing his care and appreciate vets have to recoup their costs, but I wonder if things might have been different if I hadn't said I was insured.
 
CeeBee said:
I was very naive when one of mine went there when he was found in the field with a very deep wound to his knee. I was told he might have to stay a couple of days, but he ended up staying 3 weeks! Coincidentally the bill came to just short of £5000 - the limit for my vets fees on my insurance. Everything possible was billed for, including every pair of gloves the vets used. Horse still needed dressing changed from wound for a month after he left, so lots of visits, plus the injury to his knee happened on a Sunday, so the original vet call out wasn't cheap. Final costs almost £8000. And this for my 'cheap field companion' I had only had 3 months!
I wish more had been explained to me at the time. I'm not disputing his care and appreciate vets have to recoup their costs, but I wonder if things might have been different if I hadn't said I was insured.
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Well it is the first question vets ask " are you insured" I don't insure because I have too many horses for it to be economic and also I have personally misgivings about putting horses through things like colic surgery so would not go that route if it happened to me.
I always question the cost at every stage I always now explain to vet that I take an economic desision about treatment.this really freaks some of them.
I would be very annoyed in OP's shoes but £ 1000 does not go far now a days and in her shoes I would have tied down exactly what they where doing and why the the costs of all the options and the likely outcomes but I have learnt to do this because I pay the costs myself .
I am not above writing down what the vets say on this in front of them to concentrate their minds if the horse has been referred by my vets to someone I don't know.
You must raise it Op but I am not sure how far you will get with it.
 
its quite a complex situation that im in

my mare became ill back in feb and in april was referred to Rossdales to the dermatologist as she was covered in sores note eating well and was constantly getting infections but most of all she was extremely itchy. She was spending about 90% of the day rolling on the floor itching. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and treatment began with steroids.

Last month having gotten the itching under control she was still not gaining any weight as she was barely touching food. Bearing in mind she was on steroids (which usually increase appitite) this was a huge concern. The specialist who had previously seen her was convinced that she had some internal disease going on that was triggering the autoimmune disorder. So she arranged for her to have tests done to see what was going on. At time of admission i made it clear to them how much was left of the insurance money and that i was not prepared to spend more than the £5000 of the insurance. £4000 had been spent so left them with £1000.

What they discovered is wrong is actually that she has arthritis in a joint under her tongue. every time she moves her tongue she is in pain hence the not eating. So the solution is to remove a section of bone that attaches her tongue to the joint and then a) she will no longer be in pain and b) there is no risk of the joint becoming so badly damaged that it breaks causing her to loose her balance as said joint is located in the 3rd ear.

This problem is completely unrelated to the autoimmune disorder so should be able to be made under a completely separate claim. But if it had have been in the gut it would not. The tests on the gut in themselves run up to over £1000 and that was before they even looked at the joint in the mouth so regardless of the fact that it can and will be made into a completely separate claim they had still gone over the agreed limit.:mad:

Well done if your still with me. :D
 
amymay said:
How was your bill broken down?
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Consultation 1 £237
Ultrasound 1 £213
Endoscopy 1 £174
Digital Radiographic fee £138
X ray Plates £214
Take biopsy aspirates £92
Glucose absorb test £158
Sedatives £20.84 + £14.81
Bute £26.88
Prednisolone £22.62
Cytotex £185.47
Disposables £4.62
CMM General profile £75.60
Glucose absorb test £46.80
Endo test 1 £45.60
One test biochem £22.20
Fluid Cytology £22.20
Histology £45.90
Clinical waste £8.89
Board day 1 £35.7
Board day 2 53.320
Board day 3 78.30

Totaling £1937.27:mad:
(other 400 odd is last months consult ect)
 
Ok, so out of that £1937.27 you need to ask what was done as an addition to a 'routine' examination of your mare to find out what the problem was - and why you weren't contacted prior to carrying out those tests to determine if you were happy for them to proceed (in order for your bill not to exceed the £1000 you stipulated).
 
Apologies, I may have got a bit lost!

The bill that runs over £1000 relates to investigations into weight loss? And they then realsied the problem is the arthritis in the jaw? Surely the insurance company should consider the £1000+ charge as part of the new condition, as they were not treating the auto-immune disorder, they were investigating the new problem.
 
I would be furious. You stated quite clearly how much they were to spend, they didn't contactyou via to going over this limit, so they are effectively breaching your trust.
If you took a car to the garage, and told them to not go over a certain limit, they would ring you before they did the work.
I would be having serious words, and telling hem I would not pay until it was sorted. I have done this before, and go through my bills very carefully, consequently, they tend to get it right first time now!
 
Elbie said:
Apologies, I may have got a bit lost!

The bill that runs over £1000 relates to investigations into weight loss? And they then realsied the problem is the arthritis in the jaw? Surely the insurance company should consider the £1000+ charge as part of the new condition, as they were not treating the auto-immune disorder, they were investigating the new problem.
Click to expand...

Oooo nice one Elbie:D
 
amymay said:
Oooo nice one Elbie:D
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Lol thanks Amymay. The benefits of having working for an equine insurance company!

It happens quite often. Its all part of the investigation - as long as the vet can say in their report "we initially thought it was xxxxx and so did this, when tests we inconclusive we did xxxxxx and now we have diagnosed xxxxx" they should count that all as one and then there will be no issue of running over the vet fee limit for the auto-immune disorder. If the vets can justify their actions it should all be ok.

By the looks of what they billed, don't see how the insurance company can say you horse was in for auto-immue problem
 
Not for a horse, but I was charged for surgery of an animal which died before it had the surgery and cremation of the animal. I offered to bring in the remains of the animal buried in my back garden and told them where they could shove their bill with the appalling service. They never pushed for the money as had also misdiagnosed after several previous paid visits - never used them again.

Be very careful on defining limits without it being in writing, but yes I'd write a letter to someone high up at the surgery with the name of the person who you told it wouldn't go over £1000 to and their response. Word politely with all the facts.

Pan
 
As someone who deals with bad debts for professionals at work I would advise the following.

Contact them immediately, do not delay, otherwise it looks like you are trying to wheedle out of paying. Be pleasant and reasonable, it may be a mistake, give them chance to resolve it. Pay whatever charges you accept as soon as possible, if things go further you will be in a much stronger position if you can say that you have paid the parts of the bill you don't dispute on time.

I would suggest phoning initially but then confirming what you have said in writing so that there is a record.

I would also ask for a copy of their complaints proceedure so that you are aware of any timescales and don't inadvertantly miss anything.
 
happyhacking:) said:
Board day 1 £35.7
Board day 2 53.320
Board day 3 78.30
Click to expand...

Sorry for the ignorance, but is this usual to vary?

My only guess is that it means they can see less other horses the longer yours is in and to discourage people leaving for an extra day of rest or arranging transport? Just wasn't aware of a steady incline in vet boarding?

Pan
 
if the guy who transproted her is independent as in a transporter not a friend or acquaintance then if they are willing to state they heard what you said that will hold more power than your friend being there. However i agree with elsbie speak to the vets as if it is a new condition then you should ahve full fees left rather than the left over from the auto immune disease. Go nicely rather than angry and you are likely to get further.

Also noted the increase in livery charges thats not a steady increase thats my weeks livery rate that they add for each day
 
Have just spoken to them. They are not going to charge me for the steroids and they are going to look into the board costs as my mare was sent with all her feed and wasn't given any bedding due to the risk of her eating it when she was being starved. So they are going to look into it with the view to reducing those costs.

Not really sure how they can justify such high charges for the board though.

Have also spoken to the vet in charge of the case( funny how they are available when money is spoken of but when I wanted info on my mare whilst she was in their care she was uncontactable). She said that she was viewing it as a separate claim from the start as apparently it was obvious from fairly early in it was not driving her autoimmune disorder so was a separate claim.
 
Oh and the guy who transported her is a retired vet who is friends with people at Rossdales would put him in a difficult position really
 
I have had a similar problem with vets before. They also decided to operate on my horse without me knowing he was there, or having consented to surgery.

Unless it was emergency surgery, I now make sure that fees are discussed with the vet first, and then backed up in writing. Either via letter, or fax.
 
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