Average vet call out fees????

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bluemoon123

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Rather unfortunately had to have vet this week to treat ponio - nothing too serious, thankfully. What size bill should I be expecting - vet call out fee plus week of bute treatments? I'm in SE Eng.
 
ive just sent a ranting letter about call out fees as mine were a joke...in total my call out was £65!!
35 for the call out and 30 for the vet to give advice...I wonder if a vet would just stand there, treat the injury and then go...of course not...they are going to speak to you arent they, so I believed this to be a complete con....wasnt happy about it and havent had a bill from them for 3 months now....actually sending cheque tomorrow to them...not happy about it though....
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They will likely charge for examining the horse too
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I have a similar bill that was: callout - £27, weekend premium £10, examine horse £33. Bute is about £1 per sachet unless you buy loads.
 
Recently had similar to you, call out, examination and 8 sachets bute, total bill £70, broken down approx £33 call out, £30 examination and £7 bute. I don't have a problem with this, to me the call out covers travelling time and expenses and the examination fee is just as it says. I recently had a new part fitted to my cooker, chap was here far less time than the vet and the total bill came to £75. I think people sometimes forget that they are paying for a professionals time as well as years of training when they call a vet.

Sianiloves robbie - £50 for a weeks bute
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, surely that included advice/examination fee. Bute is around £1 a sachet.
 
My vet is a £30 call-out (divided between the number of horses he sees), which is not bas as we're 15 miles from the surgery; examining a horse is a minimum fee £15.90 or if it's more than a short job, on a time basis.; a box of Danilon (equivalent of 60 sachets of Bute £37 - all plus the dreaded VAT of course.
 
I had the vet out on Friday night for Tara (she's totally fine - mild RAO attack). Will phone and pay it tomorrow and I'm imagining it'll be a £70 call out plus her Ventopulmin medicine.

It's a London vet so I am expecting not to be buying my rubber flooring this month LOL
 
Why on earth is that a con?


OP.Call out fees will vary for different reasons, including datsnce and obviously weekend calls are more expensive than weeday cal outs.
 
My vet travels about 35/40 miles to me (although I'm usually fitted in when she is around the area) and I pay £40 for call-out. Worth every penny as I don't get on with my more local vet practice!
 
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35 for the call out and 30 for the vet to give advice...

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Our cal out is £50, remember that will incude VAT!
If you want to rant at anyone, rant re VAT on veterinary bills and medicines.
A garage mechanic , plumber or electrician would cost you more!
 
I think one of the biggest problems is that there does not appear to be any standard fees. It depends what vets you are under as to what your bill will be. When you actually compare bills between various practises there are huge discrepancies in the fees charged. This in itself causes alot of ill will. If more call out/treatment/advise fees were standardised then there would be better vet/customer relations.
 
Apart from the illegality of setting a "standard fee" (think Competition Commission) such an idea would never be acceptable to Veterinary Surgeons. Expecting a practice with an all singing all dancing hospital, numerous staff on call and an on-site lab to charge the same as a "one man band" working from the back of their car is a bit like asking a top QC to take cases and charge the same as a journeyman barrister. For almost everyone in the UK they have a choice of vet and the market keeps prices competitive.
 
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