Colic

Spottyappy said:
That is quite shocking / upsetting with the RVC, especially as you need to make a partial payment upfront, if I recall correctly?
infact, I had to chase them for my bill,as the finance department weren’t working as it was the Christmas holidays when I picked my girl up.
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I paid £1K deposit on arrival

I have transferred the whole amount in two instalments and haven't had an actual invoice yet!
 
ycbm said:
Have I read that right? RVC are threatening to sue you before the horse has even got home!?!?


They should have checked you had the means to pay before operating, not threaten to sue you now. That's disgusting :(
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Yes that's right. He is due to come home tomorrrow. I have transferred all the £ in full -and with no invoice !
 
When I arrived they asked for 1K deposit.. My partner paid this on his credit card.

today they asked me to pay as much as i could in full, they didn't wan to do a payment plan.

Tried over the phone - my bank rejected it - later i found out because my phone was not working and being reparied and the two factor authentication was not able to work for that reason

I said I could pay on line RVC said that it woudln't go through in time and it had to go through in the next two hours ( they rang at 10am - I am workingfull time)

I then rang my bank who said I had to go in to pa y i t and that my card
had expired, even though the card clearly hadn't according to the data. I cancelled work meetings, drove to the bank, they said there was no need to cance the card (!) and processed the bill and gave me a receipt.

When i got a new phone I saw mssage from RVC at 4pm saying they hadn't received the money. Then i loogged on my emails with threatned court precedings! then I spoketo somoenen there and they said they woudl check on Monday. BUt I haven't even been sent an invoice. It seems ridicoulous
 
rextherobber said:
I think that is quite shocking behaviour from the RVC, absolutely the last thing you need. Hopefully it will turn out to be a computer glitch and it was sent out to everyone - how can you pay a bill that you haven't received?! So pleased your lovely boy is coming home!
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Sadly not, it was clearly sent by the person who I spoke to on the phone. I will be putting in a formal complaint. It's just soured things a bit, but yes let's get him home! x
 
I think that is disgraceful re RVC. You just don't threaten proceedings like that. I suspect they made a mistake and sent the wrong email. Well, I hope they did and that it is not standard practice there?

Glad your boy is so much better
 
I'm frankly appalled at the way you have been treated. However, for now, just concentrate on getting him home and settled and try and relax around him - difficult I know!!
There will be time for sober reflection and the composing of letters to RVC and your bank (and maybe the phone company?) in due course but I am afraid it is the way banks make their money by delaying on the transfer of funds so that they can earn overnight interest. I don't think RVC have any excuse from the way you have explained the situation and I would be very interested to hear their side of the story!!!!!
We need pictures of him when he is home please!!!
 
They can't threaten to sue you when they have not presented you with a written itemised bill ! I'm not sure that's even legal, it borders on harassment and it certainly wouldn't stand up in a court dealing with debt. It's a disgusting way to behave.
 
I too am horrified at your treatment by RVC. I can only imagine how you felt, at a time of stress, when at work, being threatened that if you don't do something unreasonable, without an invoice etc... beggars belief!

If they feel that tight they should set up a daily itemised bill and payment, rather than give you just a few hours on a working day.

I do hope they offer a huge apology, and the lady on the phone is 'retrained' for future clients!
 
They said there might be more to pay but that’s what they had on their system...yet expected me to pay. It wasn’t about ability to pay for me it was the way this has been handled. So I have in good faith, after the faff with the bank, paid based on the figures they said despite no invoice which they said they couldn’t provide until checking with the vet so basically until my horse had been discharged then..I even rang them while I was at the bank to check the details. They said as I didn’t ring back at 2 as I said they got concerned - and then at 4 sent this notification of proceedings!
When I first arrived at RVC I had to provide two numbers - my phone broke so the vets rang on the other but the finance people just left a message on the one I couldn’t access which I only picked up at 4. It all seems a bit full on given I haven’t even picked him up yet or had an invoice! A few weeks down the line then maybe. I then emailed over screen grabs of to show I had transferred the money and the receipt the bank had given me. They rang back saying it just says pending. I said well what do you want me to do you call me this morning I go to the bank you can see the money is going! I can’t make the bank do it any quicker it is a Friday! So they said they will confirm money has been received on Monday ( the day on the letter they said they’d start legal action). I am looking forward to getting him obviously but this has just left me even more wiped out.
 
cheekywelshie said:
They said there might be more to pay but that’s what they had on their system...yet expected me to pay. It wasn’t about ability to pay for me it was the way this has been handled. So I have in good faith, after the faff with the bank, paid based on the figures they said despite no invoice which they said they couldn’t provide until checking with the vet so basically until my horse had been discharged then..I even rang them while I was at the bank to check the details. They said as I didn’t ring back at 2 as I said they got concerned - and then at 4 sent this notification of proceedings!
When I first arrived at RVC I had to provide two numbers - my phone broke so the vets rang on the other but the finance people just left a message on the one I couldn’t access which I only picked up at 4. It all seems a bit full on given I haven’t even picked him up yet or had an invoice! A few weeks down the line then maybe. I then emailed over screen grabs of to show I had transferred the money and the receipt the bank had given me. They rang back saying it just says pending. I said well what do you want me to do you call me this morning I go to the bank you can see the money is going! I can’t make the bank do it any quicker it is a Friday! So they said they will confirm money has been received on Monday ( the day on the letter they said they’d start legal action). I am looking forward to getting him obviously but this has just left me even more wiped out.
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Firstly, there is no court in this land who would give you any such conviction in this situation. You haven't even got an invoice for goodness sakes. I now it is a work, but please don't think you will end up with a bad mark on yips credit history, they are bluffing in a twisted, cruel way.

I'm not even sure why they would do that. Is the lady acting solo, in an over zealous way?

I would definitely do a formal complaint. It is harassment, stupid of them. I would complain high up too.
 
That's dreadful behaviour from the vet hospital. I think you have every right to complain. You wouldn't pay any other complicated bill without seeing an itemised invoice. Plus they must be aware of the utter stress that a horse owner will be going through following colic surgery. The legal letter is just ridiculous in these circumstances.
Hope pony is continuing to make a good recovery and is pooping for britain x
 
Great news that he has done so well!

I would suspect that the notice of proceedings part is maybe included as standard on all emails regarding payment. Sadly, it is probably also a reflection of the issues vet hospitals face with unpaid bills - nowadays clients are so bad at paying bills that it is standard practice to expect payment in full before the horse leaves the hospital. Bristol vet school equine hospital recently closed because of lack of funds - equine hospitals in general can't afford to have unpaid bills. I'm sure you are in good faith OP, but I myself have had clients that I trusted and would have said would absolutely pay their bill the next day/week, who then turn around and months later still have unpaid bills in the £1000s+. Such is the nature of the job, often the vet will not have had time to finalize the invoice prior to collecting payment, and it's not uncommon that payment is taken prior to an invoice being sent out - if I'm busy with patients, I'm not going to have time to sit in front of a computer and do billing, that has to wait for the evening when I stay late instead of going home. If you have paid the bill I wouldn't worry about it, and know that the finance department are probably just jaded by the fact they spend their life chasing unpaid bills.

I think if you want to send a quick email pointing out that it was a little alarming re notice of proceedings thats fine. But I speak from experience here - nothing is more disheartening as a vet than putting your heart and soul into a case and then having an owner complain, because even though it's nothing to do with the vet, it still ends up the vet's problem.
 
Paying in good faith a not insignificant amount without even seeing an invoice, even one in progress, - where else would that happen? I signed a form saying I am liable. If they are that concerned then surely asking for half the amount a few days before he goes or more up front rather than pressuring me to sort several thousand pounds in a matter of hours when I’m at work (basically I now owe work an extra day) and then threatening court proceedings hours later is not good practice. I don’t normally transfer such large amounts on my account so no doubt it flagged up warning signs at my bank as well (perhaps why it is pending). I didn’t feel it was handled well professionally at all and has left me with a dim view(not of the vets themselves obviously) and emotionally and physically wiped out. Finance need to have a better system in place to support the vet and the client because at the end of the day I am a client and paying £9, 200 for a service if we look at it in the cold light of day.
 
Now I have my phone back I can see
a message from last Monday. Obviously I didn’t get that til now because the phone was broken but then I left two numbers on arrival in the paperwork and the vet has been calling me daily on my partners phone, the second number . Finance must know the vets talk to me on a regular basis and I had to list two numbers when I arrived but they didn’t try me on the second. So they would think I hadn’t returned their call and I can understand concerns there but surely they must talk to the vet to get updates on treatment and cost and know the vets talk to me every day.

Regardless I still think it’s no excuse to not provide via email some sort of invoice and a bit extreme to issue a warning over court proceedings at this stage.

I will post pictures when he is back.
 
ycbm said:
They can't threaten to sue you when they have not presented you with a written itemised bill ! I'm not sure that's even legal, it borders on harassment and it certainly wouldn't stand up in a court dealing with debt. It's a disgusting way to behave.
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unless laws have changed, when i was self-employed in the uk i couldnt demand when a customer paid the bill - upon invoice sent, i *think* the law covered a 30 day payment period. Only after 30 days could i then start sending reminders for payment.

I certainly couldnt demand money without sending a fully itemised invoice!
Im shocked to hear this about the RVC of all places. To just threaten court proceedings without invoice, or payment reminders is bully behaviour. Considering the industry they’re in, where they’re dealing with customers who are emotionally tested due to pet illness....it’s hardly good customer support to become financial vipers once the pet has been signed off.

Also, considering cases like colic, which are hugely expensive and unforseen, i’m shocked they don’t automatically have payment plans in place. Not everyone can afford to immediately pay 5k+ vet bill. Just awfully inconsiderate all round on the financial front.

I hope the move of your boy goes well cheekywelshie.....focus on him....deal with them later once he’s settled! Youve got enough on your plate!
 
Fantastic to see you both home!

Murphy88 said:
Great news that he has done so well!

I would suspect that the notice of proceedings part is maybe included as standard on all emails regarding payment. Sadly, it is probably also a reflection of the issues vet hospitals face with unpaid bills - nowadays clients are so bad at paying bills that it is standard practice to expect payment in full before the horse leaves the hospital. Bristol vet school equine hospital recently closed because of lack of funds - equine hospitals in general can't afford to have unpaid bills. I'm sure you are in good faith OP, but I myself have had clients that I trusted and would have said would absolutely pay their bill the next day/week, who then turn around and months later still have unpaid bills in the £1000s+. Such is the nature of the job, often the vet will not have had time to finalize the invoice prior to collecting payment, and it's not uncommon that payment is taken prior to an invoice being sent out - if I'm busy with patients, I'm not going to have time to sit in front of a computer and do billing, that has to wait for the evening when I stay late instead of going home. If you have paid the bill I wouldn't worry about it, and know that the finance department are probably just jaded by the fact they spend their life chasing unpaid bills.

I think if you want to send a quick email pointing out that it was a little alarming re notice of proceedings thats fine. But I speak from experience here - nothing is more disheartening as a vet than putting your heart and soul into a case and then having an owner complain, because even though it's nothing to do with the vet, it still ends up the vet's problem.
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TBH, I am surprised anyone can try to defend this. Ringing at 10am for payment at 2pm, with no invoice and no one actually knows the amount owed...

May be good vets, but not good at peopling. I thought that the office staff were supposed to be the link. It is such a stressful time. Yes, ask for the money, but demanding it with threats of court action is dismal, with 4 hours' notice.
 
Red-1 said:
Fantastic to see you both home!



TBH, I am surprised anyone can try to defend this. Ringing at 10am for payment at 2pm, with no invoice and no one actually knows the amount owed...

May be good vets, but not good at peopling. I thought that the office staff were supposed to be the link. It is such a stressful time. Yes, ask for the money, but demanding it with threats of court action is dismal, with 4 hours' notice.
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I was surprised by the defence as well. This is a big hospital and the only way they know how much to ask for is that as the vet or other carer does the work each day it is input to the system, and the system provides the sub total, or total, which was demanded from CW.

And since it has already been input, it is a small matter for the accounts clerk issuing these obnoxious and frankly legally insupportable threats to have attached the itemised bill, which in my experience will list every bandage and syringe used. They must then give "reasonable" time to pay before issuing court proceedings, which is not 4 hours.

If that wasn't the case, and the accounts clerk held a finger in the air to guess how much the bill was, then that would have been equally as bad.

It was indefensible behaviour, surely?
 
Going up later to do a late check on Jetboy. Looked into getting a camera but with no wifi I'm not sure it will work in terms of remote viewing!

Can I just say again how much this thread has meant to me over the last two weeks, it has kept me going, no two ways about it.

And I know Covid might prevent it but depending on the restrictions - if anyone is local enough and wants to come and visit my brave boy then please do!!! Come for a hand graze and a cup of tea! We are based just North of Milton Keynes - just send me a PM, I and am sure Jet would love to see you! Just drop me a PM.

Much love and thanks to you all xxx

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Im so glad you have been able to get him home. Cameras, look at reolink go. they work with no wifi. costs £4 a month on a data only sim card. It does work! you can either take home to charge up or get a solar panel. They are easy to set up and use.
 
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