Extras on a vet bill

exracehorse

exracehorse

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Not impressed with Catley Cross Vet. Received the invoice today. Ok ... agree I have to pay for the call out. Agree pay for the equine exam. That’s 100 pounds already. Agree to pay for the sedation. Agree the drugs. BUT, have been charged for every thing the vet done. i.e 40 pounds for vet to put hand up his bum. Surely, the equine exam is to determine what’s wrong with the horse. That’s what I’m paying 50 pounds for. If you had a lame horse the exam would be to see what’s wrong. Study of the legs. Trot up etc. You wouldn’t be charged extra for that on top. Was charged 33 pounds to be given electro lights. Which I’ve agreed to. A hand up the backside which took all of 1 minute does not warrant a charge on top of the payment for the examination. I’ve previously had a call out for an injured eye. Paid call out and exam plus cream but not a further charge to look at the actual eye. So, why is this any different? Or am I missing something!!
 
PS I told her he was colicky when she arrived. A rectal is surely part of the paid examination to find out what’s wrong with my horse.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I would speak to the practice manager and ask what is the difference between the rectal examination and the 'exam' which you have also been charged for.
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Just rung them. Waiting for manager to call me Monday. The girl I spoke to said it’s extra to find out what’s wrong with the horse. I.e a rectal. Just seems like a money making scheme. I’m going to argue this one.
 
exracehorse said:
Just rung them. Waiting for manager to call me Monday. The girl I spoke to said it’s extra to find out what’s wrong with the horse. I.e a rectal. Just seems like a money making scheme. I’m going to argue this one.
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I would, too, what's the £50 exam for - to tell you what colour it is?
 
My previous vet practice had an extra charge for a rectal examination on top of the usual examination charge. They also charged to "examine" horse before she was PTS despite her seeing a vet from the practice a month earlier and it being on her notes that euthanasia had been discussed and agreed when she deteriorated any further. They also charged £40 (this was 14 years ago) to adminster catheter for PTS drugs. They are a reason they are my previous vet practice.
 
I know vets are highly trained blah de blah but they really do sometimes take the piss! And it's usually with the cost of drugs - no one ever questions the cost of drugs but you question why you need to pay £40 for 10 minsof stitching and then the needle and thread on top of that etc. But you never question the cost of drugs. My vets tried to charge me £150 for 2 bottles of Depocilin. They would be buying them in in bulk for £5! I could buy them online for £10 each! No need for the vets to charge 7x as much!
 
I struggled to get the price of a very expensive 'tonic' taken off my bill after the horse was pts. The bottle had been put out , on the day of the pts callout but never been collected I fell out with that practice, many years ago, over over-charging and incorrect billing and didn't use them for years.
 
It might be that you pay a flat fee for a consultation/examination and the start being charged for procedures.

A rectal exam to find and remove blockage becomes a procedure and it is now the norm to be charged for it, the glove and the lubricant!
 
My vet charges for everything individually, so a rectal exam would be on top of the initial examination. This makes sense to me because why would someone who had extra examinations pay the same as someone who doesn’t.
 
I was with Catley Cross for years and, although i did have to query some charges now and again, I found them to be always ready to listen and either fully explain the reason for the charge in question or remove it. I had brilliant vet care from them for my old boy.
 
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It's well worth speaking to the practice manager or a senior partner about this. A few years ago vet was called out to my horse, he was examined & treated. That was fine but vet came back out to see another horse on the yard. After treatment she spoke to me & asked how my horse was, I said fine see for yourself. She looked over the stable door, chatted with me, agreed he was fine & then left. A few days later I got a bill from the vet for the visit & examination??? I got on the phone & was seething, it was sharp practice at best. I spoke to the senior partner & he agreed that I shouldn't pay the bill. Apparently this vet had tried it on with a few clients, the vet left the practice.
 
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GoldenWillow said:
My previous vet practice had an extra charge for a rectal examination on top of the usual examination charge. They also charged to "examine" horse before she was PTS despite her seeing a vet from the practice a month earlier and it being on her notes that euthanasia had been discussed and agreed when she deteriorated any further. They also charged £40 (this was 14 years ago) to adminster catheter for PTS drugs. They are a reason they are my previous vet practice.
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i had exactly the same. The vet came to put gelding to sleep after long-standing lameness issues, yet I was charged an additional examination fee which was a 20 second trot up.
 
Toby_Zaphod said:
It's well worth speaking to the practice manager or a senior partner about this. A few years ago vet was called out to my horse, he was examined & treated. That was fine but vet came back out to see another horse on the yard. After treatment she spoke to me & asked how my horse was, I said fine see for yourself. She looked over the stable door, chatted with me, agreed he was fine & then left. A few days later I got a bill from the vet for the visit & examination??? I got on the phone & was seething, it was sharp practice at best. I spoke to the senior partner & he agreed that I shouldn't pay the bill. Apparently this vet had tried it on with a few clients, the vet left the practice.
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that’s terrible
 
teddypops said:
My vet charges for everything individually, so a rectal exam would be on top of the initial examination. This makes sense to me because why would someone who had extra examinations pay the same as someone who doesn’t.
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But, for instance, when my horse hurt her eye. I paid for the call out. The examination of the eye. The eye cream. I wasn’t charged for her to examine the eye as an extra. So, if vet is presented with a colic horse and the charge is 50 pounds to find out what’s wrong with him, then why am I being charged nearly same again for a rectal. Same as a lame horse. I’ve never been charged for a trot up. It’s part of the examination fee. That’s what I’m trying to justify. Have no problem with charges to give electro lights as it’s time consuming. But that’s a charge after the exam. When vet says your horse has colic and this is what I need to do
 
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exracehorse said:
But, for instance, when my horse hurt her eye. I paid for the call out. The examination of the eye. The eye cream. I wasn’t charged for her to examine the eye as an extra. So, if vet is presented with a colic horse and the charge is 50 pounds to find out what’s wrong with him, then why am I being charged nearly same again for a rectal. Same as a lame horse. I’ve never been charged for a trot up. It’s part of the examination fee. That’s what I’m trying to justify.
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Because not all horses with colic require a rectal exam. Horses who do, get an extra charge for the extra procedure. Going with your eye example, my pony had a sore eye. She was examined - charge for this, vet said an ulcer but wanted to stain eye to see the extent of the ulcer - charge for this, eye ointment - charge for this. I wouldn’t expect to have the same bill as someone who didn’t have the staining procedure.
 
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teddypops said:
Because not all horses with colic require a rectal exam. Horses who do, get an extra charge for the extra procedure. Going with your eye example, my pony had a sore eye. She was examined - charge for this, vet said an ulcer but wanted to stain eye to see the extent of the ulcer - charge for this, eye ointment - charge for this. I wouldn’t expect to have the same bill as someone who didn’t have the staining procedure.
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So you paid for an eye examination of the horse plus extra to actually examine the eye which was the actual call out in the first instance?
 
Two different things though, eye - single organ to examine, colic, multiple organs to check not all of which might need checking. I've never had a rectal on a colic and I'd prefer it to not be included in the general exam fee (which would be the alternative) and for those who do need one to be charged for it separately.

I read it that TP said they had initial eye exam, then another exam under stain, two bits to pay for, normal practice, same for smalls, not a horse thing fwiw.
 
I
exracehorse said:
So you paid for an eye examination of the horse plus extra to actually examine the eye which was the actual call out in the first instance?
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You seem to be missing the point. I paid for an eye exam which would be the same exam every horse with an eye condition would have. The vet wanted to further examine the eye to see the extent of the ulcer using dye. Not every horse would need one. So yes I paid for that too because it was a secondary examination. Not sure I can be more clear.
 
I queried the cost before on a vets bill.

I got a second opinion from a different vet practice, vet came out and examined, said he wanted to come back to do x rays. I asked how much would this be as insurance had run out, so I needed an approx amount. He told me the amount which I agreed and then I called the office to book the appointment, on the phone I stated "vet told me £xyz for pricing so just checking that is correct" she responded yes and the appointment got booked. Vet came did x rays, confirmed Horse was no longer suitable for riding. Got my bill couple of weeks later for almost double what I was told. I called the practice and said I won't pay that and will only pay what I was quoted. The vet called back and said "vet wasn't privy to our conversation!" I told her not only did vet tell me a price, so did the lady in the office when I booked, I told them to listen back to their calls (I knew they had recorded calls as my company sold them their telephone system :p) She called back half hour later and said "how about we call it £xyz" which I was happy to pay.
 
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