Livid with my Vets

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dressagecrazy

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My old boy has Danilon upto 2x sachet a day but mostly now 1 a day as he is recovering slowly from an illness in December 09, he's 25yo retired TB & suffers arthritis & other complications.

Ive been buying a box of Danilon off my Vets every month or so for the last 12 months. This box of Danilon is over £60 from the vets.

Now in this time ive had other problems with other horses so if i can save any pennys atm it's most welcome. But lets face it we all hate being ripped off.

So i found Danilon online & asked my Vet if i could have a prescription which was done 2 months after asking for one:mad:. Get prescription buy Danilon save nearly £30, great that £30 can go towards other much needed stuff.:)

Monday i go to place an order with the online company, only to be told that my prescription was a one off only. The online company offer to phone my Vets to try to authorise only to be told no they wouldnt authorise & that it was a one off prescription even by my own vet.:mad::mad: This is all despite me asking for a 6 month prescription which i thought i had been given.:mad:

I just cannot believe it i know it sounds like im mad over nothing but in the last 2 years i have spent over 8k with them & they are well aware that my horse is on Danilon & have happily let me have it when buying from them.

They saw my horse only last week so it's not as if he is not regularly seen by them.
Im very upset & annoyed by there lack of thought or effort. Obviously it was fine when i was buying direct. I now have to mess around trying to sort out somthing that should not be a problem.

Am i being ott over this are my hormones getting the better of me??
 
I don't think you're being hormonal at all. We should have freedom of choice as to where we buy prescription drugs. Vets should not be able to hold us to ransom in this way.

I am not sure how you stand on this though.
 
I also buy Danilon on line, prescription costs me £7. The prescription is valid for 6 months, but not for 6 months worth of Danilon. Perhaps this is where the confusion arose. They will only give me prescrip for one months supply at a time. Dont know if this is something
to do with them wanting to make money by selling the stuff or some legal thingy
 
I would imagine that legally they can't give you a prescription to run concurrently for six months. And would have to issue you you with a new one every time.

Instead of getting mad, why not ring them and find out what they are permitted to do in terms of prescriptions???
 
I'm not really sure what they are allowed to give you tbh but would be interested.

My vets give me a prescription for a box of bute = 100 sachets, my pony is on 1 a day so this lasts for approx 3 months. They want to have seen him within the last 6 months before issuing it (which has been okay because they have had to come out to see him for other things).

I will actually see the vet face to face next month when I need a prescription so will ask if I can have a presciption for 6 months worth of Bute this time i.e 200 sachets.
 
Vets are rapidly getting the reputation of rip off merchants in a big way.

Apart from overcharging for drugs, there is all the over prescription as well.

I think that they play on people's emotions when you're defenses are low and you are worried about your animal.

They will very often keep things alive and ticking over when they should be put to sleep.

I'm not sure about annual vaccinations for dogs and cats either, some vets say they are not required.

There is now a very unholy alliance between vets and insurance companies, I'm not sure how it works, but, nearly always the first question.

There is a thread on here about castration costs which is quite interesting regarding vet costs.
 
My pony is on pergolide, 1 tablet a day so a box of 100 last for approx 3 months. My vet usually gives me a prescription which is repeated x 2, that means it can be used 3 times, so lasts 9 months. They do stipulate that she has to be seen every 6 months though. As Amymay says, might be worth phoning the vet and speaking to them. On one occasion my vets gave me a prescription without the repeat, i.e. just for one box, when I phoned and queried they immediately reissued the ps with 2 repeats as normal.
 
I wasnt aware that you had to get a new prescription every month, i think it's something my Vet should of made me aware of as i spoke to him at length when i was making the decision to buy online.

Amymay - do not worry i phoned my Vets well before posting on here & im waiting for my vet to contact me or issue the new prescription whichever he is wanting to do. What i am Mad about is the messing around, probably by the time ive finished i will of spent the £30 i would of saved.
 
I recently had to change to a new vets practice. One of the drugs my horse takes on a permanent basis is Metacam. As she was a new patient they had to see her before they would prescribe, but then quite happily signed my prescription + 5 repeats to be sent to the website I buy it from, and said, good, that will get you the best part of a years supply. It didn't seem to be a problem at all.
 
Don't quote me but I am pretty sure that if you request a prescription instead of the drugs being prescribed by your vet they legally have to provide you with one however they can charge for issuing the prescription. They also have to examine the animal on a regular basis depending on the type of drug.

I can understand them charging for issuing a prescription as they have huge overheads to cover and if they are not chargng for the drugs or for issuing prescriptions they would have to increase everything else to make up for the shortfall.
 
Ive just sorted it, however with the prescription charge im only saving a couple of pound. I really do find it rediculous tbh, i run my own business & have to fight tooth & nail for business, i also am on call 5 days a week & don't get time off.
Yet Vets & other proffesions are able to virtually print money i don't expect things in life for free but i am feeling very ripped off these days for all things horsey not just Vets.
 
I wish I could save £30 on line, my last lot cost £44 with delivery plus £7 prescrIption, so dont think I am saving much now, used to save about £20 a box!
 
Our practice charges £45 for a prescription - this ensures no saving and you end up buying drugs from them. I have had some difficulties with steroid inhalers and what they charge for them over the summer. £110 for something I could get from my chemist for £40!

I am changing my vets however as I am working my way through a loss of use claim - the vet said he had written the letter and there was a charge for an insurance update on my bill for Sept 6th. There is no reason other than LOU claim for them to be contacting NFU as the cover for his respiratory problem ended months ago. He then came to do a routine dental on 13th Oct and said he had been "a bit dilatory" (his words) and not yet sent it!!!!! Not helped by NFU losing my file and not ringing back when I was trying to find out whether they had commenced a claim. Four weeks and a formal complaint later and it is now being dealt with. The horse is to be PTS at the end of all this so a six week delay through incompetence is adding to the distress.
 
Odd, our vets seem quite happy to match the online prices....a friends horse has bute everyday, and she had to take in a print of the price online, had to be a brit company, and they said they would match the price!
 
My vets recently charged me £15 more for a wormer then it would've cost online. I also ended up with 2 wormers, as they recommended i worm twice!..... Both were more expensive. Im such a mug!
I thought i'd be more, but not that much! Was so cross when i got the bill!
 
Some things are cheaper online than the vets can buy. Legally the practices can't buy through the online companies, they have to buy from particular suppliers. If vets are "happy" to match online prices, they are subsidising the cost of the drugs from somewhere else within the practice.

Dressage Crazy - lucky you, only on call 5 days/week. Vets have to make arrangements for 24/7/365 day cover - small animal vets have managed to set up a system that works (more or less) for shared OOH, large animal vets just have to put up with it.
 
AndySpooner said:
I think that they play on people's emotions when you're defenses are low and you are worried about your animal.

They will very often keep things alive and ticking over when they should be put to sleep.
Click to expand...

Oh for christ sake, don't be so bloody ridiculous! :mad: If you feel like that about your vet i suggest you find a new one and report them to the RCVS if you are that sure
^^^ That is NOT what the profession is about.
 
My vets couldn't price match on Norodine (it would have cost twice as much from them) but were pretty much the same for ventipulmin. Scripts are a tenner each so I factor it in and see if it's worth bothering.

I think it's a bit flippin much if they know the horse and expect the drug to be required for several months, to deny you the repeat.
 
I have spent about 10k at my vets just this summer, they have an offer on atm that have any work done and you can have your horse microchipped half price, great i thought, got them out had all the foal descriptions done and each microchipped. Got the bill only one at half price, i ring up to be told that its only meant to be for one horse owners, it says nothing of the sort on their advert for this offer, it say have any work done and get micropchips half price! I know in the grand scheme of things it works out to be £60 something difference but fgs I have spent in excess of 80k with this vet in the last 6 years, you think they could give my horses their micro chips at half price like it states in their offer! >:( *rant over*

I have been using another vet for some of my work now, so it will be their loss in the long run!
 
Wishful said:
Dressage Crazy - lucky you, only on call 5 days/week. Vets have to make arrangements for 24/7/365 day cover - small animal vets have managed to set up a system that works (more or less) for shared OOH, large animal vets just have to put up with it.
Click to expand...

Please don't be so narrow minded, you have no idea what lengths i have to go to or what i actually do. There are people out there who actually do work harder & longer hours than Vets. But unlike vets we don't have people over a barrel to be able to charge whatever.
 
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Vets don't have you over a barrel - you can always move practices - there are generally quite a lot of small equine practices around... and most of them cover a fairly large area so there is a fair amount of choice. Same goes for small animal - there's 4 in my local small town (15k inhabitants) and countless more around.

There's also very unlikely to be any price fixing going on, most neighbouring practices wouldn't be friendly enough (at partner level anyway) to get into that point - although prices will tend to be similar in the big group/franchisy things like XL vets - no idea how they're structured, but there don't tend to be that many in an area.

If a particular vet practice is too expensive, or you don't like them - move. Same as for an accountant, lawyer, private doctor or garage. They're all service industries...
 
Why didn't you ring them to get the repeate prescription? so long as they've seen the horse in the last 6 months they should be happy to give this. They may charge though.
 
AndySpooner said:
Vets are rapidly getting the reputation of rip off merchants in a big way.

Apart from overcharging for drugs, there is all the over prescription as well.

I think that they play on people's emotions when you're defenses are low and you are worried about your animal.

They will very often keep things alive and ticking over when they should be put to sleep.

I'm not sure about annual vaccinations for dogs and cats either, some vets say they are not required.

There is now a very unholy alliance between vets and insurance companies, I'm not sure how it works, but, nearly always the first question.

There is a thread on here about castration costs which is quite interesting regarding vet costs.
Click to expand...
I agree with alot of this and yes they do keep pets dieing of old age going when the kindest thing would be PTS, and on the subject of prescriptions would you willingly give away a profitable part of your bussiness ? its like the banks.. lack of real compitition keep prices high....
 
Dottie said:
Oh for christ sake, don't be so bloody ridiculous! :mad: If you feel like that about your vet i suggest you find a new one and report them to the RCVS if you are that sure
^^^ That is NOT what the profession is about.
Click to expand...

You, I'm afraid, need to wake up and smell the coffee, no matter what the profession is supposed to be about, vets like everyone else have to run a profitable buisness, and that is what the profession is about.

Some time ago an elderly lady I knew had a labrador dog. The dog was very old and because she got lots of treats and little exercise was very, very over weight. I happened to call round one afternoon to find this frail old woman dragging her dog out through the back door.

The dog had gone off it's legs and could just about right its self to defecate and urinate outside if the old woman could drag it out and back in again. This had been going on for 2 weeks, but, the vet had been very good and was visiting every other day to treat the dog and soon she would be up and about again.

The woman was upset about her dog, struggling to clean up after it and move it. She knew that her pet was finished but had difficulty coming to terms with it.

I put her dog in my car, after a struggle, it being so heavy, and took it to the practice of this 'angel of mercy' who after a very unpleasant discussion came out to the car park and administered one very large injection which killed the dog. I've seen run over strays put down with more compassion.

He told me that the dog was walking when he called yesterday, a lie. It had got worse overnight, another lie.

Needless to say his bill was massive, paid in full by return, because of course, the old lady was as honest as the day is long.

He got no more buisness from us, or anyone I could influence.

To report him to the RCVS in my view is no use, as like the Law Society or any other egotistical body which polices itself is in my view a waste of time.

Just one example of quite a few where vets are concerned, though this one always sticks in my mind as particularly nasty.

And yes, I know all vets are not the same, but a lot of this sort of thing goes on.
 
AndySpooner said:
You, I'm afraid, need to wake up and smell the coffee, no matter what the profession is supposed to be about, vets like everyone else have to run a profitable buisness, and that is what the profession is about.

Some time ago an elderly lady I knew had a labrador dog. The dog was very old and because she got lots of treats and little exercise was very, very over weight. I happened to call round one afternoon to find this frail old woman dragging her dog out through the back door.

The dog had gone off it's legs and could just about right its self to defecate and urinate outside if the old woman could drag it out and back in again. This had been going on for 2 weeks, but, the vet had been very good and was visiting every other day to treat the dog and soon she would be up and about again.

The woman was upset about her dog, struggling to clean up after it and move it. She knew that her pet was finished but had difficulty coming to terms with it.

I put her dog in my car, after a struggle, it being so heavy, and took it to the practice of this 'angel of mercy' who after a very unpleasant discussion came out to the car park and administered one very large injection which killed the dog. I've seen run over strays put down with more compassion.

He told me that the dog was walking when he called yesterday, a lie. It had got worse overnight, another lie.

Needless to say his bill was massive, paid in full by return, because of course, the old lady was as honest as the day is long.

He got no more buisness from us, or anyone I could influence.

To report him to the RCVS in my view is no use, as like the Law Society or any other egotistical body which polices itself is in my view a waste of time.

Just one example of quite a few where vets are concerned, though this one always sticks in my mind as particularly nasty.

And yes, I know all vets are not the same, but a lot of this sort of thing goes on.
Click to expand...

The very same happened to me although mine he was being treated for OCD, they said they could operate but he had arthritis in his hips too so his other legs would not carry him. After him being sent home not able to get up, the following day he had to be pts after 12hrs in agony. He was insured and on Meta cam long term. I could get it nearly £20 a month cheaper than from the vet. So I rang my insurance company and asked if they would pay if I did it online. They said NO I had to get it from my vet. To be honest I was shocked and told them no wonder the premiums keep going up and I couldn't believe why they wasted money.
 
I was thinking about going down this route, just had a box of danilon from my vets and it was about £66 I nearly fainted, it used to be bout £40.

I'm going to ring them to see how much a presctiption costs and how long it lasts etc

Out of interest what online places are you all ordering from ?
 
Its a catch 22. I am really happy with my small vets for the dogs and think that is largely to the fact that there have been times when they have been more than reasonable on the charging front which has always been a really pleasant surprise (like not charging me for the final checkup on my dogs bloody eye for the last visit) or charging me when the x rays for younger dog went off to a specialist. I have been lucky so far (touch wood) that irish boy has stayed away from the vets with the exception of swallowing a wasp. However, the old lady is back, has the onset of cushings and my first shared visit and prescription has just cost me £150. So I have been reading the posts about cheaper medication with great interest as mine will be on the equine replacement for Periglide permantly.
 
perfect11s said:
I agree with alot of this and yes they do keep pets dieing of old age going when the kindest thing would be PTS, and on the subject of prescriptions would you willingly give away a profitable part of your bussiness ? its like the banks.. lack of real compitition keep prices high....
Click to expand...

Not supporting all vets, some of the stories on here re prolonging life are horrific, but regarding your last para - it was before vets charged for prescriptions that my practice first suggested i could get pergolide cheaper from a chemist. So yes they did willingly give away a profitable part of their business.
 
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