Vets Bill Grumble - Beware check insurance.

ExpressPrincess

ExpressPrincess

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You may have read my other posts - Sadly had my mare PTS following an accident on Monday - got the invoice today and I’m quite shocked! (This is luckily for me the first time i have had one of my own horses PTS and never really knew all the costs involved)

Bill:
£108 call out (vet arrived at 9.15am but classed as emergency call out plus out of hours as i called before 9am so 1 x £50 and 1 x £58!)
£7.20 for the needle and syringe!!!
£5.60 for the cannula!
Domosedan injection (sedative) £15.50,
Somulose injection (PTS medicine) £102.90
Disposal (simplest cremation as required by DEFRA) £370.20

Total £610.20 :(

I’m quite upset as have not only lost my lovely mare but almost all of her insurance money will be used up to pay a the bill, I have death cover but somehow don’t have any cover for disposal so that’s all my expense and she was only insured for £700 as policy would not let me update my purchase price unless i had a vetting again or so much time had elapsed blah blah, so won’t have the money to look at replacing her without saving up again. Why on earth is it so expensive to do the right thing there was no other options available to me vet got within 10 foot of the horse saw the leg and went straight back to her car and returned with the injection! :( Also I can’t believe i have even been charged extra for the needles you would have thought it would have been an inclusive price! That makes another crappy day this week was really hoping bill would be under £500.
 
Firstly, I am sorry for the loss of your girl, it is a difficult thing to go through, secondly, a lot of people don't realise that death and disposal costs are separate, sadly when my friend's horse had to be pts and i saw what she went through I made sure all my horses have it included in their policy. I hope it all works out for you.
 
I had a similar shock when my bill arrived for my old horse. I agree that there should just be a PTS fee, mine included fees for sedation, local anaestetic, canula, examination, sumulose and a 'last services to horse' of £51, plus the disposal - total of £514. This was added to the two previous days that she was poorly which made a grand total of £1200.

I was not happy as I think she should have been pts on the first day and the mounting costs should have been pointed out at the time. Not everyone wants/can afford to pay that much out for a 25 year old pony.

She was not insured and I ebayed everything/cashed in gold/had money for xmas to pay that bil. I asked f there was discount for cash and was told no so I paid on my credit card, got the Tescos points and then paid it off with the cash.

There is no getting away with it but vet bills are expensive and add up very quickly without explanation.
I do wonder if my vets have a competition to see who can make the most money each day.
 
Thanks Guys - I think my point is that surely to have a horse PTS should be one of the cheapest treatment options, DEFRA enforcing the cremation is also a pain in the bum (could have had her buried at my house if not!) bit dodgy to try and get a 15.1hh horse in under the pet clause although I’m sure people can - at the time arguing it was the last thing i wanted to do. Vets are being good SO FAR as I’m with KBIS (interestingly they would have not waited for payment via E & L!!!) but have said they can wait a bit for payment to try and give insurance claim time to settle.
 
I am so sorry that you lost your horse.

Thank-you for posting this as a friend was only telling me the other day that she doubts she can afford to have her old mare pts due to the high costs. She said that she doubted the hunt could use the mare as she is on meds. I hadn't realised how expensive it is. This is no doubt why sick ponies are being abandoned. It is a very sad situation.
 
i had mine old boy pts in janurary this year, the whole of my bill came to about £250-300 including disposal, i choose the cheapest option not because i am callus or a cheap skate but as far as i am concerned once the dead was done then the horse i knew was not there. his body was taken away for rendering, i did not want any ashes back etc.

this was and is my personl view, everyone is different
 
Sorry about your horse but don't pay the emergency callout. A vet not starting til 9am is ridiculous.

Please, it's a hard lesson to learn so let this be a lesson to you all to have the numbers of the local hunt/ knackerman/pet crem whatever you want to use in your phone and never rely on the vets to do it because they will put a mighty premium on their bill as OP has found out. Yes, it's a horrid thing to have to think about but if you're prepared it makes it so much easie, trust me. Ask your knackerman/crem/hunt whatever what their charges and services will be BEFORE you need them that way, even if prices have gone up a bit in the meantime, you are prepared for the costs.

OP, I've been with KBIS for years and they've always been very quick at settling claims so fingers crossed it'll be the same for you.
 
Maesfen said:
Sorry about your horse but don't pay the emergency callout. A vet not starting til 9am is ridiculous.

Please, it's a hard lesson to learn so let this be a lesson to you all to have the numbers of the local hunt/ knackerman/pet crem whatever you want to use in your phone and never rely on the vets to do it because they will put a mighty premium on their bill QUOTE]

I agree with this entirely, I would pay the bill minus the OOH call out, that is bang out of order.
Also having recently lost one of mine, and he died at a P2P so he was taken away by the hunt, TBH I thought I would be hysterical about this but it actually makes far more sense and now I would actually have the hunt take any of mine, especially one that had enjoyed a good days hunting.
Sorry for your loss :(
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Thanks everyone, The trouble with out of hours thing was i called a 8.00am ish but vet did not arrive until 9.15am ish so i made the call at an out of hours time but did not receive the services until they should have been open anyway, would not know where to start with arguing my case. I agree if it had have been planned i would have made the arrangements myself and got quotes but as it was i did not know where to start and it just seemed easier (cremation was as part of a group with no return of ashes by the way!) was removed by Anglia Fallen stock agency.
 
So sorry to hear about your horse.

Thank you for bringing up the point about disposal not being included in most insurance policies - most people are not aware. Also, the vets usually have no influence on this fee, most just arrange it on behalf of the client.

As for the OOH/emergency fee - we split ours so there is an out of hours fee for calls taken between 5.30pm and 8.30am, and an emergency fee which is billed regardless of the time of day. This is because if a vet has to 'drop everything and run' then invariably there is a list of calls that have to be rearranged and these usually run over into after hours.
 
HingeFarm, so sorry for your loss, you are going through such a horrible time, and to get this bill on top is just awful.

Thank you for posting this, I have been trying to find out different disposal options, but noone seems to talk about it. There is lots of information about how to have your horse PTS, but not a lot on what to do with the body.
 
Thanks to all who have replied im glad people have found it helpful :) I will be paying the whole bill, I think the vet did a good job and although its expensive (and was a huge shock) I do think my horse had a humane end.
 
Soo sorry for you loss! and Glad it all went smoothly. i am vet nurse and I think it would have been better if they didn't itemise everything so specifically for you, ie the syringe and need are pence,so they should have just included that in the Euthatal bill! The crematorium/disposal fees, are steep, BUT in our practice we have no mark up on that, so the vets are probably being charged a fair wack for that.. The sedative is horrendously expensive, the dog one (domitor) we charge £1 per 0.1 of a ml! Not sure what price the Domisedan comes in at, but can guarantee its very very expensive, i guess they wanted to sedate so it went really smoothly

Bloomin animals don't have break out hearts don't they XX
 
So sorry you have had to go through this.

We had our old mare put down this spring by the local knackery (they have a very good man who is excellent at his job) the total cost including taking the body away was just under £200 (she was shot at home)

If we had hunt keels up here, which we don't, they would be our first choice.
 
Oh and we gave her an oral sedative, Sedoline, we arranged for the knackery man to ring us 1/2 hour before he came so we were organised. They are very good about emergencies too.

I think it is sometimes wise to have a friend stay with the horse or you and the horse, I can cope with other folks horses but my own do upset me.
 
Hi Hingefarm, so sorry you have lost your horsey :(

Unfortunately I think you bill is pretty consistent to what most surgeries charge for these things. Having said that £7.20 for a needle and syringe seems pretty dear! I agree with Devonshire dumpling, they should be pennies! Also cannulas or catheters are nearer £20. A lot of vets also charge fees for doing things so your Domesedan may also include a sedation fee (basically paying the vet to actually inject your horse...) The Somulose I'm not so sure about, for an average sized horse they normally use 50ml (2 bottles) and I think they are about £35 each... but then again maybe there was a fee added on top!!

So sorry again about your horse, it's not cool when this happens and then you get a whacking great bill on top of it too :(
 
It is a terrible blow to have to lose our beloved pet and then fork out a small fortune afterwards so I think it is worth setting up a bit of savings account as they get older to help things a bit. I know my elderly neighbour had her cat put down last week and that cost over well over £300 because he'd had a scan or X-ray first for diagnosis. I might have to press my Tesco credit card into action too - I quite like the idea of the old bat actually earning me some money for once in her life.
 
So sorry to hear you've had to go through this. I had to have mine pts week before last. Awful experience and bill came in at £153 for pts and £400 for disposal. I have always used the hunt til this occasion, but horse was so chipper and jolly it just didnt seem right to do it that way.

Fortunately I get his value back and he was insured at £1500 so it will cover it and some of the vet bills that let up to it, but I wasn't covered for disposal. Will probably include that next time in case it happens to me again.

So sad. I'm really sorry for your loss. :(
 
I too am sorry for your loss, but I don't think your bill is too expensive - horses are expensive animals. The only part of the bill that is steep is the disposal. I would probably want to check that the vet has not added something on to the real cost. It seems at least £100 over the top for a cremation where you don't get the ashes back.
 
I had to have my old timer PTS by my vet in May. Call out Saturday, bute given and more left with me, call out MOnday (bank holiday) to PTS as horse in a lot of pain and no chance of improvement. We 'disposed' on our own property. Total vets bill Euro 98. Horse went peacefully and with dignity. Can't believe the costs some of you have been charged in the UK!:confused:
 
That is expensive even by Uk standards though. Standard cremation with no ashes back in our area was £220 + VAT. Somulose is very expensive everywhere (and not used in Ireland where Euthatal is still the main drug - v cheap!). OOH is fair enough IMO. I would perhaps have expected a consulation/examination/PTS charge but perhaps it is included in the somulose charge - seems as if it is. However a dignified end for your horse is priceless.

In Ireland, most call out charges are minimal and euthatal is used instead of somulose - this greatly reduces the cost and if you bury the animal on farm (which is probably illeagal) then no disposal charges.
 
I'm assuming the vet had to set out before 9am to get to you by 9.15am? If so there has to be a cut off time for ooh and normal working hours are 9am to 5pm, many equine vets I know would class that as their working hours.
As for the rest of it, the reason they do an itemised bill is because most people given a bill of 620 will come back and ask what that was made up of.
£7.20 for the needle and syringe!!!I don't see what the exclamation marks are for? The materials used need to be included in the final fee.
£5.60 for the cannula!
Domosedan injection (sedative) £15.50,
Somulose injection (PTS medicine) £102.90
Disposal (simplest cremation as required by DEFRA) £370.20
All as above, materials have to be paid for. It's unfortunate but the final act in our horses lives can be expensive, I am sorry for your loss. Was that your only disposal offered?
 
Firstly im very sad of your loss .However do you guys not have a local knackerman .It may not be pallatable for a lot of people but the humane killer is not only cheap but more effective than any injection..Your local hunt will advise on the local knackerman .i
If the knackerman isnt to your taste please dont moan about a vets bill as vets tend to be expensive.If you were to actually see what it costs when you go and see your local doctor for an ailment people would soon realise that vets are comparativlly cheap where healthcare is concerned.
 
Firstly O/P, I'm so sorry for your loss. It's beastly, isn't it?

I have 2 mares who will be put down, when their foals are weaned, and within the next month, or so. Our local knackerman will charge me £160 each, and the bullet is free.

I don't mean to make light of your situation, but were I unable to do the job myself, then a competent slaughterman would be my next suggestion.

I would most certainly have a word with your vet, ask that he looks again at his bill, and if he refuses, then point out to him that your equine work will be done elsewhere, in the future. Assuming that he's done your previous work, and for your horse, the charges for the final act of kindness, could be reviewed, I'd say.

Alec.
 
So sorry for your loss.

I had my mare PTS 8 yrs ago and it was more than you paid without the cremation although it did include treatment for colic. The vet was with me about 2 hrs and she charged for the time. I cant remember how much but it was a lot. Im sure it was about £800 for the PTS, colic treatment, time, call out etc then I paid seperately direct to the crem, which was about £350 for a shared cremation.

Sadly theres not much you can do in situations like this, the horse needs to be PTS and you need to dispose of the body, your head is all over the place and you do what you need to do and get the shock of the bill later.
 
If the vet arrived after 9.00 - then you did not have an emergency call out - regardless of the time of the phone call.

The rest of the bill seems spot on.

Really sorry that you have lost your mare ((((( )))))
 
Faithkat said:
I would also query the charge for the Somulose: a 50ml bottle is around £43. The vet probably used 50ml and I know they charge 100% mark-up on drugs but trebling the price????
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Vets are allowed to charge whatever they want too and 300% profitt isnt unnormal .Your local slaughterman will have a set price and a quote will be given before any work is carried out .A vet doesnt have to do this .
 
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