Terms and Conditions

Wensleydale Vets Limited. Is registered in England and Wales with registration number 12345761. The registered office is Wensleydale Vets Limited, Wellesley House, Main Street, Hawes, DL8 3QL. We are a VAT registered company, number 345874760.

This document sets out the terms of the contract established between Wensleydale Vets Limited and yourself which comes into being when you register your animal with our veterinary practice or ask us to provide veterinary services.

 Should you have any queries regarding any aspect of these terms of business please do not hesitate to ask us for further clarification. 

Our Services 

The Practice conforms to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (“RCVS”) Practice Standards and all of our veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses (“Veterinary Staff”) are subject to the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct. We may need certain information from you so that we can carry out treatments on your animal and provide veterinary services. We will contact you to ask for this information. If you do not give us this information within a reasonable amount of time of us asking for it, or if you give us incomplete or incorrect information we will not be liable for any delay in carrying out a treatment or other veterinary service or any injury or death caused to an animal as a result. 

Consent 

Our veterinary staff will advise treatment and/or courses of action to promote the animal’s welfare. Wherever possible, we will obtain your consent before undertaking any procedure or course of treatment. Usually this will be a consent from which will require you to sign and date. In some circumstances, verbal consent from yourselves will be documented as ‘informed consent’. Prior to consent is given we endeavour to discuss all possible treatment options.  

Consent in an emergency situation 

Should your animal need emergency care, practice staff will take reasonable steps to contact you in order to obtain consent, however in unusual circumstances we may need to provide Emergency care for your pet in order to promote the welfare of your animal prior to us being able to obtain your consent. You will be responsible for the costs incurred in taking such steps, whether or not your consent has been obtained. We will provide details of the treatment provided as soon as reasonably possible.

Prescriptions 

Prescriptions are available from the Practice. You may obtain prescription only medicines, Category V (“POM-Vs”) from the Practice or ask for a prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or a pharmacy. We can only prescribe POM-Vs for animals under our care. A prescription may not be appropriate for an in-patient or where immediate treatment is necessary. The Practice will advise you about prescription charges (“Prescription Charge”). Prescription Charges are applied only when you request a prescription but go elsewhere to have the prescription filled.  Animals requiring repeat prescriptions will need to be re-assessed periodically by the veterinary surgeon dealing with the case so that the animal can be deemed ‘under our care’. 

The re-examination interval will vary between clinical cases but we request animals be re-examined at least every 6 months. 

We require at least 48 hours’ notice for any requests for a repeat or written prescription. There is a charge for a re-examination, details of which will be provided on enquiry.

The practice cannot accept the return of any prescription drugs, however we can assist with the safe disposal of medication that is no longer needed. Please contact us for more information. 

Estimates 

All surgical operations will be given an estimate which can be emailed to you or given verbally.

All estimates given are only approximate, and the final fee could be higher or lower than this estimate depending on complications during treatment and patient response to treatment. We will endeavour to contact you as soon as we have reason to believe that the costs could be significantly higher than the estimate. 

Fees 

All fees for services and prices for goods (including food, accessories and drugs) are subject to VAT at the applicable rate (currently 20% for standard-rated items). Prices for goods are shown at the point of purchase. A full fee breakdown will appear on your invoice. Fees for services include our professional fees in respect of the veterinary services provided along with the cost of any drugs, materials or consumables used in the provision of the services. 

Payment 

All animals must be registered with the practice prior to use of our services. 

Small animal clients must pay for all goods (including drugs) at the point of purchase. You must pay for all services as they are received. You will be advised exactly when payments are due depending upon the nature of the services that we provide to you but you should expect to make payments at the end of each consultation and upon the discharge of your pet from our care. In the event that your pet is hospitalised we may require part payment in advance of any period of hospitalisation and/or stage payments for longer periods of hospitalisation. If your pet is hospitalised we will try to phone you each day to discuss the progress of your animal and the fees incurred once the veterinary surgeon has completed their morning rounds. 

Farm and equine clients will be expected to settle their accounts as soon as possible or before the next calendar month (prior to the 1st of the next month) 

Small animal clients will be requested to pay at time of treatment (unless treatment exceeds £300 and there will be a direct insurance claim which has been verified. )

Failure to pay in accordance with the practice policy may result in the cessation of further services. If you become unable to pay your account according to the standard terms, this must be discussed with the veterinary practice as soon as possible. If you do not pay your invoice when it falls due we shall take such action as we consider appropriate to recover our fees which may include engaging third party debt collection agencies to recover the outstanding fees and/or instigating proceedings against you in the county court. In such cases, any costs levied by the debt collection agency will be added on to the outstanding balance owed by you and/or we will seek to recover any legal expenses from you. Please note that the use of debt collection agencies and the county court could affect your future credit rating. We shall be entitled to suspend the provision of any further goods and/or services until you have paid any outstanding sums in full. Where we consider it appropriate to do so we may require payment on account before goods and/or services are provided.

Payment can be accepted cash, debit/ credit card, or BACS transfer. 

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Please note that if an animal / farm  is registered with our practice we will assume that any person other than the registered owner who may request our services and treatment is duly authorised by the registered owner to do this. The registered client/farm will be liable for the costs incurred. 

Liability 

Nothing in this agreement shall limit or exclude either party’s liability (a) for death or personal injury caused by their negligence, (b) for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or (c) for any other act, omission, or liability which may not be limited or excluded by law. If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach of this agreement or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. We only supply products to you for domestic and private use and we will not be liable for business losses.