Terms And Conditions

Thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your pet to Kriek and Gibson Veterinary Surgery. Our Practice Terms and Conditions are shown below. Please ask for any further explanation/clarification if required.

Fees

All fees, diets and drug charges made include VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case, and according to the drugs, materials, consumables and diets used. A detailed invoice is available for all consultations, surgical procedures or transactions with us.

Estimates of Treatment Cost

We will happily provide an estimate of the probable costs of a course of treatment. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate, as often a pet’s illness will not follow a conventional course.

Methods of Payment

Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your pet or collection of drugs/diets. We accept cash, cheques with a current banker’s card, and credit cards (Switch, Solo, Mastercard, Visa, Delta) or through a payment link on PetsApp (Stripe). If, for any reason, you are unable to settle your account as specified, we ask you to discuss the matter as soon as possible with a member of staff. Please note that instalments or part payments may only be sanctioned with the expression permission of the partners.

Settlement terms

Should an account not be settled within the calendar month of it being incurred, we will send a reminder. We reserve the right to add an accounting fee in respect of administrative costs. Should it be necessary for further reminders to be sent further costs may be incurred and after due notice debts may be referred to a debt collection agency. Any cheque returned as unpaid, any Credit Card payment not honoured, and any cash tendered found to be counterfeit will result in the original account being restored to the original sum with further charges added in respect of bank charges and administrative costs.

Pet Health Insurance

Kriek and Gibson Veterinary Surgery strongly supports the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. Details about insurance are available at the practice. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle your account and then reclaim fees from your insurance company.

Ownership of Records

Radiographs and Similar Records Case records are the property of, and will be retained by, Kriek and Gibson Veterinary Surgery. A summary of the history will be passed on request to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case.

The care given to your animal may involve making some specific investigations, for example laboratory tests, taking radiographs or performing ultrasound scans. Even though we make a charge for carrying out these investigations and interpreting these results, ownership of the resulting record, for example a radiograph, or laboratory report, remains with the practice. We reserve the right to charge for the production of duplicate records or radiographs.

Photographs of your pet may on occasion be used for educational or marketing purposes, please let us know if you would prefer this not to happen.

Out of hours Emergency Service and Hospitalised Patients

Emergency Service: When the surgery is closed a phone message on our normal surgery number will direct you to the on duty vet. Hospitalised patients: A nurse and vet are always on duty to check on hospitalised animals as appropriate whilst in our care.

Written Prescriptions

Prescriptions are available from the Practice. You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines Category V, (POM Vs) directly from us or as prescribed by the veterinary surgeon in charge of your pet’s care, or you may ask for a written prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or pharmacy. A prescription may not be appropriate, however, if your animal is an in-patient or immediate treatment is necessary. Please also note we cannot take responsibility for medications purchased elsewhere. A reasonable charge is made for formulating and supplying a written prescription.

Complaints and standards

We hope that you never have recourse to complain about the standards of service received from Kriek and Gibson Veterinary Surgery. However if there are any matters you wish to discuss, please direct your comments in the first instance to Johnny Kriek or Gillian Gibson.

No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by one of the practice partners. No agent or person employed by, or under contract with, the practice has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in any way.