Terms of Service

Our Standard terms of business.

Thank you for choosing to use the veterinary services provided by Cathcart and Winn Veterinary Hospital. We aim to provide you and your pet with lifelong veterinary care and service of the highest standard; 24 hours a day at our Farnham hospital.

Fees

The practice is registered for VAT which is charged at the current rate on all fees, medicines, consumables and diets. Fees are due at the end of each consultation, when food and medicines are collected and when patients are collected after in patient care or procedures. Separate fees are charged for each additional consultation or procedure. You are liable for fees incurred in the treatment of your pet even if he/she is bought in by a third party or following trauma such as a road traffic accident. Our written fee list is available on request. We except payment by cash, debit card & credit card. We do not except American Express.

Estimates of costs for treatments.

We are happy to provide a printed estimate of the likely cost of a particular treatment. Please be aware that the final bill may vary from the estimate because more or less treatment may be necessary, complications may occur and sometimes the full extent of treatment required is not apparent until treatment is started. We will try to contact you on the ‘phone numbers you have given us if we feel estimated costs will be exceeded, however if we are unable to contact you we will proceed with treatment to prevent pain or suffering.

Settlement terms

Payment is due at the end of each consultation, and when collecting your pets, medicines or food from us. Should an invoice not be settled within 14 days, then a reminder will be sent with an additional fee in respect of administrative costs incurred. Should it be necessary for further reminders to be sent, further charges will be incurred. These however, may be deducted if payment is made promptly. After due notice to you the client, overdue accounts will be referred to our debt collection agency and further charges will be levied in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt: such as production of reports, correspondence, court fees, attendance at court, phone calls, home visits, etc. Any cheque returned by our bank as unpaid, any card payments not honoured and any cash paid which turns out to be counterfeit will result in the original balance of the account being restored and any bank or administration charges added to the outstanding amount.

Inability to pay

If you are unable to pay veterinary fees we ask that you speak to a member of staff before any treatment is given. Please note that instalments or part payments of any account may only be sanctioned with the express permission of the Practice Manager.

Pet Health Insurance

Cathcart and Winn strongly support the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or injury, and to encourage this, we will complete the insurance forms on your behalf. Please note that it is your responsibility to settle our fees and then reclaim these from your insurance company. Direct Claims must be authorized before treatment begins.

Return of un-used medications

Any un-used medication should be returned to the surgery for safe disposal. Please note that we are unable to make a refund on any prescription items once they leave our surgery.

Pet Health Care Scheme

Cathcart and Winn believe in responsible pet ownership and encourage routine vaccinations, health checks, correct feeding and parasite control. We have a Pet Health Care Scheme which offers a monthly payment plan to cover the annual costs of these items and also offers additional benefits.

Complaints and Standards

We hope you will never have cause to complain about the standard of service you receive from Cathcart and Winn, however should you have a complaint it should be directed, in writing, to the Practice Manager. All complaints are carefully investigated. We take a very positive attitude towards client feedback and welcome any comments you wish to make about any aspect of the services we provide to you.

Ownership of Records

Case records including notes, radiographs, photographs, laboratory results, ECGs and ultrasound scans are the property of and will be retained by Cathcart and Winn Veterinary Hospital. Copies of the notes together with results of any tests or investigations will be passed, on request, to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case.

Ownership of radiographs and similar images and recordings

The care given to your animal may involve investigations and the production of a variety of recordings and images. Even though we make a charge for carrying out these investigations and interpreting the results, ownership of the resulting image or record remains with the company. No agent or person employed by, or under contract with the practice has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in any way.

Out of Hours Policy

Cathcart and Winn reserve the right to contract out the provision of out of hours emergency and night veterinary care. Vets Now, who are a separate company, currently work put of our premises to provide a dedicated emergency team and take care of our in patients. All treatment provided by Vets Now to your pet will be invoiced by them and settlement will be due to them.

Prescriptions

Prescriptions are available from this practice. You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines (POMV’s) from us or ask for a prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or pharmacy. Your veterinary surgeon may only provide POMV’s for animals under his/her care. We will inform you, on request of the price of any medicines that may be prescribed for your pet. The general policy for this practice is to re-examine every 3-6 months those pets that require repeat prescriptions, but this interval may vary depending on the individual circumstances. The standard charge for a re-examination is the prevailing price of a consultation fee. We reserve the right to charge for prescriptions.

General

Cathcart and Winn may contact you by letter, ‘phone, text or electronic means in order to advise you of reminders for your pets preventative care treatments, health alerts and marketing offers that might be of benefit to you or your pet. Please tell reception if you do not wish such contact to be made, however, please be aware that this would remove the ability of the practice to send vaccination reminders. If you fail to receive a vaccine reminder, despite you agreeing to receive them, no liability can be accepted by Cathcart and Winn for any inconvenience or additional expense incurred, whether in revaccinating your pet or treating disease protected against by the vaccination. No variation of these conditions will bind unless it is specifically agreed in writing by the company’s managing director. No agent or person employed by or under contract with, the practice has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in any way.

Telephone Recording

Please note that our calls both incoming and outgoing are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.