Our Terms & Conditions
Penn Equine Vets
Unit 14, The Agricultural Centre, Standerwick, Frome, Somerset BA11 2QB
Penn Equine Vets is committed to providing high quality mobile veterinary services to the equines entrusted to our care. We are an experienced team able to offer a wide range of services and treatments tailored to individual needs. In this endeavour we have invested heavily into being able to bring the latest technology and treatment advances right to your stable door. We thank you for using our services and in doing so you agree to the following business terms.
Fees
Fees for services and drugs are subject to VAT. Our fees are reviewed periodically and amended in line with inflation and market changes. We can provide an estimate of fees upon request but this can be subject to change if a case is more complex and takes more time than expected. Amendments to estimates will be discussed at the time.
Consultation time
Our standard consultation fee of £60 including VAT covers a 15 minute examination and discussion although we often exceed this period in order to reach the best management plan. Additional time will be charged at our discretion. In order to keep consultation time and fees to a minimum we request that you horse is presented to the vet in a head collar and groomed. There is a minimum charge of £60 consultation fee plus the visit fee for all consultations including those that take less than 15 minutes. If an additional equine is examined at the same visit and the consultation takes less than 15 minutes a reduced consultation fee of £45 will be applied to all additional horses seen. Emergency and out of hours consultations are charged at a higher rate. Estimates are available upon request.
Visit fees are charged depending on your distance from the practice, reduced fee zone day visits are available. On a zone day £10 visit fees are available for some routine appointments, zone visits must be flexible on timing and paid on the day. Further details of appointments than can be done as zone visits are available upon request.
New clients
It is practice policy to request payment in full for the first visit prior to us attending. It would be helpful to have your card available when booking your first appointment otherwise cash at the time of the visit will be required. We reserve the right to verify all new clients credit rating with a credit reference agency.
Invoicing period
Work is invoiced weekly on a Wednesday to cover the period up until the previous Monday. The practice reserves the right to vary the invoice period from time to time according to trading restraints.
Payment methods
Please include your surname and account number on all payments.
You can settle your account by:
- Bank transfer using BACS – our Account number is 79706290, Sort code 55-70-31
- Credit/debit card over the phone 01373 830868
- Cash at the time or delivered to the office.
- Cheque made payable to Penn Equine Vets
Payment terms
Payment is due within 7 days from the date of the invoice. If you have an invoice outstanding for more than 14 days it is likely we will ask you to pay for further work at the time. Invoices outstanding for more than 30 days will be subject to an additional administration fee of £25 and interest at a rate of 5% per month to cover our costs of recovering the debt. If you have an outstanding account we will contact you about it by email, phone and postal letter.
Penn Equine Vets reserves the right to pass unpaid accounts to debt collectors/solicitors for recovery/legal action to whom we may assign the debt, and all rights, without restriction. If we have to pass your account to debt collector an additional fee of £55 will be applied. We will also require you to pay our expenses and legal costs incurred in taking steps to obtain payment on an indemnity basis. This will include costs for returned cheques, correspondence and legal notices, finding you if you have changed your address without notice, as well as third party costs incurred in the collection of unpaid accounts.
If you find yourself unable to pay an invoice please discuss this matter as soon as possible with the Director. Instalments or part payments can only be sanctioned with the express permission of the Director.
Insurance
We regularly have clients that claim reimbursement of their accounts from an insurance company. It is standard practice that we require clients to settle their accounts in line with the terms above, however we will sometimes allow direct claims from the insurance company to Penn Equine, cases are assessed on an individual basis. Please be aware that it remains your responsibility to settle your account regardless of whether you anticipate reimbursement from and insurance company. It is your responsibility to notify your insurance company of a potential claim as soon as possible and you will need to send Penn Equine Vets a claim form without delay. An administration charge of £15 will be made for completion and submission of an insurance claim.
Contact details
It is the responsibility of clients to keep account details up do date and we request that you notify us immediately if you change address, email or phone number.
Vaccine Reminders
We endeavour to send out vaccination reminders the month before the vaccine due date, this is a courtesy service and we recommend you keep a record of when your equine is due and book appointments with at least a weeks notice. We do not accept responsibility for missed vaccinations and the cost of re-starting a course is the responsibility of the owner.
Horse Passports
It is a legal requirement that your horse’s passport is kept with your horse at all times and should be made available to the vet at a visit. The section IX declaration (numbered differently in some passports) stating whether the horse is/is not intended for human consumption must be completed. The horse must be signed out of the food chain if it has ever had bute/danilon.
Unlicensed Medicines
We regularly use unlicensed veterinary medicines when there is no suitable licensed medication available. Unlicensed medicines have not passed regulatory assessments for safety, quality and efficacy for the particular use proposed, its use is justified (both clinically and legally) under the veterinary medicines prescribing cascade. There may be unknown side effects associated with the use of such medicines. More information on the prescribing cascade is available on request.
Complaints and Standards
We hope you will never have recourse to complain about the standards of service received from Penn Equine Vets, if you feel there is something you wish to complain about or query please contact reception in the first instance and they will endeavour to resolve the matter. If this is not possible you will be asked to put your concerns in writing to The Director.
Ownership of clinical records, radiographs and similar
Case records, images and similar documents are the property of and will be retained by Penn Equine Vets as part of the clinical record of your equine. Should copies of radiographs etc be requested we reserve the right to charge an administration fee for their supply.
Prescriptions
All clients have a right to ask for a prescription. You can obtain Prescription Only Medicines, Category V, (POMV’s) from our vets or you can request a prescription to obtain these medicines form another veterinary surgeon or pharmacy. Written prescriptions being obtained from a pharmacy will be sent directly to the pharmacy and you will need to provide an email address when requesting the prescription. Penn Equine Vets can only provide prescriptions for equines under our care which have had a clinical examination by a veterinary surgeon. Repeat prescription can only be supplied if the animal has been seen in the last 6 months. A prescription is not appropriate if your horse requires immediate medical treatment.
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
GDPR applies to professional and client records. Your personal data records will be kept confidential to Penn Equine Vets. We may use your personal data to contact you for marketing purposes if we feel it would be in your interest and you have given consent. Please refer to our privacy notice on our website for further information.
Termination of services
Penn Equine Vets reserves the right to close your account and ask you to find another veterinary practice to treat your equines. You will be informed of this by letter and given notice to do so. We will pass clinical histories on to another veterinary practice promptly if requested to do so but only once we have the consent of the account owner.
Limit on liability
The prices charged by us are based on a limit on our liability of £3,000,000.00 per claim as a result of our negligence or breach of contract. If this limit is less than the value of the equine you are advised to make your own insurance arrangements to cover the full loss. We do not accept liability where the loss arises out of your failure to notify us of any condition, ailment or allergy of which you had knowledge which would not have been apparent on reasonable examination by a veterinary practitioner.
Disclaimer
No addition or variation of these conditions will bind Penn Equine Vets unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by The Director. No agent or person employed by, or under contract with, Penn Equine Vets has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in anyway.
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