Disparate Treatment Estimates. Beware !

[Uncle Norm]

In the past three months my 9.5 years old border terrier has had two infections in his mouth that have made him quite ill. My local vet who is an employee of a large group concern has treated him successfully. The second occasion involved one visit to the surgery, examination, an antibiotic injection, a B12 injection, 7 Omeprazol tabs , 7 antibiotic tabs and 3 tins of food, £104.

She said that he needed his teeth cleaned under general anaesthetic and possibly some teeth removed.

I was a little surprised at the bill of £104 so asked for an estimate for the cleaning and/or extraction(s). After some prevarication I was told £430 !.

I have now obtained another quote from my brother's vet, for £170 (including vat) to include up to 3 extractions.

I informed my vet of this and asked them to re-examine their price. They returned my call advising that there would be no reduction. I informed them that they had just lost a customer.

There has been several changes at this company but I am surprised that they would attempt such a rip-off on a regular and loyal customer particularly after I had queried it.

Needless to say I have taken my business elsewhere and will do my best to warn others.

It takes all types and there are good, bad and indifferent in all professions.

The moral of the story is 'ask for an estimate, shop around and be on guard if your old and trusted vet leaves'. Or if one of these all singing and dancing groups takes over.

 

[widows son]

In the past three months my 9.5 years old border terrier has had two infections in his mouth that have made him quite ill. My local vet who is an employee of a large group concern has treated him successfully. The second occasion involved one visit to the surgery, examination, an antibiotic injection, a B12 injection, 7 Omeprazol tabs , 7 antibiotic tabs and 3 tins of food, £104.

She said that he needed his teeth cleaned under general anaesthetic and possibly some teeth removed.

I was a little surprised at the bill of £104 so asked for an estimate for the cleaning and/or extraction(s). After some prevarication I was told £430 !.

I have now obtained another quote from my brother's vet, for £170 (including vat) to include up to 3 extractions.

I informed my vet of this and asked them to re-examine their price. They returned my call advising that there would be no reduction. I informed them that they had just lost a customer.

There has been several changes at this company but I am surprised that they would attempt such a rip-off on a regular and loyal customer particularly after I had queried it.

Needless to say I have taken my business elsewhere and will do my best to warn others.

It takes all types and there are good, bad and indifferent in all professions.

The moral of the story is 'ask for an estimate, shop around and be on guard if your old and trusted vet leaves'. Or if one of these all singing and dancing groups takes over.

Get his teeth seen to the dog will feel better ,it will save other bacteria problems for the dogs .

 

[Apache]

Many vets out there can be rather shocking when it comes to dental work. Over the last few years we have learnt a lot and our standards are improving. This does cost more but you do a better job. A better job takes time and costs money.

If your cheap quote is one of those vets who pulls the loose (easy) ones and polishes the others that seem firm then the very best of luck to you. You may be in the same position in 6 months time.

I would bet you a hell of a lot of money that the two 'dentals' are not the same.

 

[Cris]

Any kind of insurance cover?

 

[Gazza]

A mate of mine took his lab to have her annual check. During this it was found that she could do with her teeth cleaned and a possible extraction.The day after the dental work she noticeably was walking to her left and bumping into things. This condition got worse, she eventually was put down and it was thought she may have taken a stroke during the anaesthetic. Over the years the same vets have operated on a few of my dogs and i would trust them entirely but I know that the cost of the general anaesthetic alone is more than half your £170 quote so as Apache suggests the best dental treatment and care of your dog during what is a procedure with risks may not be the cheapest option. £430 does seem a lot but then again to me £170 sounds cheap for a fair bit of work.

 

[howa243]

Its difficult if the only way of differentiating the quality of the service is the cost. I would hate to be in a position of having two quotes and going for the most expensive because by definition it must be better.

 

[Uncle Norm]

Get his teeth seen to the dog will feel better ,it will save other bacteria problems for the dogs .

That is exactly what I am in the process of doing. I look after my dogs and have no objection to paying a reasonable fee for treatment.

 

[Uncle Norm]

Many vets out there can be rather shocking when it comes to dental work. Over the last few years we have learnt a lot and our standards are improving. This does cost more but you do a better job. A better job takes time and costs money.

If your cheap quote is one of those vets who pulls the loose (easy) ones and polishes the others that seem firm then the very best of luck to you. You may be in the same position in 6 months time.

I would bet you a hell of a lot of money that the two 'dentals' are not the same.

I very much value your opinion and have carefully followed and understood other threads relating to fees, drug costs, staffing, premises etc.
I appreciate that we must not compare apples with pears.
Last year my brother's vet operated on his thirteen years old Jack Russell. The dog was castrated, teeth cleaned and four extracted. It made a new dog of the him.
The bill ? £150.
I was expecting to pay £200 to £250 but not £430. I do not shy away from doing the right thing for my dogs, and example of which is I spent over £600 on having a growth removed from my Border terrier's side. That included all tests and histology. Unfortunately the vet who did it has left and so has her excellent vet-nurse.

 

[widows son]

That is exactly what I am in the process of doing. I look after my dogs and have no objection to paying a reasonable fee for treatment.

I took a springer of mine in it cost £120.00 for 19 teeth the dog was instantly brighter the dental health is no different of that of a human ,I had always cleaned descaled there teeth over the years obviously that wasn't enough .

In saying the above I've got a excellent vet who recognises that these are work dogs and what I do for a living helps

 

[Uncle Norm]

Just had an estimate from a vet practice in a local market town. This vet practice was recommended to me by a good friend who is an established breeder of Labradors. My friend also showed me some of her recent treatment bills, which were an eye-opener to say the least.

Price including pre-op bloods, fluids if necessary, thirty minutes of extraction time, scale and polish plus medication to go home with £299.50 maximum.
Pre-op bloods recommended as he is over eight years of age.

A little more than I expected but I will go with it and he is booked in for Thursday morning. Still at least £130 less than my local who has lost the business permanently.

 

[deerstalker.308]

I did similar to you a few years ago, my regular vet who I trusted and used for everything seemed too expensive on a quote for neutering my spaniel, so I shopped around and went with a much cheaper vet locally.
My dog suffered with blood clots in his scrotum for several weeks afterwards and was very badly bruised, the result of a very hamfisted vet by all accounts, they didn't tell me they'd experienced bleeding issues during the op, and their advice on the clots were to monitor them closely as if they moved, they could kill the dog.........
I wish to god I'd payed the extra in the first place, as the subsequent treatment he required ended up being near as damn it the same as my original vets.
I went back to my former vets, apologised and never looked back.

trust counts for a lot in my book.

 

[Uncle Norm]

I did similar to you a few years ago, my regular vet who I trusted and used for everything seemed too expensive on a quote for neutering my spaniel, so I shopped around and went with a much cheaper vet locally.
My dog suffered with blood clots in his scrotum for several weeks afterwards and was very badly bruised, the result of a very hamfisted vet by all accounts, they didn't tell me they'd experienced bleeding issues during the op, and their advice on the clots were to monitor them closely as if they moved, they could kill the dog.........
I wish to god I'd payed the extra in the first place, as the subsequent treatment he required ended up being near as damn it the same as my original vets.
I went back to my former vets, apologised and never looked back.

trust counts for a lot in my book.

I couldn't agree more regarding the value of trust. However the vet and her nurse, whom I trusted have both gone and something is not right. It would appear that the accountants are it charge now. Time will tell.

 

[hoodwink]

I have had a similar experience, when my local vet sold out to a group, the prices doubled over night. I changed vets and had a really bad experience,
so wondered had I stayed with, would my dog still be alive today.. changed vets again and am very happy with the whole practice, prices are higher I think partly due to insurance for pets and partly inflation /red tape, but trust is paramount.

 

[Selous]

I completely agree that the most fundamental part of the vet-client relationship is trust. This generally exists where the client can see that the advice given is based entirely on what is best for the animal or owner. Unfortunately these days some vets are under pressure to meet performance targets and this can in some cases result in services being sold (dental work being a common one). My advice would be to seek a second opinion if you feel you are being coerced into treatment, but do not solely judge things on price alone. Unfortunately clients have no way at all of knowing if a vet they see is good, bad or indifferent at clinical work. All anyone can go off is if they feel comfortable with the vet they use.

 

[Uncle Norm]

I completely agree that the most fundamental part of the vet-client relationship is trust. This generally exists where the client can see that the advice given is based entirely on what is best for the animal or owner. Unfortunately these days some vets are under pressure to meet performance targets and this can in some cases result in services being sold (dental work being a common one). My advice would be to seek a second opinion if you feel you are being coerced into treatment, but do not solely judge things on price alone. Unfortunately clients have no way at all of knowing if a vet they see is good, bad or indifferent at clinical work. All anyone can go off is if they feel comfortable with the vet they use.

I suspect that you are right regarding targets. This is a very small (one vet) branch of a large group. In the six months since the person whom I trusted left, there has been three other vets there. One Polish the second from somewhere else in eastern Europe and now a Spanish person. All very helpful and as far as I can tell competent people.
However, if this company keeps going on like this, together with the eye watering prices, they can have little regard for the longer term survival of this branch.

 

[Gaz]

Used our local vets for years until the bills started to become what we thought was very expensive. Not everyone's budget is the same and will inevitably lead to some people opting for the cheaper option available to them. There seem to be many different procedures for the "same" problems to the animal, which if you don't look into or research can be left unknown if not disclosed to you by the vet in the first place. (e.g side affects to some injections that have then cost us hundreds).
One of our working labs had an ear haematoma and was taken to our local vet practise, then approx. twelve months later while in the Highlands of Scotland one of my other labs had the same complaint and was taken to that local vet practice. The "same" operation, although one used a stitching process while the other used a buttons process resulted in a cost difference of £150. With the most important thing being both labs are now back to full working capacity, the cheaper operation with buttons now looks cosmetically much better than the stitched one.
We now don't stay loyal to our local vet but shop around for prices and ask for as much detailed information about each quote before committing. ( Know what your paying for before buying). Gaz

 

[Uncle Norm]

Well we attended the vets alluded to a post #10, this morning. Thorough examination of the terrier followed by a particular visual examination of his teeth. Young lady, recently qualified vet told me that the teeth really needed cleaning but did not think any extractions would be necessary. However she could not be absolutely sure about the very back teeth until he was anaesthetised.

I agreed for bloods to be taken, fluids if necessary and the use of laser to help healing etc. should extraction(s) be needed.

I picked him up at 15.40 and was told that a great deal of plaque had been removed but his teeth were sound and no extractions were necessary. We go back next Monday for a check-up and I get a lesson on cleaning my dogs teeth, which should be fun.

My Border is now lying in his basket beside me, with his belly full and sleeping it off. So all seems well and the best result I could have hoped for.
And the bill ? £152. This young vet's competence and open honesty has got herself a new customer. 'Never mind she can't win them all', do I hear you say ?

 

[bruce w]

when you roll up to the vets yard and se the car with VET reg plates on it ,have a look through your wallet just to have a last lingering look at the contents , put your best smile on ,and walk in, reminding yourself they must be good to have a car like that. and proberly are.