Panorama Why are Vets fees so High...

[Bavarianbrit]

I pay 175€ per month for my health insurance in Germany goes up every year, you must have it to get a residence permit.
My pal over here is a vet and for him his wife and one of his kids it costs 1300€ per month maybe that is why he is so expensive?

 

[Buchan]

Surely.you don't mean the BBC broadcast another programme which misleadingly edited footage?

You might think that, I couldn’t possibly comment

 

[rollotomassi]

Watching it now and it’s soft as shite
Why isn’t it talking about price gouging? Cartels ? Price fixing and setting targets based on unnecessary treatments ?

Got charged £60 for dog ear ointment. Was in a hurry so didnt have time for a tiff. I buy thyroid meds online and checked it. £30 online.

Insane profiteering from a corporate vet.

 

[Apthorpe]

I suppose the fees will stay high for so long as people keep agreeing to pay them.
There does seem to be quite a lot of spending at vets (particularly in cities) which could be considered unnecessary or excessive, given that it's an animal not a child. And also quite a bit of cross-selling expensive food etc.

Weddings are also very expensive and there may be a touch of the "modern princess" involved in both cases.

 

[TringSaint]

What a fantastic post, it would be great to have a local vet that just did basic vetting and charged accordingly again.

Whilst we all love dearly and care for our animals most of us are pragmatic and will let them go if the costs become untenable. The thing the corporates are doing is playing on the amount the punter is prepared to spend on fido before giving in.

I had a private MRI on my hip a few weeks ago it cost me less than £400 including the radiologists report. The cheapest a quick Google offers me for Fido is £1500. Yes I understand you cant tell a dog to stay still... Why so much and why is it available in the first place for every punter to feel guilty about not being able to afford??

Basic treatment is all most people need for their animals, the fancy stuff should be for humans and filter down when it is affordable.

What we pay for our sheep vet in a year covers just one treatment for one dog.
The drug, time and materials costs are a fraction, plus they are coming to us, not the other way round.
Dogs as no cats just pull more on the heart strings so we will pay the inflated prices

 

[Bo Diddley]

I had a vet as a neighbour for a good few years, he works for a practise bought out by one of the big corporations. He is a good vet by all accounts, but like he always said in conversation, there is no money in treating farm animals, all the money is to be earned treating family pets...

Life is one big shite sandwich... the more bread you have, the less shite you have to eat... (A favourite saying often used by another neighbour)

 

[Buchan]

Just had a dishwasher repaired, £500 for 40 minutes

It's an expensive world

 

[VSS]

Just had a dishwasher repaired, £500 for 40 minutes

It's an expensive world

You could have bought a new dishwasher for less than that.

 

[Bo Diddley]

Just had a dishwasher repaired, £500 for 40 minutes

It's an expensive world

You got mugged.

 

[Rake Aboot]

Just had a dishwasher repaired, £500 for 40 minutes

It's an expensive world

Unless your dishwasher was a Lithuanian woman who needed her arms stitched back on, you got right royally robbed mate.

 

[Bo Diddley]

But he wouldn't have seen it coming...

 

[simgre]

I had a private MRI on my hip a few weeks ago it cost me less than £400 including the radiologists report. The cheapest a quick Google offers me for Fido is £1500. Yes I understand you cant tell a dog to stay still... Why so much and why is it available in the first place for every punter to feel guilty about not being able to afford??

Exactly what happened to me. £375 for an MRI on my shoulder. Two months later, £1630 for Muppet’s hip.

Muppet has gone now and I miss her terribly. But, I have decided that another dog is too big a financial risk.

 

[spanj]

Was there an interview with a vet describing all the current surgical advances, better diagnostics, effective drugs, greater use of better trained qualified nurses and then the vet saying they do everything for a couple of quid. A statement they made describing vets of 30 years ago that was actually from a different point in the interview?

Its more about insurance companies owning vet practices and then price gouging. Metacam £19 a bottle on internet, £63 at my local, seemingly independent vets (owned by ins co). Cost of prescription for this Poms medicine rose from £11 to £36. Dont tell me its about overheads as the place hasnt changed in 30 years, all the vets are foreign and the nurses come and go frequently

 

[spanj]

Just had a dishwasher repaired, £500 for 40 minutes

It's an expensive world

How much was s new dishwasher or was it an insurance claim ?

 

[Polar Lynx]

In Sweden there are more than 1 milj registered dogs. News just out there has been a registration drop of 10 % in 2025 vs 2024. Many dog owners say in interviews they keep thier dogs but probably will not get another over time. Main stated reason 'the very high costs of vet bills'.
Also, during the covid period, with people beeing half locked up, many bought dogs as a companions but covid now history and people back to work. (Labs in top, followed by German Sheps and Golden)

 

[sauer]

i see lot of folk saying a particular medicine is £X amount more than online etc but how are you getting these meds online if require prescription ?

is it a case of asking vet who suggesting the treatment for a prescription , paying them again £X amount for the paperwork then ordering the online cheaper stuff?

anyone ever had a vet refuse a prescription if you weren't prepared to buy product from said vet?

Paul

 

[mr baddoo]

I buy off the Internet but am too embarrassed to ask ma vet for a prescription,,,,,,so a make ma wife and her brass neck do it

 

[nic531]

a couple of years back, dog had an inflamed eye.... vet gave me optrex eye drops at 20 odd quid.... 2 months later I had mild conjunctivitis and the pharmacist sold me exactly the same stuff - make-size-strength etc for 8 quid!!!! and no prescription required for a human

 

[VSS]

a couple of years back, dog had an inflamed eye.... vet gave me optrex eye drops at 20 odd quid.... 2 months later I had mild conjunctivitis and the pharmacist sold me exactly the same stuff - make-size-strength etc for 8 quid!!!! and no prescription required for a human

I had a dog that needed the same. My vet said: "Go to the chemist and get the human version, as it's much cheaper. If they ask, just tell them I sent you!".

 

[Buchan]

I had a dog that needed the same. My vet said: "Go to the chemist and get the human version, as it's much cheaper. If they ask, just tell them I sent you!".

Which we can no longer do I'm afraid