Terms & Conditions

Most importantly, thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your pet to VetDentist. It is important to have clearly laid out the terms on which we operate and the way we expect to do business. Some aspects of the Terms may not be relevant to you and we request that you ask for further explanation/clarification if required.

E-Mails

E-mails are intended only for the addressee and the contents should not be disclosed to other persons nor copies taken. If E-Mails have been received in error, please delete them and notify the sender. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of any company or organisation unless otherwise specifically stated. As Internet communications are not secure no legal responsibility is accepted for the contents of any message nor responsibility for any change made to messages after being sent by the original sender. Whilst our mail is scanned, recipients should carry out their own virus check before opening any attachment as no liability is accepted for any damage sustained as a result of any action of any software viruses or similar code. Incoming and outgoing mail may be monitored to ensure compliance with policies and procedures.

Fees

All fees, diets and drug charges are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the time and skill level required on a case and according to the medicines, materials, consumables and diets used. Fees will also have a contribution towards the general overhead costs. Any fee is available on request. A detailed itemised breakdown for every transaction is provided at the time. You are liable for any fees incurred in the diagnosis and treatment of your pet even if your pet is brought to us on your behalf by a relative, friend or agent. Deposits may be required prior to embarking on a procedure.

Late Cancellation or Failure to Attend Appointment Charges

Where consultation or operative appointments are cancelled at short notice (less than two working days) a cancellation charge will be levied. This is because time slots are allocated for patients and it is unlikely that the slot will be filled by another patient. Similarly if a client fails to attend a booked appointment the cancellation charge will also apply. The cancellation charge is normally equal to the primary consultation charge.

Methods of Payment

Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your pet or upon collection of medicines/diets. You may settle the account using: Cash or a Credit/Debit Card – Switch Solo, Mastercard, Visa and Delta.

Estimates of Treatment Costs

We provide a printed estimate of the costs of any procedure. Your signed agreement, or that of a responsible adult acting as your agent, will be required prior to any procedure being commenced. Occasionally a verbal agreement may be acceptable – please note that our phone calls are often recorded (see below). A deposit may be required prior to embarking on a procedure. Any estimate given can only be approximate – often it is only after anaesthesia and radiography that a full idea of the problems can be obtained. We will try to contact you on the contact number you have given us if we believe the treatment costs are going to significantly exceed the estimate costs. However, if you are not contactable, we will treat your pet in what we feel is their best interests and your agreement to this is implicit on admission. It is your responsibility to ensure that a responsible adult is available on the contact phone number you provide.

Inability to Pay

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 of any account may only be sanctioned with the express permission of a director. It is a requirement that a formal “Acknowledgement of Debt” form is signed at the time.

Settlement Terms

In the rare event that full payment is not made at the time, a reminder will be sent at approximately 14 days with an additional accounting fee in respect of the administrative costs incurred. These charges may be deducted if payment is made promptly. Should it be necessary for further reminders to be sent, further charges will be incurred. After due notice to you the client, overdue accounts will be referred to our debt collection agency and progressed through the court system. This may seriously affect your credit rating. 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, together with interest etc. Any cheque returned by our bank as unpaid, any credit card payment not honoured and any cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in the account being restored to the original sum with further charges added in respect of bank charges and administration costs together with interest on the principal sum.

Responsible Pet Ownership

All of us at VetDentist believe in responsible pet ownership. This includes regular appropriate vaccinations, monthly worming for cats and dogs, regular flea control and a permanent means of identification for your pet. Whilst we may offer advice on these subjects - we will usually recommend that you seek the advice of your own veterinary surgeon as different local areas may have different needs.

Pet Health Insurance

We strongly support the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents and recommend that you seek the advice of your own veterinary surgeon on brands. Some brands specifically exclude dental treatment.

Pet Health Insurance may be used to cover some of the treatments we provide. However, our contract is with you, the owner, not with the Insurance Company. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle our account and then reclaim the fees from your insurance company. We routinely aim to process your claim forms within 15 working days - for this we make no charge. Where a "speedy admin" is requested (to assist with cash flow for example), we offer to process claims within 3 working days - however a small charge is made for this service.

Direct Insurance Claims

Very occasionally we might carry out a "Direct Claim", where the Insurance company pays us directly, again a small charge is made for this service. VetDentist will seek confirmation that the insurance policy is valid and still in force prior to agreeing a Direct Claim.  Where Direct Claims are made a deposit to cover the costs of any excess, or any treatments that may be excluded from the claim is required. In addition, should the amount paid fall short of the invoiced amount it is the owner's responsibility to clear the account with us. We will assist, where we can, with providing information to the insurance company to help owners reclaim appropriate fees - but we obviously cannot guarantee the payment from the insurance company. Where a deposit exceeds the amount withheld by the insurance company we will either credit an owner's account - or refund the balance as the owner wishes.

Ownership of Records

Case records including radiographs, CB-CT images, photographs, ECGs, ultrasound images, and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by VetDentist. The fees paid relate to the undertaking and interpretation of these investigations. Upon request the case records may be passed to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case (see Data Protection below). In some circumstances an appropriate fee may be payable for the preparation of the notes and duplication of records, ECG, radiographs etc.

Data Protection

VetDentist is a trading style of Training-Progress Ltd, which is registered under the Data Protection Act (Registration Number ZA015828). Details of our registration as a Data Controller can be found at the web site of the Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.org.uk). As case records may contain personal data relating to clients as individuals, we ask that a “Data Protection Waiver” is signed by any client wishing us to transfer the records to a third party. Insurance companies frequently request the full clinical records of any patient subject to a claim or embarking on insurance cover. The wording of Insurance paperwork for submitting a claim, or requesting cover will usually grant such a waiver as part of the process. Any client wishing to view their clinical records can make arrangements with the practice to see, correct, update or remove (as appropriate) any personal data held by us.

Your Privacy is important to us

We will never sell, rent, or gift any of your information to third parties. Information is never shared beyond Training-Progress employees and our contracted personnel. We will protect your information (data) in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR 2018). This privacy statement sets out how we will protect your data and your rights.

Lawful basis for processing personal data

Our lawful basis to process personal data is to market our services to potentially interested individuals, to communicate with other businesses and to carry out our lawful business.

Your Data - Your Rights

The new regulations mean that you have rights about the data we hold. On your request, regarding these rights, we will act as promptly as possible to take action, but no later than 28 days from receipt of the request.

These rights are:

  • The right to be informed; our privacy statement is supplied to everyone we have data for, it is available on our website and available when we collect data.
  • The right of access; on request we will provide you with a copy of the information we hold about you.
  • The right to rectification; you have the right to require us to update your personal information.
  • The right to erasure; you have the right to request to be forgotten from our systems.
  • The right to restrict processing; you have the right to request that we continue to hold your data but prevent us from processing it.
  • The right to data portability; you have the right to request your information in a portable fashion.
  • The right to object; you have the right to object to us processing your data.
  • Rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling; you will be informed if automated decision making will be used and have the right to object to it.

Images

In addition to radiographs, Cone Beam CT output etc, video or photographic images of patients and lesions may be obtained. These images and data may be used for veterinary or public education, or for the promotion of the practice. All images and data may be used in both printed and electronic media. All rights to the use of any of the images and data remain with the practice.

Telephone Recording

Phone calls to, or from VetDentist may be recorded. The purpose of this recording is for training, compliance and security. The recordings may be used in the case of any dispute.

CCTV Recording

The term "CCTV" is used to encompass the use of webcams, video recording and other similar devices. Both images and sound are usually recorded. Areas used by VetDentist may be covered by CCTV recording. This includes the external car park, the reception area, the consultation rooms and other areas of the practice. The purpose of this recording is for training, compliance and security. The recordings may be used in the case of any dispute.

Prescription Policy

Prescriptions are available from VetDentist. You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines, category V, (POM-Vs) from your veterinary surgeon OR ask for a prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or pharmacy. Your veterinary surgeon may prescribe POM-V’s only for animals under his/her care. A prescription may not be appropriate if your animal is an in–patient or immediate treatment is necessary. A charge will normally be made for providing a prescription – this will cover the costs of administration, choosing an appropriate medication, reviewing the previous history of the patient, recording details of the prescription on the history, writing the prescription and recording the details on the standard BVA format.

Complaints and Standards

VetDentist is committed to providing an exceptional standard of service and care. We realise, however, that things can go wrong and there may be occasions when you feel your expectations were not met. We hope that before you complain you will give us a chance to put things right. Most problems can be sorted out easily and quickly, often at the time they arise and with the person concerned. If your problem cannot be sorted out in this way, and you wish to make a formal complaint, we would like you to let us know in writing within six months. An acknowledgement letter will be sent, usually within 10 working days of your formal complaint being received. This will detail the name of the person handling your complaint and the estimated timeline for any investigation and response. In the event that you do not feel satisfied with our attempts at resolution you are entitled to contact the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (www.rcvs.org.uk) and to follow their complaints procedure.

Reviews

VetDentist will post up all reviews (whether good or bad) provided that we can verify the submission is genuine. To do this we ask for an email address (which will not be displayed) and sufficient detail for us to identify the client or patient. "Trolling" unfortunately occurs on all web-sites and we are anxious to ensure that no unjustified stress is caused to our team from these misguided individuals.

Zero Tolerance

VetDentist has a "zero tolerance" policy regarding violence, or threats of violence and abuse. We do not tolerate discrimination on the basis of age, sex, gender identification, race, mental or physical disability, religious or sexual preferences.

General

VetDentist may contact you either by letter, phone, text or electronic means in order to advise you of outstanding accounts, reminders of your pet’s follow-up care treatments and any marketing offers that might be of benefit to you or your pet. Please tell the staff if you do not wish to be contacted.

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

The Business

VetDentist and VetDentist.co.uk are trading names of Training-Progress Ltd, registered in England No 08649725, registered address c/o Milner Mount Farm, Darley, Harrogate, North Yorkshire. HG3 2RN.  VAT no GB 169 1652 84

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