TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your animal to Clarendon Equine Clinic Ltd. Printed below are our Practice Terms and Conditions. Some aspects of the Terms may not be relevant to you, and we request that you ask for further explanation/clarification if required.
FEES
All fees, drugs and dressing charges are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case and according to the drugs, materials, and consumables used. Our written fee list is available on request.
METHODS OF PAYMENT
Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your animal or upon collection of drugs or medications. You may settle your account by either.
- ONLINE BANKING Acct No. 65026168 sort code: 30-91-85
- CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS Visa, Mastercard, Delta, Solo – We do NOT accept American Express
- CASH OR PAYMENT LINK WHICH CAN BE TEXT OR EMAILED TO YOU
- Online via our website via the following link: Pay – Clarendon Equine Veterinary Clinic
ESTIMATES OF TREATMENT COSTS
We will happily provide a written estimate as to the probable costs of a course of treatment. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate – often an animal’s illness will not follow a conventional course.
PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS & SUPLEMENTS
Prescription medications will only be supplied if we have examined/reviewed your horse within the last 6-12 months at the discretion of the treating vet depending on the most recent clinical assessment that has taken place.
Written prescriptions are available upon request at a cost of £20.00 Any medications, wormers or supplements supplied must be paid for at the time of collection.
SETTLEMENT TERMS
We reserve the right to request payment in full for all routine work prior to our visit, and to request payment at the time of any veterinary treatment. If payment of your invoice is not received in full after 30 days, then an additional accounting fee of £20.00 will be charged in respect of administrative costs and Interest at 8% under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 will apply thereafter until the balance is settled in full (including all accrued interest). If a debt reaches 60 days, this will incur a further administration fee of £20 and will be passed to our nominated Debt Recovery Agency or the small claims court. Such action will cause your credit worthiness to be questioned elsewhere. All additional fees associated with the small claims court, interest and debt recovery agency fees shall be added to the outstanding balance of any debt over 60 days referred to as above.
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. Payment plans with a minimum 1% deposit can be arranged through our partner finance company Divideby (through carefree credit), interest free over 6 or 10 months. Please see our website or call the office for further information. A finance arrangement fee will be charged at 7% of the balance. Please call the office to discuss your options with us. Accounts outstanding over 30 days will accrue interest at 8% of the balance until the account is settled. An administration fee of £20 will apply at 30 days and 60 days overdue as described above.
INSURANCE CLAIMS
Clarendon Equine strongly supports the principle of insuring your animal against unexpected illness or accidents. Please ask for details about insurance from a member of staff. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle your account and then reclaim the fees from your Insurance Company unless the Insurance Company has agreed to pay the surgery direct. Any costs not covered by your insurance company must be settled under our normal terms, including the policy excess, insurance administration fee (£40.00) and livery fees. Insurance forms will only be processed once the excess and admin fee have been paid to the practice. Please always check the small print of your policy wording to ensure you are aware of what conditions you are covered for, any % of compulsory contributions that must be paid towards a claim and the maximum limit of veterinary fees cover you have in place for medical conditions. We cannot be held responsible for situations where you find you are not insured for any potential claims where treatment has already been commenced and agreed by yourself.
COMPLAINTS AND STANDARDS
We hope that you never have recourse to complain about the standards of service received from Clarendon Equine. However, if you feel that there is something that you wish to complain about, please direct your comments in the first instance to one of the partners within 14 days.
OWNERSHIP CASE RECORDS AND RADIOGRAPHS ETC.
Case records including radiographs and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by, Clarendon Equine Clinic Ltd. Copies of relevant history/radiographs will be passed to another veterinary surgeon at their request. The care given to your animal may involve making some specific investigations, for example taking radiographs or performing ultrasound scans. Copies of these or similar documents will be supplied to our clients at their request.
SHARING OF INFORMATION and GDPR
The practice requires your consent under GDPR guidelines to contact you via telephone, text, email, and post. All registered clients were contacted in May 2018 via text or email to provide consent to the different ways we can contact you. Only methods selected by your self will be used to contact you. All new clients who register after this date either by email/phone/online are asked which methods of communication (if any) they consent to us using. Please note that vaccination/treatment reminders require your consent for us to send these to you. By registering with us you agree to us contacting you for the purposes of sending invoices for any clinical work undertaken at your request.
Client details may be passed onto our debt collection agency in the event of non-payment. Client information may therefore be shared with the county court or high court enforcement services if escalation of debt recovery continues.
By registering with the practice, you consent to your information being shared for this purpose in the event of non-payment.
Patient and client information may be shared with other veterinary surgeons/practices (for example for referral purposes or second opinions) at the express consent of the client. Please note that as detailed in our out of hours emergency policy, client, and patient information is shared between the group of practices which cover emergencies. This is to ensure continuity of care for all patients that require on-going treatment. By registering with any of the practices detailed in our out of hours emergency policy, you consent to the sharing of this information as detailed above and in the policy itself.
No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by the 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.
