# If the vets undercharge you....



## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

But you dont notice, you pay the bill then you leave....
then a week later you get a letter saying, sorry we did it wrong we need you to pay us X amount... do you have to pay them... whats the 'law'
if tescos for example did it, they woudlnt ring you up and ask for the extra amount, as it was their fault right?


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## matthewh1984 (Aug 1, 2007)

Depends on the amount I would think.

Also depends if you're going to use them again.

Is it worth falling out with your vet over it?

Our vet undercharged me by £63 once. I got a phone call from her. I said I would pay it. Forgot about it then the next time I went in got :bash: and a bill to settle before further treatment was offered. 
But then I use my vets probably once a month, so its good for me to keep on their good side, for the one night I need to call them out....


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## pam b (Mar 3, 2005)

As far as i am aware no they cannot,
its the same as stores if you see a price ticket advertiseing one price and the till brings it up higher and they say sorry that offer has finished under law they still have to let you have it for sticker value.
The vets presented you with a bill and you paid that bill in good faith, there mistake they bear the cost, most places i know would take the difference out the wages of the person that made the error.
Tell em to stick it (politely) and say the transaction was completed when they handed you your receipt and that you cannot be held accountable for their error.


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## matt1977 (Jul 1, 2007)

depends if you wanna use that vet againe and also are they trying it on? or is it genuine that they under charged. If it was a genuine mistake and they are a good vet id pay up personaly.


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## Graylord (Jul 17, 2007)

The way i see it its about tender and acceptance.
Once they have accepted your tender ie your money that is the end of it.
Depends whether you want to stay on good terms with your vet or not.
They cannot ask for more money later.


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## Graylord (Jul 17, 2007)

pam b said:


> As far as i am aware no they cannot,
> its the same as stores if you see a price ticket advertiseing one price and the till brings it up higher and they say sorry that offer has finished under law they still have to let you have it for sticker value.
> 
> That isn`t actually correct they can still refuse your money and choose not to sell it to you.
> ...


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## purejurrasic (Mar 18, 2006)

Not to sure

I would have thought if the agreement was to pay for chargeable treatment when leaving, and they made up the bill and you paid what they asked for, then its a little grey if they can add something else later.

What was the extra, and would you have reasonbly been expected to know that it wasnt charged for?

I mean , if say the treatment was for a broken leg, and you knew in advance that a xray was needed, and in the course of treatment the xray was explained as chargeable, and you knew it was done, then its reasonable to expect them to charge, even if its a seperate bill.

If however its some injection or something that you knew nothing about and had not been explained, I would say its still reasonable to charge, but to notify you and give you a little time.

I guess the bottom line is, you may be able to fight it, but would it mess up your vet arrangement. 

Is it a large extra amount? worth the hassle? 

I guess someone who knows more will be along soon, but legally i would think it depends on the type of contract you have, verbal, written or expressed, and the T&C that you implied acceptance of when contracing the vet to carry out the treatment

THB i would prob pay it thinking, drat, i didnt get away with it !:devil:


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## lukendaniel (Jan 10, 2007)

i suppose its all about honesty. if you didnt notice and they over charged you and rang you up you wuld be happy wouldnt you??

if it was me and it was worth it get it paid. is it really worth losing what could be a good vets???

daniel


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## pam b (Mar 3, 2005)

darwengray said:


> pam b said:
> 
> 
> > As far as i am aware no they cannot,
> ...


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## purejurrasic (Mar 18, 2006)

I have to say, its totally different from a price error, and that a contract will be deemed to be in place when they offer treatment and you accept. 

In many cases, this contract is verbal and is not for a fixed amount, as it will depend on treatment.

Also, when the first bill was paid, was it stated that was full and final payment for all treatment?

In otherwords, was it explictly stated that you owed no further money, or, like us all, did you assume that to be the case?

Lets face it, we can all make mistakes, I forgot to charge for a 2nd leo once, as they only came for one. They came back an hour later !: victory:


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## pam b (Mar 3, 2005)

On a personal note from reading the OP i get the impression they arnt too happy to pay the extra, and thats what im giving advice on, however if it were my own personal vet i'd pay up because he's great and i wouldnt take my animals anywhere else.


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## gtm (Jan 23, 2008)

If they made a genuine mistake then they can seek to recover the balance.


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

Sorry for the late replies everyone, thank you for your comments..

I wouldnt be using the vets again, its actually the one i made a thread a week or so back on here. The one who was cr*p in my opinion. Its only £15 or so quid... but thats not the point... they put the '.' in the wrong spot... surely thats their fault?... hmmm..


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## skimsa (Sep 28, 2007)

freekygeeky said:


> Sorry for the late replies everyone, thank you for your comments..
> 
> I wouldnt be using the vets again, its actually the one i made a thread a week or so back on here. The one who was cr*p in my opinion. Its only £15 or so quid... but thats not the point... they put the '.' in the wrong spot... surely thats their fault?... hmmm..


 
yep just say you refuse to pay the difference as they closed the deal at said price. They will prob try to throw their weight around but then counter with making a complaint to the RCVS over how they treated your gecko


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

kk thankyou


skimsa said:


> yep just say you refuse to pay the difference as they closed the deal at said price. They will prob try to throw their weight around but then counter with making a complaint to the RCVS over how they treated your gecko


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

If they didn't finalise the treatment though, they can add costs that would be up to you to argue in court I think.

Often I will get the bill as I leave, but my account has bits added on the next time I pay up, from costs incurred.. sometimes the vet doesn't even write the medication costs up straight away, and they send out a bill in the post, as I don't usually pay when I leave.. I usually pay every month or so (as we take a lot of animals there with the rescue). So I'm not sure how the bill is worded for you whether it would be legal or not.

If they felt that they were legally correct (and bear in mind they will have a lawyer on the payroll to consult whereas you don't) they could simply pass the debt on to a debt collection agency which is what a lot of companies do for unpaid debts, which is then a lot of hassle for you, and potentially a bad mark on your credit record.

Personally I would just pay it, if the amount extra they are charging you is what you really should have paid, then I would pay it to avoid any future hassle. If on the other hand they are adding things that you did not receive, then I'd certainly not be paying it.


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

ok 
its just so blo*dy annoying.
Its the one i was complaining bout the other day they did a AWFUL job.. and well graham was happier with the thought that we only paid a little to put his gecko asleeep.
then to get a bill a HUGE bill to put a geck ooto sleep was the last straw really 





i know what you mean though, at our normal vets i pay every oter time i go, im always at teh vets with the odd rehomed/rescued one or liek the one with a brain tumour and so on, so i pay when i can..... etc



Athravan said:


> If they didn't finalise the treatment though, they can add costs that would be up to you to argue in court I think.
> 
> Often I will get the bill as I leave, but my account has bits added on the next time I pay up, from costs incurred.. sometimes the vet doesn't even write the medication costs up straight away, and they send out a bill in the post, as I don't usually pay when I leave.. I usually pay every month or so (as we take a lot of animals there with the rescue). So I'm not sure how the bill is worded for you whether it would be legal or not.
> 
> ...


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## quizicalkat (Jul 7, 2007)

I would take the middle ground - at the end of the day they will send another bill.

I would write a letter explaining why you weren't happy with the service and this is just another example of the incompetant way they run their practice. I would cc that to the RCVS with a covering letter which you cc to the vet - oh and don't forget to write "without prejudice" at the top.

Then, if they don't cave, I would pay - but maybe write a letter to the local press - just to be annoying.


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## snakechild (Nov 30, 2007)

pam b said:


> As far as i am aware no they cannot,
> its the same as stores if you see a price ticket advertiseing one price and the till brings it up higher and they say sorry that offer has finished under law they still have to let you have it for sticker value.
> The vets presented you with a bill and you paid that bill in good faith, there mistake they bear the cost, most places i know would take the difference out the wages of the person that made the error.
> Tell em to stick it (politely) and say the transaction was completed when they handed you your receipt and that you cannot be held accountable for their error.


actually they dont have to offer it for the sticker price by law. Most shops will simply do it out of good will to retain business. Marking up an item at a price is known as an 'invitation to treat' at which point either the customer or the seller can negotiate on the final selling price. 

: victory:

but I personally dont see why you should pay for their mistake... Im not sure how the law works on that... But if you dont want to use that vets again then refuse to pay.


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## pam b (Mar 3, 2005)

darwengray said:


> pam b said:
> 
> 
> > As far as i am aware no they cannot,
> ...


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

pam b said:


> darwengray said:
> 
> 
> > Not so, having been in the situation when running a shop we we,re told by our legal team that this is so.
> ...


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## pam b (Mar 3, 2005)

fenwoman said:


> pam b said:
> 
> 
> > Your legal team were wrong I'm afraid. Items for sale are 'invitation to treat'.
> ...


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

pam b said:


> fenwoman said:
> 
> 
> > If you read my previous post, ive already found this out.:lol2:
> ...


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## Schip (Mar 31, 2007)

Take the bill to your local CAB and let them advise you, in the past I've had the same problem with a vet which they dealt with on my behalf.


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## Art_Gecko101 (May 6, 2006)

eh, if its the rubbish vets then you wont be going there again anyway, so whats the harm in arguing them over it! if it were your regular 'good' one i'd say just pay it, and make it clear that the only reason you're paying is because you like them and value their service.... but seeing as she was rubbish give em hell!


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

hehe 


Art_Gecko101 said:


> eh, if its the rubbish vets then you wont be going there again anyway, so whats the harm in arguing them over it! if it were your regular 'good' one i'd say just pay it, and make it clear that the only reason you're paying is because you like them and value their service.... but seeing as she was rubbish give em hell!


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

pam b said:


> darwengray said:
> 
> 
> > Not so, having been in the situation when running a shop we we,re told by our legal team that this is so.
> ...


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## DeanThorpe (Apr 9, 2006)

Think its important to add, a lot of "proper" places and people including training schemes including nvq's and stuff will often tell you there are laws about certain things that there actually isnt ,more liek guidelines that a few big retailers set up and agree to go buy [yet still weasel out if they can] and anyway, I wasnt being a dick i just know its not true about having to sell at the wrong price is all.


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## slither61 (Nov 18, 2006)

freekygeeky said:


> Sorry for the late replies everyone, thank you for your comments..
> 
> I wouldnt be using the vets again, its actually the one i made a thread a week or so back on here. The one who was cr*p in my opinion. Its only £15 or so quid... but thats not the point... they put the '.' in the wrong spot... surely thats their fault?... hmmm..


 
Hi all,

I know this is not your normal vet, but they might know your vet, they could make your own vet funny with you.

How would you like it if the situation was reversed and you had put the . in the wrong place??.

Have you taken any action against the vets.

slither61 :snake::snake::snake::snake:


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## loobylou (Nov 18, 2007)

Lots of vets use debt collection agencies to recover unpaid bills and you can be taken to the small claims court.
I would ring and enquire about the bill, explain your not happy to pay because of the treatment you received. If they write off the debt than thats good but otherwise think you would have to pay.


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