Terms and Conditions of Business
These Terms and Conditions of Business apply from the time of registering with Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd and booking your first appointment. By registering and/or booking an appointment, clients acknowledge that they have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, please contact the Practice before using our services. These Terms and Conditions may be updated from time to time. Clients will be bound by the version in effect at the time of their appointment or service.
1. Fees
All fees, drug charges, supplements and other products are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fees are charged according to the nature of the procedure, test and the time taken to carry these out, as well as drugs and consumables used. The fees are provided in detailed form on invoicing and patients’ records. To reflect increasing operational costs and to remain aligned with industry standards, Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice reserves the right to review and adjust its fees periodically. While we endeavour to communicate significant changes where possible, individual notification of fee adjustments may not always be provided.
Clients are encouraged to enquire about current fees and charges at the time of booking or prior to treatment. By proceeding with an appointment or service, clients acknowledge and accept the fees applicable at that time.
2. Estimates for the cost of treatment
At any time we are happy to provide a written estimate for the anticipated cost of treatment on request. Please note that this is an estimate and not a quotation, as often your horse’s treatment will not follow a conventional course, and their welfare is our primary concern. We will endeavour to keep you up to date with costs throughout treatment. However, in certain instances it may still be possible to produce an estimate that you may accept as a quotation.
3. Payment Terms
We accept the following payment methods:
• Consumer Credit/Debit Card: We accept all main consumer credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard).
• Incompatible Cards: We cannot accept payments with American Express, Visa Business, Mastercard Business, and Diners Club Cards.
• Cash & Cheques: We cannot accept payment by cash and cheques. Payments must be made via bank transfer, debit card, credit card or other approved payment methods agreed in advance.
• BACS transfer:
Lloyds Bank, SURREY HILLS EQUINE VETERINARY PRACTICE Ltd,
Sort Code: 30-99-50
Account no: 36987160
For non-UK clients:
IBAN: GB70LOYD77050525150868
BIC/SWIFT: LOYDGB21T16
Reference – Please use the invoice number.
Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd reserves the right to allocate payments received against the oldest outstanding invoice unless that invoice is under dispute and the dispute has been notified to us in writing.
It is our policy that all clients need to build up a satisfactory credit record at the Practice’s discretion.
3.1. New Clients : To schedule an appointment, payment will be required at the time of booking until an acceptable credit record has been established. This also applies to any emergency and/or out-of-hours (OOH) service, for which a minimum deposit of £500 will be required at the time of booking. Any additional fee will need to be settled by card or bank transfer at the end of the OOH consultation. If applicable, any unspent balance will be refunded within a reasonable period.
3.2. Registered Clients : Unless alternative arrangements have been agreed in advance, payment is due within 10 days of receipt of invoice. Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd reserves the right to refuse credit at any time. Clients who are persistently late in paying will be required to pay all fees at the time of booking and access to our veterinary services may be withdrawn.
3.3 Failure To Pay
Should an account not be settled a reminder will be sent. Should it be necessary for further reminders to be sent, administration charges may be incurred. After due notice unpaid accounts will be referred to our debt collection agency and further charges, such as for the production of reports, correspondence, court fees, attendance at court and phone calls will be levied in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt. Any credit/debit card transaction not honoured, or any cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in the account being restored to the original sum with further charges added to cover bank charges and administrative costs together with interest on the principal sum.
This may be reported to credit reference agencies by our appointed debt recovery service and will likely result in notice of termination of services provided to you by Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd. Once your debt has been referred then payment should be made directly to the debt agency.
Without prejudice to any other right or remedy, if a client fails to pay any sum due under these Terms and Conditions on the due date, Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd may suspend all or part of the Services until payment is made in full.
3.4 Inability To Pay
If for any reason you foresee difficulties paying for treatment, please discuss this with us as soon as possible. Any part payments or installments can only be authorised by a member of management and may only be agreed PRIOR to treatment. Upfront payment will be required following cases of unauthorised payments by installments.
3.5. Cancellation and Missed Appointments Policy
We ask that you arrive on time for your appointment. Please call to advise us if you are delayed so we can determine if there is enough time to see your horse or if your appointment needs to be rescheduled. We understand that in occasional circumstances appointments may need to be cancelled or missed; however we need to consider how such missed appointments may impact other clients and our ability to efficiently assist them with their horses.
• Any last-minute appointment cancellation may be subject to a full charge of the total services booked, subject to a cap of £120.
• ‘No-show’: Any missed appointment (‘no show up’) may incur a £120 fee. This also applies to zoned days appointments.
• Zoned Days: Please ensure that you have no time restrictions before booking a Zoned Day appointment (for example school runs, doctor appointments, etc.). Any last-minute cancellation of a Zoned Day appointment may be subject to a full charge of the total services booked. This will also apply to appointments for services covered by Equine Health Plans (EHP). As fees are charged according to the nature of the procedure as well as time taken to carry these out, in the event of delayed client’s attendance, a standard call-out fee will be charged.
• Pre-Purchase Examinations (Vettings): Due to the amount of time set aside for pre-purchase examinations, cancellations made on the day of the appointment may incur a £120 fee.
• Any Out-Of-Hours appointment cancellation may be subject to a charge of £250 if made after a veterinarian has been dispatched.
4. Emergency and Out-Of-Hours (OOH) service
Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd operates a 24-hour Emergency service for registered clients’ horses in line with requirements by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. You can access this service by telephoning our landline 01306 249944, where our Out-Of-Hours receptionists give you the opportunity to speak with a Vet or Nurse to handle your emergency.
This service will be fulfilled by one of our own equine vets or one from an Out-Of-Hours partnered practice, who will have access to your records.
We endeavour to attend emergencies as promptly as possible, typically within one hour, subject to clinical prioritisation for concurrent emergencies.
Where an urgent or emergency visit is required during normal working hours, a discretionary surcharge may be applied. This reflects the reallocation of clinical time and resources and the potential disruption to pre-booked appointments for other clients. Additional charges may vary between £78 and £120, in addition to the regular consultation fee depending on how critical the situation is.
Out-Of-Hours fees incur outside our office hours Mon-Fri 08:30-17:30, and over the 24h during Bank Holidays. As with other equine practices, Out-of-Hours, Weekend and Bank Holiday attendances attract a £265 minimum charge. This OOH minimum charge applies to all OOH calls attended by us or on our behalf.
Clients may inquire about the current emergency and OOH surcharge fees with our office team.
5. Horse insurance
Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd strongly recommends horse insurance for your horse to cover the cost of illness and injury. Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd does not accept any responsibility for accidents or incidents suffered by clients’ horses whilst under its care. It is each owner’s responsibility to provide financially either directly or through insurance cover, for the care of their animals.
Please be aware that if your animal is insured, as the policyholder it is your responsibility to settle your account with the Practice and reclaim your fees from the insurance company.
5.2 Indirect Insurance Claims
Indirect insurance claims are brought by a horse owner to their insurance company to request a reimbursement of veterinary costs incurred following treatment.
We make no charge for completing the vet section of indirect insurance claim forms and providing the relevant documentation.
5.3 Direct Insurance Claims
Direct insurance claims are brought by a veterinary practice to an insurance company on behalf of an owner, on request of fees payable directly to the veterinary practice.
In certain circumstances, we may agree to pursue a direct claim on your behalf and claim our fees directly from your insurance company. This is subject to criteria set by us and requires prior approval; please do not assume this will be carried out automatically. While we may pursue a direct claim on your behalf, you remain fully responsible for all fees incurred, regardless of insurance cover, until your account has been paid in full.
– A charge of £35 (inc.VAT) will be applied for each direct insurance claim and for continuation claims (if applicable), as varying degrees of administrative paperwork are involved in the process. Please be aware that this charge may vary from time to time and will not be part of your insurance claim.
– Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd reserves the right to refuse a direct claim at any time.
– Payment for insurance excess and direct claim administration fee is required on submission of the claim.
– Any direct insurance claim involving a degree of co-insurance (percentage payable per claim/invoice or deductions by itemisation), will require a payment or insurance claim excess and may require an additional £500 deposit towards the claimant’s responsibility on submission of the first claim form. If applicable, any unspent fees will be reimbursed once each claim is closed.
– We reserve the right to refuse administration of a Direct insurance claims due to the degree of administration involved with some Insurance Companies.
6. Equine Health Plans
EHP (Equine Health Plan) ** Vetsure® – All the Equine Health Plan direct debits are managed by Vetsure®.
• Details and application form are available on our website.
• Cancellation of an Equine Health Plan direct debit before completion of the 12-month term will incur a charge for all services already provided for the period covered by the contract.
7. Ownership of records
Case notes and similar records for your horse are the property of, and are retained by the Practice. You may request a copy of your animal’s clinical notes at any time. These shall be passed appropriately, by request, to another Veterinary Surgeon treating that animal. In accepting these terms and conditions, you agree that Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd may share your record information with other clinicians and their organisations when necessary for the treatment of your animals.
7.1. Ownership of diagnostic imaging (radiographs, ultrasound scans and similar records)
During your horse’s treatment, we may take radiographs or similar diagnostic imaging such as ultrasound scans or endoscopy videos. Even though you may have incurred a charge for carrying out and interpreting such diagnostic imaging, the ownership of the resulting imaging record, for example a radiograph, will remain with Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd.
To avoid risk of digital forgery, electronic manipulation and misinterpretation, we will only issue copies of imaging records appropriately, by request, to other Veterinary Surgeons or Veterinary Practices taking over responsibility for clinical care. Owners and paraprofessionals (for instance physiotherapists, chiropractors or osteopaths) are welcome to view and discuss any diagnostic imaging record by appointment with one of our Veterinary Surgeons.
8. Prescriptions
Prescriptions are available on request from Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd. You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines, Category V (POM-Vs) from the Practice, or alternatively request that a written prescription is issued to another pharmacy to purchase these medicines.
To avoid risk of digital forgery or electronic manipulation, written prescriptions can be issued only to another pharmacy. We require clients to email our office with their order number and chosen pharmacy to allow us to issue a written prescription.
There is currently a charge of £26.50 (inc VAT) for a written prescription which may vary from time to time. All requests require 48 hrs’ notice.
Prescriptions are only authorised to animals under our care. A prescription is not always applicable where immediate treatment is required.
8.1 Regular Examinations
To be able to prescribe or issue a written prescription for Prescription Only Medicines, Category V (POM-Vs), we are required by regulations set by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and by our professional body, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), to perform regular examinations of your horse. Such examinations attract a consultation fee; please do not assume that this will not be necessary. The frequency of examinations depends on the medicine being prescribed and the condition being treated. This will be advised by your treating Veterinary Surgeon.
9. Complaints and standards
We really hope that you never feel the need to complain about our service or standards of care, however it would be foolish to assume that we are infallible, and events will not always go as you expect them to all of the time. We try hard to achieve as good an outcome as we can with the care of all of our patients and in our communications with you, and consider your horse’s welfare as our utmost priority. If there is any aspect of our work that concerns you or has been left unresolved, then please let us know, so that we can listen, understand, and act on your concerns. It is important for us to receive feedback because it gives us an immediate opportunity to put problems and mistakes right and to quickly learn from them. Most importantly we want you to have confidence in us to do the right thing for your animals when it matters.
You may in the first instance raise a complaint with the member of staff directly involved if appropriate. We hope that problems can be resolved quickly and easily this way. If however you would like to make a formal complaint, you can email our Business Manager using the details below:
info@surreyhillsequine.com
The Director
Surrey Hills Equine Veterinary Practice Ltd
Hedges, Crest Hill
Peaslake, GU59PE
We will endeavour to acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days. After which, we will investigate your concerns with the relevant members of staff if necessary within 10 working days of the receipt of the complaint. We will be then in a position to respond accordingly. We hope we can ascertain what went wrong and why, provide an opportunity to discuss the problem with those concerned if you wish, provide an apology where appropriate, and make sure the problem doesn’t happen again.
9.1. Zero tolerance policy
We understand that dealing with conditions of poor health of your horse can be stressful and at all times we will advise our clients while maintaining our patients’ welfare as paramount priority. However, we operate a zero tolerance policy towards any verbal or written abuse towards our staff. We consider this unacceptable and reserve the right to suspend all or part of the Services in such circumstances.
10. Data Protection
We may obtain, use, process and disclose personal data about you in order to discharge our duties as your Veterinary Surgeon under these standard terms of business, and for other related purposes including updating and enhancing client records, analysis for management purposes and statutory returns, crime prevention and legal and regulatory compliance. You have a right of access, under data protection legislation, to the personal data that we hold about you. We may also send you from time to time in the future, free of charge, details of the services we provide. By registering with the Practice, you consent to the processing of your personal data in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
For the purposes of the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, the Data Controller in relation to personal data supplied by you is the Business Manager.
11. Equal opportunities
We are an equal opportunities employer and we are committed to providing the same high quality service to all our clients, regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
12. Variation in Terms and Conditions
No addition or variation of Terms and Conditions will bind the practice unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by a Practice 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.