£101.67?!?!?!?!

[ChristmasisRuined]

A year ago, DD's Hamster had to sadly be put to sleep. I agreed to let them 'handle' disposal of him due to DD's special needs. She certainly wouldn't have been able to cope with a little burial.
The cost of this, including 'disposal', came to £39 which I thought was reasonable.

Fast forward a year and DD's 1yr old Hamster (who really helped her grieve for the loss of her last little friend) has unfortunately had to be put to sleep this evening as she was really suffering. This was at a different Veterinary practice. They too asked if I'd like to take her home or have them dispose of her. As last time was a reasonable cost which included this, I just agreed to them disposing of her.

So imagine my surprise when I got to the counter after was presented with a bill for £101.27!?!

I paid and when I got home, I called to double check it was correct and yep! Same price for a Hamster as it is for a Cat! Apparently, £30 of it is for them to dispose of her. Now, had I been told this I would've taken her home and buried her myself without DD knowing, as I'm a disabled, widowed parent on a very low income (as I have no choice but to claim disability benefits now). At NO point did anyone tell me that disposal would cost £30 extra. Yes I should've asked but given the other, also independent Veterinary surgery charged just £39 TOTAL last year, I never imagined disposal could cost so much so it didn't seem relevant to ask. Surely if something costs extra, then the morally decent thing to do is to point it out?
Anyway, even without the £30 disposal fee, £71 to put a Hamster to sleep???

I then looked on the website of the Vets I used last year, and their price is now £42 inc disposal for all animals smaller than Rabbits.

Christmas is now pretty much ruined. Due to my circumstances and the COL crisis etc, like many people, I only had £150 budget for DD's presents and the food. Now £101.67 of it has gone when it could've been just £42 down had I used the other practice....

I'm up sh** creek now and could cry. DD is crying because she's lost her little friend and I'm nearly crying because of the cost of it!!

Should I complain? Or is this roughly what others have paid??

Thanks

My vet does this too 🤨

@BloodAndFire I don't know but Christmas is definitely ruined if i can't get any toys for my poor daughter.

Are you for real? She's just lost her Dad and nearly lost her Mum in the same accident which left me disabled for life. Of-fucking-course I want to give her presents to try and give her the Christmas she deserves. What on earth is wrong with you?????

This is because I'm now a 'single mum on benefits' isn't it?
Never mind the fact that I was on 69k in my absolute DREAM job in Aviation 8 months ago. Homeowner, happily married with a child and one on the way. Then a drunk driver ended my husband's life and destroyed mine and my child's lives. Nope. Scummy single mummy on benefits, that's all people see.

-Awaits comments blaming late DH instead of drunk driver who killed him-

why on Earth wouldn’t you check the price before agreeing to it?

Oh, good point about the individual cremation. When our cat died we opted for the group one which was miles cheaper. Vet sent the receipt in the post with a terrible condolence poem and a note about the process, which said something about how they don’t just shove them all in together, they’re lined up neatly - made them sound like sausage rolls going in the oven. And you could have a scoop of the ashes but it wouldn’t be your pet, per se; more a selection of pets. (I declined.)

Stop buying hamsters. For disposal they just throw it in the garbage such a waste of money.

Really? Whereabouts? I'm near York

OP, ignore @BloodAndFire clearly some people have never been skint. I know that everything going wrong with Christmas round the corner and all your loved ones want is something that is never going to be affordable. It’s utter shit. Unfortunately though I don’t think you’ll be able to get your money back from the vets now. Even though it was extortionate.

If anyone would like their pet put down and disposed of, I will totally handle it for £50. We can do a little ceremony, a few prayers, whatever you like.

I'm not a vet or a funeral director or owt, but you pays your money and takes your choice.

‘Disposal’ what appalling terminology

Dorset! I'll try and send you the link and I could get it posted to you? X

Please don't spend any money on this person, you have no way of knowing if their story is genuine.

I'm so sorry this happened, it's bad enough losing your pet let alone feeling ripped off too. Maybe it's the price for an individual cremation and ash return rather than the mass cremation? I think vets usually have couriers that come by every day or two, if you call first thing in the morning, as in 7.30/8am you should hopefully be able to intercept the hamster and bury him in the garden.

I was once charged £70 for a hamster PTS, I was 99% sure it was a mouth tumour, they said 'Oh it might be a cyst, we'll put him under to check', I thought if I said 'No, he's 2.5, just PTS', I'd look like a terrible animal owner so like an idiot I agreed. They then called me to say it was a tumour, so I said don't wake him, let him go and then they charged £70 for the anaesthesia, investigations, PTS etc. This was 20 years ago and I'm still outraged by it!

I agree. I couldn't think of another term but disposal is what they said. Cremation wasn't mentioned until afterwards

Never. Ever have I come across this in decades of pet ownership.

My dog had a TPLO and only then was I told in the region of £5k and it came to £7.5k. A blood test was over £300- can’t just be me and OP having surprise bills surely!

No, it’s just people who don’t ask…

I'm sorry about your DDs hamster - it's always tough to lose a pet.

Hindsight is 20:20 but I think given that this was a different vet practice, you made a huge assumption (and sadly incorrect) that it'd be the same or similar price as it was previously. You could certainly get in touch and ask if there's anything they can do but given that you've already paid for the service, it's most likely too late.

@BEAM123 No ashes are being returned as this was my first assumption. I genuinely didn't think they cremated any creature smaller than a cat as I've seen a pet cemetery on tv before and they just did cats & dogs.

If it was just this evening then the hamster will be in the cold room at the vets. Phone first thing in the morning and say you have changed your mind and will come and retrieve. They should give you a refund. The pet crematorium in Durham is at Witton Gilbert so you could phone them too if you need to

Can't work out how to do private messaging 😬

Ffs op that’s absolutely shocking! For a hamster?! I would have paid too and then went away and thought about it, it’s just how I am. Please don’t worry about Christmas as pp have said you can hopefully find stuff online even 2nd hand and wrap it up nice. Join free cycle and you can post for requests. I get email notifications when someone in my group posts stuff or is looking for stuff. Bound to be people doing a clear out before Christmas and you might get lucky.
Also so sorry to hear about your situation, you don’t need to explain yourself to these arseholes that are on looking to wind folk up.

With respect, I'm aware I made a massive assumption. I even acknowledged this in my OP. I wasn't asking if I was wrong to assume, of course I was. I'd be pretty thick if I hadn't already worked that out. What I was asking was if £101 was an acceptable/expected rate. However it seems I wasn't clear enough in my OP

@ChristmasisRuined I'm sorry this won't help you now but would you not be entitled to use the PDSA? I'm really sorry, it sounds like you've had so much to deal with, Xmas should be the least of your worries. Hope you and DD can enjoy the day together. For what it's worth, I don't remember many presents I got as a kid, I do remember the time spent at home, watching TV, playing games and eating until I was bursting.

Thank you so much! I'll message them and see if they're willing to post it. I once posted an iCandy travel system so you never know!

That’s extortionate!

You should've asked. Don't get any more pets until you're sure you can afford them.