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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

About unfair vet prices for prescription flea treatment?

76 replies

SummerNights1986 · 20/12/2015 09:48

It does sound petty as I write this as it's only over £7 - but I was irritated all the same!

I have two cats and they need flea/worm treatment, which is prescription only. I popped into our vets on Friday to buy some and was told the cats needed a free check up first as they'd not been seen in a year now, which was fine. I took them yesterday morning. All checked, they're in good health, similar weight and the vet can prescribe the same spot on treatment for both. Great.

The vet asked whether I wanted a 3 or 6 pack for them (to be used once a month) so I asked about prices. 3 pack = £26. 6 pack = £45. So I said a 6 pack. Went to the front desk to pay and collect and they asked for £90. A simple misunderstanding, so I apologised and said i'd only meant one six pack at the moment, and i'd be back in 3 months for more.

'But which cat are you treating?' asks the receptionist with a Hmm face. Both, I say - i'll obviously buy the 6 pack because it's cheaper and split it between them. Which is when the problem started. From this point, I was in the vets for another 25 minutes, arguing.

The receptionist said I couldn't do that because it was a prescription medication and only to be used by the specific animal it was prescribed to. If I wanted a 3 month supply, I should buy 2 x 3 month packs, costing £52, with one prescribed to each cat. I refused. The medication is the same. I could pick up a different brand 6 pack off the counter right now and go and use it for 6 different cats if I wanted to and the fact that this is a prescribed treatment is neither here nor there. The receptionist told me that legally, she could not sell me a prescribed 6 pack knowing it was to be used for two different animals and refused to sell me anything. The vet (also the practice manager) was called out at my request.

He told me the same as the receptionist and I argued the irrationality of this and said it seemed that it was a money making exercise only. He was very brusque and said that if they suspected I was using a cats medication for another cat, they held the right to ask us to remove the animals from the practice. And that by doing what i'd asked, their records would show only one cat as having received treatment, which was 'incorrect and dangerous for the animal'. I asked if they could not just put the 6 pack on DCat1's record, with a note to say only 3 months was being used, and a manual entry onto DCat2's records to say he'd had a 3 month treatment. No, they can't, their systems don't have that capability and would be incorrect. I told them (massively irritated by this point, but as polite as I could) that I didn't really care what their records said and that was not my problem.

I ended up saying, fine - i'll buy one 6 pack for DCat 1's use only. DCat2's fleas aren't that bad so i'll leave him for the minute. Obviously rubbish. After 5 more minutes of arguing, with lots of warnings that I was only to use the treatment for DCat1, the vet grudgingly sold me one 6-pack for £45.

WIBU? I know it was only over £7 and I could have just paid, but the principle of it really got me - and £7 is £7.

OP posts:
andypandy55 · 20/12/2015 11:53

By law, you can ask your vet for a written prescription, costs about £6-£7 and then you can buy it off the internet from an online animal chemist type thingy. I always use VioVet, their service is excellent. The vet can also choose to write it as a repeat prescription, so you can just re-order online, without visiting the vet. My old dog was on Metacam for the last three years of his life. It would have cost me £100+ every 6 months, with the written prescription off the vet, it cost £25.00.

goodnightdarthvader1 · 20/12/2015 12:00

Vegetable, we're not taking about antibiotics though, are we? Don't be obtuse.

QuietTiger · 20/12/2015 12:07

Utterly ridiculous. We have 11 cats and our vet routinely orders a large box of Advocate for them (cheaper to buy in bulk) and puts it onto one cats account with a note that the others are being treated.

However, we have 3 cats on the same kidney prescription drug (Fortekor) and he always gives 3 separate boxes with 3 separate labels and notes on individual cats accounts (which is fine by us) even though he knows we work through one box at a time - he says he has to do this for his records and to keep things straight for him when he sees the individual cats.

I think that the receptionist and vet you dealt with were being rude and jobs worth over the flea treatment, but also see their point from the other side.

TheBunnyOfDoom · 20/12/2015 12:08

Buy it online!

I got a six-pack of frontline from Amazon the other day for £16.

TheHiphopopotamus · 20/12/2015 12:25

Frontline is rubbish, don't buy it!

I get Advantage off Amazon and I've read that it contains the same ingredients as Advocate but minus the worming treatment (I'm not sure how true that is but it worked when frontline had stopped killing the fleas).

MaitlandGirl · 20/12/2015 12:26

I'm surprised at Advocate being prescription only in the UK - you can buy it in pet shops over here.

deste · 20/12/2015 12:28

I once asked the locum vet while the dog was in getting a tick removed if he was overweight. I was charged extra for a consultation. Even the receptionist queried it.

AHobbyaweek · 20/12/2015 12:33

Worked at a vets for years and dispensed he flea treatments, YANBU. we used to sell packs between two animals all the time (as long as they were in the same weight bracket). I suggest advantage which is made by the same manufacturer and works similarly (frontline is rubbish I agree). You can buy it online as long as you enter one cat's details.

MrsNippyCat · 20/12/2015 12:36

I normally stick up for vets on pricing etc but that sounds ridiculous.

YANBU at all.

I would check out some other local practices, see if any are more inclined towards common sense.

SuperT3d · 20/12/2015 12:36

It's a prescription drug. If you don't like the rules for them then buy over the counter less effective stuff.

The receptionist is just doing their job and you'd have faced exactly the same issue if you were at a human doctors....

DustyCropHopper · 20/12/2015 12:39

I always buy a 6 pack for my cats to 'share'. The vets know I do this as I only have to take one cat every so often to show I have a cat (quite why I would want to spend all that money on flea stuff if I didn't I don't know but rules are rules). In fact they suggested it once the other cat got to the slightly higher weight, meaning they could both have the same strength.

knobblyknee · 20/12/2015 12:51

YANBU, my vet runs an insurance scheme and its all in, plus they have an animal ambulance.

Veterinari · 20/12/2015 13:02

Legally the vet is correct. A prescription only medication should only be applied to one animal. However recognising that both animals had been checked in this particular situation it would have been reasonable to sell you one pack for you to split, or for the vet to hand write the label so that the single 6 pack was prescribed to both cats

BishopBrennansArse · 20/12/2015 13:04

Advantage as many say is the same as advocate, made by same people but minus the wormer.

It's over the counter. I just buy the generic wormer for a couple of pounds (same ingredient as Drontal, no brand name) and still save money on advocate from the vet direct.

I have a young Manx cat with bowel issues so the vet suggested I buy lactulose from my local pharmacy as it's identical to what they'd supply but at £6 for 500ml which will last 500 days is far cheaper than getting it from them.

None of this affects ongoing treatment with the vet, we have a fantastic working relationship where I simply keep them in the loop as to what is happening medication wise. They're happy that the animals are getting appropriate treatment and medication and are well cared for. A that is their priority.

The fact they have had to close their books to new clients speaks for itself.

My senior girl has metacam and thyroid meds direct from the vet but that's because it's done via the insurance.

Beezles · 20/12/2015 13:07

Viovet. We buy ours there at 1/3 price.

WhoTheFuckIsSimon · 20/12/2015 13:11

Blimey.

My vet insisted I brought a cat in before prescribing flea medicine. But check up was free and they were happy that I only brought one cat in. They knew quite well that I was taking medication for both because I joked that I didn't know which cat Id be able to catch and come back with (they're both a bit wild). I promised the vet they looked the same size/weight. Vet hasn't seen my other cat in six years.

TheBunnyOfDoom · 20/12/2015 13:12

We have to buy Frontline as one of my cats has flea allergy dermatitis and her flea treatment has to contain Fipronil.

Pigeonpost · 20/12/2015 13:16

Oh FFS, soooo pedantic. I can never remember which cat I bought it for last so just pick the first one that comes into my head. We used to split one pack between three cats.

MaryAnn888 · 26/12/2018 07:36

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Luvacuppatea · 26/12/2018 08:31

If you can’t find what you use online, definitely change vet. I buy prescription flea killer / wormer (Advocate) for my 3 cats either 3 or 6 pack at a time and then use it in all three cats (so a pack lasts 1 month or 2 months). Never been an issue.

Tamberlane · 26/12/2018 08:35

Change vets if you can. These clearly do not value your custom.

While the rule is true they are being pedantic because it can be worked around and thats an awful way to treat a customer.

We used to have free consults for flea meds prescriptions for animals already on our system and utd with vaccines etc....because it was a token exam to comply with the prescriptions laws...and treating our clients well was seen as a priority.

If you cannot change vets I'd ask for a prescription to buy it with a decent online chemist in future for all medications (bar the urgent) and tell them why.
You cannot treat people like this and expect them to want to support the business...and vets are a small business at the end of the day.

Work as a vet and I'm shocked at how this was handled.

Booboostwo · 26/12/2018 09:04

I can see why you are frustrated but legally and professionally the vet is responsible for dispensing the prescription and cannot dispense it for two animals unless it's two prescriptions.

Now you might say this is pedantic, especially for flea treatment, but imagine a vet who prescribed Bravecto for a dog breed who is known to have the MDR1 gene mutation and the dog had serious neurological complications as a result, the owner would be fuming. If the vet prescribed Bravecto for a non-MDR1 breed and the owner decided to use it on her second dog off her own back then it's the owner's fault and the vet is not liable.

Frankswife87 · 26/12/2018 09:05

Our vets have a VIP account for cats and dogs where you pay a few pounds per month . It gives us unlimited flea and worm treatments etc

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 26/12/2018 09:18

YANBU.

Other posters are right, Frontline no longer works in many areas. Also, please don't buy the cheap crap from the supermarket. At best it doesn't work, at worst it can be fatal.

Our vet has a Healthy Pet Club but unfortunately there's no choice of flea and worm treatment, you get what you're given, so it's no good for us. I quite liked the idea of saving some money!

sueelleker · 26/12/2018 12:09

Our vet changes brands occasionally-I just take what they give me. I trust them to give me the most effective one. (I also get mine free with the Healthy Pets scheme)

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