Vets..excessive mark-up! Should I return items?

[lonelylou09]

I've got 2 dogs and 1 horse. No insurance (yes I'm an idiot!)
This year so far ive already spent £969 at the vets plus another £125 yesterday.

That's made up of 2 emergency call outs and painkillers for the horse (£150) the rest is daily meds for older dog arthritis plus monthly jabs and my younger dog had to have a growth removed from his leg.
I paid beforehand £130+ to have a biopsy sent off and tested but the results were inconclusive so vet recommended it be removed as well as a large area around it just incase.
This has left him with a huge open wound and we've been to the vets every other day for 3 weeks now for dressing changes. Which resulted in the £125 bill yesterday. I wasn't expecting it to be that much so asked for a print out.
So far everytime they have changed his dressing it's £5 for the melolin pad and £5 for the vet wrap. They have also given me 6 melolin pads incase I need to change his dressing at home. But no vet wrap so I ordered some online. £1 each!
So I looked up the dressing pads online...£6 for a box of 10. Same make and size.
I really don't mind paying my vet bills (honestly I can't think of what else I could possible think to spend £1000+ on 😭😭 ) and have always just paid it without question but surely if I can get them that cheap they are not paying anywhere near £5 each for them!
Would I be being unreasonable to take the pads back and ask for a refund?
I hate being that person but at the moment every spare £ is going to the vets without feeling ripped off in the process.

I don't think you're unreasonable do ask for a refund for the pads, however the price of everything you describe so far sounds pretty fair. They need to make a profit and you're still paying for their time. A consultation is £30 at my vets and if you're having daily visits I think 125 is pretty reasonable. My cat was admitted to the vets for 10 days and had various tests done and it cost us 3k. So sorry your pets have been unwell though. Always a stressful time.

You've paid £1094 so far this year because you are uninsured... but you want to quibble over £24 (6x4) as money is tight?!

I think you've got a lot of treatment for your £1000 OP.
You can discuss the bandage consumables with your vet and see what they say. But keep in mind that, as a vet, I think you've had a really good deal. Vet care is expensive. Vet surgeries are expensive businesses to run. Your vet is a business and as such needs to turn a profit to stay afloat.

Well I’m not sure I’d ask for a refund, but I would just take my own in and ask them to use those.

You have to remember they’re not just passing on the cost of the pad to you. They need to cover staff costs to order the pads, unpacking and checking them, storage space for the pads, keeping track of stock. It’s not just a straight “this cost us £1 so we charge you £1”. Although I agree that seems like a big markup!

2 dogs, one elderly and a horse.

We are 5 months into the year. TBH you might have spent that much on insurance especially given the age of your dog and that he has a long term condition. experience of elderly cat

Medical care is expensive, it's part of the cost of owning animals.

Either you pay for insurance you might never need or you risk it - and then some years you lose big.

It's pretty much always more expensive to buy medication and supplies at the vet than it is to buy them online for a warehouse-type company that can afford to bulk-buy thousands of items at once.

Personally I think you've received huge amounts of vet care for very little - you've been at the vets every other day for nearly a month and they've only charged you £125? That's amazing value for money!

I really wouldn't complain as I think you've had a bargain here and you're very lucky that you've only been charged such a small amount.

Hi thanks.
As I said I've got no issues at all paying my bills and never normally question anything ...just pay as I'm so grateful to have great vets and be able to get my animals whatever they need.
Whenever the dogs have been in previously for operations and had to go back for aftercare I've never had to pay extra.
Yesterday she just handed me 4 pads incase I need to change the dressing again before he goes back in..I've already got another 2 from last time. Not realising those 6 pads cost me £30 when a box of 10 is £6.
I wouldn't go as far as taking my own things in when they are changing it but if I'm doing it at home and they knew I would have to buy vet wrap anyway then I do begrudge paying so much more for the same item.

Insurance would be cheaper OP

Have they charged you for time?
I can’t imagine how that many dressing changes would only cost £125 to be fair!

I would let it go this time because your relationship with you vet is more important than a few pounds but next time I would just say that you have bought some yourself so won't need any this time thanks. Getting in basic supplies like vetwrap is always a good idea ime!

You’re the first person I’ve heard of who owns a horse but hasn’t bought vet wrap before! Or doesn’t have a stash of it at home already

I don’t think you can complain. You are paying for the convenience of them supplying it and bringing it to you, instead of having to wait for an online order to arrive

I wouldn't return them now. Just be aware for next time.

So just buy your own supplies to use at home - you don't have to take what they offer you.

But £125 for three weeks worth of vet treatment is so cheap. If the vet gave me a bill for £125 afterwards I'd have thought they'd missed a "0" off the end!

I'd count your blessings. I suspect the vast, vast majority of practises would charge you a LOT more than that.

@Heatingsystemwoes yes definitely! It's just been a bad run so far.. normally my vet bills have been £25 a month for injections then a bit extra now and then. Insurance now for an older dog and younger dogs pre existing conditions would be a lot.

@Leonberger he's been 5 times I think. The idea was that they removed the bandages and put a sleeve on it and I did it at home with weekly check ups but the sleeve didn't fit and I was concerned it looked infected. They just charge a small fee for that not a full consultation.

@GappyValley yes I've got vet wrap at home..plenty off normally. Didn't have the dressings tho.
Guess I'll have to put it down to experience now I know how much more they are charging.

@Bufferingkisses yes and that's why I asked on here to get people's opinions rather than calling them and complaining. I guess it was just the shock of how much they were charging when she was just giving me the items each time when if I'd of known id of got my own.
I know people who order their prescriptions online as it's cheaper and the vet once suggested this himself to me but I'd rather pay the extra to the vet as I appreciate what they do.

You are comparing cost numbers vs revenue numbers. The 60p/dressing is the cost to the vet of buying the dressing. They are charging you £5 as a revenue figure made up of all sorts of things, such as the cost of having someone to manage the supplies so they always have enough to hand, and having somewhere to store said supplies. Yes of course there will be profit in there too, and 60p to £5 does seem like quite a high difference but without seeing more about their finances I couldn’t possibly tell you how unreasonable their pricing is.

@tobedtoMNandfart I'm saying I'm happy to pay whatever for the vets time and treatment without question but not to be unaware I'm paying 5x more for items to use at home than I can get them elsewhere. I did assume there would be a charge for the dressings of course but not that much.

@cakefanatic yes I probably wasn't thinking that..was just so shocked tbh at the huge difference in costs for something I'm using at home myself. If I'd of known they were £5 each I would of not taken them from the nurse.
As I've said more than happy to pay whatever for vets time and treatments as I do really value and appreciate them and my animals health and happiness is foremost and I expect to pay more at the vets for things than online..but not 5x more

At a guess I would say it’s probably 50% pure profit, but I don’t know. It depends how profitable the business is overall. Vets are expensive businesses to run, all sort of costly insurance bills, staff costs, equipment, premises.

You know what to do though - if it’s for home you could always supply your own.

You also have to consider the age of the pet. Our dog's insurance premiums rocketed when he reached 9 years old and we wondered about ditching it and putting the money aside each month, especially as there was a hefty excess to pay, plus % of the final bill. Thank goodness we didn't, as we've just had to pay out around 5 grand for cancer surgery for him.

As others have said, you've paid out nearly a grand in vet bills because you don't have insurance (but you'd have paid roughly the same for insurance if you could have got it at all), but want to argue over a couple of pounds on the supplies?

Just pay the bill and stop complaining. If you think they charge too much, find a different vet. I don't get why people complain about it though, it's kind of obvious animals aren't cheap if they get hurt, there is no 'nhs' for animals. Even if you have insurance they might not pay out. Got to be aware of that and have a back up solution. I and my insurance company paid out about £9,000 to sort out my horses issues. Thats 3 times more than the idiot was worth. Shit happens.

Definitely buy your own, your vets will probably have paid more than you can get it for online to be honest.

@ClarkeGriffin not in any way am I complaining about the £1000+ ..worth every single penny..my question was would I be unreasonable to ask to return the £5 each dressings when I can get a box of 10 for nearly the same price, especially as it looks like he's going to be needing a lot more.