vet holding cats ashes hostage

[Saitama]

My poor cat had been at the vet on and off for months, but in the end unfortunately had to be PTS. This was on a weekend and so the cost of it was extortionate, but it would have been cruel if we'd waited until monday. We asked for him to be cremated and to have his ashes back and his paw prints etc.

We've spent several thousand £ at this vet in the last months for my cat, trying to diagnose and treat him, all paid up to date until the PTS. Now I owed £700, I paid 350 of that and set up a payment plan for the rest at X amount per month. But the vets are refusing to give me my cats ashes back until it's paid in full.

All my savings have gone into my cat and I have nothing left, so his poor ashes are just sat at the vet alone and waiting for me and I can't bring him home. I've been with the vets for years with my other animals, have always been a good client, paid on time, never missed an appointment, no reason for them to think I'd just take his ashes and not pay since my other pets are registered there.

It's going to be approx 4-5 months until I can pay the rest of the bill to get my cat back, it feels so cruel of the vet to be holding him hostage like this when taking all the above into account, and how many appointments I had had there with this cat alone. I'd even sent them a card and chocolates after some of the appointments before to thank them for their work etc.

AIBU to think it's super messed up and cruel that they won't just give me his ashes now?

I would set this out in an email to the vets. It’s clear you pay as you have a long history of it. I’m really sorry for your loss

Our beloved dog was pts two weeks ago. The vet arranged, at our request, for the nearby pet crematorium to pick her up and cremate her - but the fee for this was paid directly to the crem in return for her ashes (i.e. no pay, no ashes).

That is reasonable. When vets pay the fee for you (and we've had that with another vet in the past), it's also reasonable for the vet to withhold the ashes until you pay.

Yes, they read the notes and files before any appointment to re-remember issues your pets have had in the past - just in case there are possible links etc. If they see you have another pet, they will reference it - it's basic customer service. It doesn't truly mean anything.

Our vet has a poster about an independent organisation providing credit for vet bills, so he gets paid and you get your ashes. It would have made me feel the same, my dogs' ashes remaining at the practice.

I'm with @Babadook76 - and possibly others but have not rtft

Given all the background info they should bend the rules for you.

My vet would have! Without hesitation. Long-standing, loyal client who has respected all appointments and paid all bills. Nonsense that they could't let you take your poor DC home.

they charged £300 just for the "out of hours" fee for the PTS since it was a weekend. Despite the vet living on site and the whole thing taking only 15 minutes.

But to be able to offer an out of hours service so that your cat didn’t suffer through the weekend, first that Vet had to restrict their weekend plans to be on call, then they had to interrupt them. It’s not “just 15 mins”.

It´s quite understandably how you feel, but your cat´s ashes are not feeling lonely.
The vets were quite nice to fully treat your cat without you paying in advance, even.

Yes, all official. Just like at the vets.

If vet lives on site do you think he just sits there outside office hours just in case there is an out of hours call? I assume there is a rota

They're a business like any other and therefore, must keep to the law as they are able to pursue unpaid debts in the normal legal way, i.e. through the courts.

However, as you’ve set up a payment plan with them, you’ve entered into a consumer contract with them.

Keeping your dead pet’s ashes as surety for the debt is likely to be considered as an unfair contract term on their part and I’d be inclined to report them to Trading Standards and possibly the Financial Services Ombudsman, if they charge interest on the debt.

What on earth? 'Quite nice to treat without paying in advance' ???I always knew our vet was lovely. But didn't realise others were so awful.

Once this is resolved, find yourself a different veterinary practice next time you need their services as this one sounds absolutely awful.

When I had my cat PTS, my lovely vet came out to the house and stayed for about an hour to ensure puss was gone. She only charged me the normal fee and nothing extra for visiting me at home. The practice deals with farm animals as well as small pets and they’re very busy, but also very caring too. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.

Presumably, you live in a city then?

All Farms have some kind of credit agreements with their local large animal vet practice. Invoices are usually sent out once a month for payment. 🤷🏻‍♀️

If its any consolation the ashes aren't really your cat.

I worked in a vet and my job was taking the PTS animal bodies to the incinerator, the animals are mass cremated often along with wood etc... then the ash distributed randomly because smaller animals don't really leave any ash.

Same with lost babies, although as far as I'm aware it was a singular cremation with my loss not a mass one, we where told straight up the ash would almost entirely be the remains of the coffin (which was massive in comparison to the body) as the body was simply too small to create a collectable amount of ash.

I doubt you are getting credit through your practice. It might be through a third party organisation. But in any case it doesn’t matter because this clearly doesn’t apply to the OP’s situation. Surely you grasp that?

The point is they have a business to run. Of course its a dreadful shame about your cat but you need to pay the bill. They aren't doing it out of spite or to be cruel but to ensure they get money owed or else their business will fail if they keep having to write off debts.

"fully treat" you mean euthanise? I have never ever paid in ADVANCE of a pet needing treatment, I pay before leaving the vet but the consultation/treatment is already finished by that time. The cost for a normal trip is dependent on what they do or what meds they give so how can that ever be paid in advance? Have you ever been to a vet? 🙄

Also I thought that legally a vet can't refuse to euthanise a poorly animal - otherwise they're allowing the animal to suffer through failing to act? My cat couldn't have waited or would have suffered more and died by himself. So even if I rocked up there and said straight away that I couldn't pay, they would still have to PTS I believe

Anyway I could afford the euthanasia, but if they told me in advance of the crem cost then I would've gone elsewhere as I said and saved a bunch of money so I wish they did get me to pay in advance!!

I'm also aware that his ashes aren't feeling lonely, since he is indeed dead and burnt to a crisp, thanks for the reminder, what a stupid and insensitive thing to say

And if you had done this, you would have had to pay it all up front.

The issue is, you're obviously emotionally affected by this, but your vet’s practice which is a business whose sole reason for existing is to make money, isnt. Your expectation is unreasonable looking at it from an unemotional POV.

this reminds me of when my dog died, following over £7k worth of treatment, all covered by the insurance, which they had all the details of and well knew. In the end she had to be PTS in the middle of the night, i was bereft.

after lots of tears i finally got out of there and to bed at around 4am. on the dot of 9 the next morning they phoned me to say sorry they'd forgotten to charge me for the euthanasia. bastards.

City, ha. Not quite. I am a large animal vet. I accept that the ongoing accounts for our farm clients can be eye-watering, but we do not offer credit. This is a business-to-business relationship, which makes it an entirely different scenario to the OP’s for many reasons.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I can still remember collecting my cats ashes from the vet like it was yesterday, utterly heartbroken and unable to speak clearly to tell the receptionist why I was there. I can't imagine being in your position. Sadly the only thing you can do is wait while you pay the balance.

Veterinary practice is big business unfortunately (basically private healthcare for animals). Everything they do is a paid-for service, usually with a premium added on to inflate prices. Most practices now are owned by large corporations who buy up practices to make a buck, nothing else. It's become so greedy that there has been an investigation into it recently. They prey on the love we have for our pets. Every visit I've made to a veterinary practice in the last decade has been an exercise in up-selling, because they know you'll look heartless if you deny your pet the 'extra test' or 'just in case' medication that they've offered.

I don't deny that individual vets, nurses, etc, love animals. But they are not the ones calling the shots at the practice.

They have billed her in arrears - the cat died, they sent the bill!

I've been in vet practice for 48 years and this is standard practice. Having ashes returned is more expensive than bulk cremation and vets get ripped off and have ashes on the shelf for years that the owners don't collect. We used to give it five years and then dispose of them in the practice garden. We didn't make much on the cost of special cremation so it's a kick in the teeth when they've just been left.

And to be clear, invoices sent out monthly (for rolling large accounts that run into the £100ks) is very normal business practice across the board. It is NOT the same as offering credit with no fixed terms to a private client.

@Saitama
It won't help you now, but in future you can arrange your own cremation directly with a pet crematorium.
We do it with our little ones and it's about 10% of the price the vet charges, and it's such a lovely service.
We have opportunity to say goodbye to our little ones in a special room, where they wrap them up lovingly before they go to be cremated. Almost like a short funeral service. The ashes are available to collect a few days later.

It's so hard to think about in the immediate moment of grief, but if you search around now and get prices from different crematoriums, you can be prepared for any future losses.

🌈 Fly high little one.