Are there any regulations when it comes to vet charges?

[Disenchanted3]

Or are they independant so can charge what they like?

I'm asking as we have been pricing up health tests, scans and c-section prices and they seem to vary massivly!

The vet we talked to about a c-section said that out of hours for a straight forward no complication section would be £1,000 - £1,300.

We then spoke to our experienced breeder friends who gave us the number of their verts, same procedure, out of hours £500!

I find it astonishing that a medical procedure can vary in price so much from one place to the next.

Or is it like any service, you shop around for the best price?

Also the vaccinations, as an example, cost £28 at their vets, our vets its £50.

There is no regulation as such, but vets in the same area tend to charge similar prices because otherwise everyone would go to the competition. Is there something extra that the other vet is offering (e.g. better equipement and/or facilities)?

The amount each vet charges depends on the overheads they have to cover (rent, rates, electricity, insurance, staff etc etc), but again, most vets in the same area will have similar outgoings.

I think the average cost for vaccinations is about £50 all over the country, £28 seems very cheap to me. Is this vet maybe a one-man band with a small practice (compared to the other vets who may have state-of-the-art facilities and lots of staff)?

They said its a large practice.

I couldn't name it as it was mentioned in a telephone conversation and I didn't want to keep asking them to repeat everything whilst I write it down We are visiting them next Monday so will get details then.

I just thought there would be a rough guide to cost of treatments but it seems to be all over the place!

It could be as simple as the new vet being in a less expensive area. A large town-centre surgery could have ten times the rent (or mortgage) as a small out-of-town practice and will also have higher business rates, so that alone is enough to push up the bills. But definitely check the facilities and service they can offer too, as this could be where the difference is.

My own vets has a very convenient town centre location (next door to my office!) with lots of parking, it's open late every day, open at weekends, has a 24 hour out-of-hours service, has 4 operating rooms with the best equipment, separate recovery areas for cats, dogs and small animals, six fully qualified vets, numerous vet nurses, a chiropractor, groomer, acupunturist and equestrian facilities (don't need them anymore, but may do in future). I could lower my bills considerably by going to one of the many smaller out-of-town vets, but I know they couldn't provide me with the same level of service and it wouldn't be as convenient, so I'm happy to pay a bit more.

There's no regulation because that would be price-fixing and it seems to upset people!

As vets tend to be private businesses they operate under market conditions. They set their own fees. This depends on numerous factors, as pointed out by MrsL123.

I think what comes from this is you need to work out what's most important to you - cost, location, level of facilities and expertise etc. Then go with the practice which fits your priorities. Why not pop in and visit, maybe have a chat with the staff? Gut feeling can go a long way too

I think I must be the only person in the world who thinks vets fees are reasonable (apart from vets!) because I understand how much their overheads must be. My DH owns a tiny shop in a quiet-ish part of town, and his business rates are £10,000 per year alone - that doesn't include rubbish collection, water, electricity, insurance, mortgage repayments, phone lines, internet etc - he has to earn over £300 a day just to open the doors, before he even takes a salary or pays his taxes

Our vets is just round the corner and I dread to think what their overheads are for their big building and all their staff

If you're happy to travel a bit further or go for a smaller practice though, you can save a fair bit of money.

There's no regulation because that would be price-fixing and it seems to upset people!

Prices do vary quite a bit, yes, but so do services and quality of care provided. Most expensive is not always best, IME, but cheapest is usually cheapest because there is less cover/fewer services/generally something missing from the equation.

I have seen first hand the consequences of sub-standard care and it is not pretty.

I'm fussy about my vets. I like to know that I trust them, first and foremost. I put my animals into their care and that's a big commitment on my part. Price comes second to that. So when I move house I visit different practices and ask lots of questions.

Proximity is going to be a huge factor if c-sections are on the horizon: you don't have much time to get a bitch to the table before you start losing puppies, or the bitch, or both. Especially if you are a first-time breeder.

Oh Yes I agree with you on the csect/time issue, definatly, so the 'cheap' vets may be out of the question for us, depending on where it is, we don't know yet.

But I would say that I doubt the cheap place offers less services, only because in this case the breeder that I'm talking about is absolutly devoted to their animals, they have won ALOT of awards at shows and really do provide the best AFAICT for their animals so cannot imagine them 'going cheap' to save money where their dogs are involved, they are well off and breed to produce better pups to show, so I don't think they would risk it.

The nearest vets (out of hours) to us is one we don't really want to deal with so we do need to find an alternative one closer to the time.