Vet quotes and vet bills.

[1Catherine1]

My vet has speculated that my cat might have breast cancer and as she has never been insured (was sick when I got her) I asked how much the investigative operation would cost, he told me between £250 to £300.

As she already has a pre-existing condition (or two) for more minor ailments including skin problems the operation had to be delayed due to steroids in her system and an inflammation of the skin. This meant that she had to have an additional antibiotic injection and additional blood tests due to her age. This came to an massive extra £85 before the price of the operation. Paid last week.

Today I took her in for the operation and got a bill for £465. which is substantially higher than I was originally quoted. I have also been told that due to complications she has to go back for another consultation tomorrow afternoon (another £20+). I left the bill with the vets saying this was not what I was quoted it being over 50% extra than what I was expecting. The receptionist told me to leave it with her and she would speak to the vet who quoted the £300.

I'm sure not a lot of people have £570+ lying around to pay to vets unexpectedly especially when I only budgeted for £300. But I was wondering if anyone had any ideas what will happen now? Should I expect the vets to change the bill to a price around where I was expecting or should I expect a phone call explaining the quote and informing me the quote was for the operation alone not the time involved + any equipment/medicines/antithetic used. Am I really expected to pay this? On the invoice it showed the operation cost alone as £305+VAT then there was £50+VAT for "time" and then lots of other little things listed. Is this normal just to quote for the procedure ignoring all the other essential costs (eg. antithetic and time).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sorry can't offer much advice but surely if the vet quoted £300 then he should stick to £300, explain this is all you can afford which is why you went ahead with the opertaion. Surely if a friend asked you how much your cats opertaion was you wouldnt say £300 plus £50 for vet's time plus £** for machinery etc you'd give the actual figure.

Hi, I'm a vet, so hopefully I can help (although vets practice differently throughout the country!) I would say to call and ask to speak to the owner/ practice manager. In our practice, we try to stick to the quote, and record the quote on the records, so that if the op is carried out by a different vet they know what was originally quoted for.

A good vet will either explain where the extra costs were incurred and work out a plan whereby you pay some/ all over a mutually agreeable period OR honour the original quote. But don't pay without talking to the boss and questioning the bill, because you have every right to query this account. It's just like any other service- if a plumber quoted me £300 and then charged nearly twice that, I'd be questioning it!!

Another thing- no shame in admitting you don't have that much money lying around!! You budgeted for the quote they gave you. Be upfront and explain that you don't actually have the money- we are supposed to be a caring profession, the mistake was with them, or their communication with you, so they should be able to help you come to some agreement. Clients query their bills all the time- they won't think you are being "difficult" etc if you approach them. Hope you get it sorted- good luck!

Thank you both for your replies. I am going back to the vets this afternoon for our check up appointment. The vet who quoted me the £300 was the head vet so I believe it has been passed on to him to sort out already. I know he recorded the amount quoted on the system because the receptionist was able to bring up the quote. Another vet who had previously quoted me the £250 had also recorded it on the system, I recall the vet mentioning that I had already had a quote but because he was recommending a little more work be done it would be a bit higher (the £300). So I know it's there.

The only thing that concerned me was how the receptionist said "Do you have the quote in writing?" which reminded me of something my dad always says to me "If it's not written down it never happened". But this was before she found it on the system.

I genuinely don't have the extra money needed to cover the bill. And I guess I'm very proud and don't like to admit it to the vets. To pay the £300 I had to re-budget my month and go without since although my partner and I have a half decent amount income wise I'm only 3 years out of uni and still paying off student overdrafts and credit card bills added to us expecting our first child in 5 months. Thank you Jooly, I intend to explain my situation to them and try to arrange something, although since I know there may be follow up procedures to this investigative one I am concerned how I'm going to pay for them.

Hi catherine- sounds like your surgery should be able to sort it out for you- good news!

As far as follow-ups go, I'm assuming she had a mammary lump removed and sent away for analysis?? If that's the case, we wouldn't usually charge for follow-up checks immediately the operation, just for any medication etc required, so the costs may be lower than you expect. Again, lots of vets are different but in most practices where I have worked it's standard for the cost of "post-op checks" to be contained within the price of the original op. Nor do we charge for stitch removal after an op.

Don't be afraid to ask your vet what the costs are likely to be. Vets are just like everyone else- we're not as well-off as people would like to make out, and I would definitely be struggling to find an extra £300 in a month myself, so can quite understand if a client has difficulty doing so!

I assume that's what they've done Jooly. I just know that she's had two lumps removed and sent off. The results should be back by Wednesday or Thursday.

Just got back from the vets and I'm happy to say that they sorted it for me. They reduced the cost to the £300 originally quoted. I paid £250 today and will pay the remaining balance next week when I take her in again for another antibiotic injection. (Payday is Friday and it can't come soon enough)

Thank you for reassuring me since I was quite stressed out.

Do you have a local RSPCA or PDSA vet? If you are on a low income and can show bank statements to show you've been earning less than £1000 a month (ie. are you on maternity leave with reduced pay? That might qualify) they will treat your cat. Their fees are much cheaper than private vets. They have two pricing bands I think, one for people on benefit and a slightly higher one for people on a low income.

I am self employed and have used the RSPCA vets when work has been particularly slow. I always try to give a bit extra as a donation on top of the consultation/treatment price as a way of thanking them.

Glad you got it sorted! Hope all goes well with your wee cat