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Problems with Vets 4 Pets Flea and Worm Treatment Monthly Subscriptions

2 replies

SnoopyLights · 12/01/2022 22:23

Has anyone else got this pet plan and are they having any problems with it?

In the summer we signed up for this service and we've had nothing but problems ever since.

We have two cats and one dog, so pay £25 per month to Vets 4 Pets, and every three months they either send out or we collect the flea and worm treatments for the pets.

The man on the phone who discussed the service with me told me it would cost £8.00 per month for each cat, and £9.00 per month for the dog. He said I could order the first lot of medication while I was speaking to him, and make the first payment when I went to pick it up. He also said that this is a complete service which would include any check ups relating to the medication.

The first time I went to collect it, they tried to charge me £130 for the medication and argued with me about the price. It took a good ten minutes of insisting I had spoken to someone about the price and service before they called someone out from the back who remembered speaking to me. They did apologise and set up the direct debit (and I paid the first £25 instead of the £75 I was expecting to pay. He hadn't mentioned a monthly payment so I thought I would be paying every three months in one go, so £75 for three months instead of £25 every month). They said that after this, the medication would be posted out to us in time to administer it on the right date.

Since then, despite it being a quarterly medication, they send a reminder every single month but only for the dog. I've let them know and they've said they can't see a reminder on the system.

The second time we needed medication, they refused to post it to me because of Covid, and I had to go in and collect it.

The third time (the most recent) they agreed to post all the medication but then only sent the medication for the dog. They said we would need to take the cats in person for a check up before the medication could be dispensed.

Then they said it would cost £42 per cat for the check up. I argued that they had said this was included in the price. They said that it was not included as they would normally complete this check up during the booster vaccine appointment.

A lot of arguing back and forth followed. During one phone call I said I would pay for the check up appointment if it included the booster vaccine. They said in that case it would cost £35 per cat for the appointment, check up, vaccine, and obviously the medication we have already paid for.

They then realised that the cats would be out of date for their boosters as there is a shortage of the bottles that the vaccines come in (the dog, who already has a Vacs for Life plan with them, should have his vaccine in early January but can't be seen until the end of February - they have said this is their fault and so this will be free of charge / covered by the plan).

The woman I spoke to said that as we cannot book a booster vaccine and the cats will be out of date, she could book us an earlier appointment to have the first vaccine and the check up and the flea and worm medication we have paid for administered, and have a follow up appointment for the second part of the vaccine and she would not charge us at all.

So we went in for the first appointment, had the check up, the flea and worm treatment, and the first vaccine, the vet we saw confirmed there was nothing to pay.

We went to reception to book the next appointment and they tried to charge us £145. Again, we argued, they found a note on the system saying no charge, and we made the next appointment and left. As we were leaving we noticed the poster I've attached here, and when we got home we checked on line. Everything says that the check up for flea and worm medication is included in the plan.

When they sent out the third lot of medication for the dog, they included an extra tablet for one of the treatments, so he would have had a double dose. There's only ever been one tablet for flea treatment and one for worm treatment before.

Today we received a parcel for one of the cats, it's a dose of flea treatment and a dose of worm treatment stating they should be administered once every three months. It hasn't even been three weeks since the vet administered it.

Their online information for the treatment plan is here

Am I reading this wrong? It does say annual vet health check with the plan. And even if I am wrong, all the mistakes with the extra medication being sent out is worrying.

I just wondered if anyone else is having these problems.

Problems with Vets 4 Pets Flea and Worm Treatment Monthly Subscriptions
OP posts:
gogohm · 12/01/2022 22:28

I'm not sure what you have or think you have because I've hot two plans and they work fine. The dogs is called vets for pets complete care £14 a month and covers annual vaccinations plus flea and worm, I have to order and collect the meds every 3 months. The cats is a flea and worm subscription at its £8, posted to us monthly.

SnoopyLights · 13/01/2022 08:29

@gogohm Thanks for replying.

We have a Vacs For Life plan for the dog, which covers an annual check up and a booster vaccination. We've had this for years, we paid a one off fee and he now his annual booster and check up don't cost anything, unless we choose to add to the booster vaccine with other boosters for things like kennel cough.

When we rescued the cats we took them for check ups and treatments and we were then offered a plan for Flea and Worm Treatments for all three pets. I took all three in and we were charged £130 for all three to receive a check up and the vet administered all the medication. Three months later when I rang up to book the next appointment they said we could take out this monthly subscription and have the medication sent out, which would cut the costs in half but would include a yearly check up to ensure the dosages were correct.

They said the monthly cost would be £8 per month per cat and £9 per month for the dog.

But the medication for all three pets is (or should be) sent out every three months and we administer it at home. The dog gets a tablet for flea treatment and a tablet for worm treatment. The cats have been getting a tablet for worm treatment and a vial of fluid we put on their necks for flea treatment.

We were told at the time that the monthly payment plan would include a check up to ensure that the correct doses were being prescribed.

However since then, they refused to send out the medication for the cats as they hadn't had a check up. They then tried to charge us an additional £42 per cat for the check up because they said it's not covered in the plan after all.

But the poster in their waiting room which I've included a photo of, and their website, seem to be saying that the check up is included in the plan.

Does your plan match what is in my photo or the link I included to the website? I'm thinking of just cancelling the whole thing.

They seem to be making things up out of thin air, the prices, what's included, and then sending out extra random bits of medication. I feel like I've lost all trust in what they are doing.

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