Thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your pet to the Barrier Animal Care Clinic. Outlined here are our Practice Terms and Conditions of Business. Some aspects of the Terms may not be relevant to you, and we request that you ask for further explanation/clarification if required.

Provision of Services
Our aim is to provide you with services using reasonable care and skill; in compliance with commonly accepted practices and standards of veterinary medicine; and in compliance with English Law and regulations in force at the time we provide the services.
We will provide the services during our published normal working hours (Monday to Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday 11am-2pm). Any variation from these hours will be advertised on our website.

Fees
All fees, diets and drug charges are subject to VAT at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case and according to the materials and consumables used.
A written fee list is available on request. Alternatively, a current price list of the most commonly performed procedures is available on our website.
You will receive a detailed invoice for every consultation, surgical procedure or transaction with us.

Methods of Payment
Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your pet or upon collection of drugs/diets.
You may settle your account using
· Cash
· Cheque (with valid cheque guarantee card)
· Debit and credit cards (except American Express)

Estimates of Treatment Costs
We will provide, on request, a written estimate as to the probable costs of treatment. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate since often an animal’s illness will not follow a conventional course.

Settlement Terms
Should an account not be settled within 14 days, then a reminder will be sent with an additional accounting fee in respect of administrative costs incurred. This chaser letter will state that if payment is not paid within seven days then your details will be passed to our debt collection agency Vetdebts Ltd and further charges will be levied in respect of administration costs incurred in collecting the debt. We may suspend our services for remaining works until payment is made.
Any cheque returned by our bank as unpaid, any credit card payment not honoured and any cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in the original account being restored to the original sum with further charges added in respect of bank charges and administrative costs together with interest on the principal sum.

Inability to Pay
If, for any reason, you are unable to settle your account as specified, we ask you to discuss the matter as soon as possible with a member of staff. Please note that instalments or part-payments of any account may only be sanctioned with the express permission of a business partner.

Pet Health Insurance
We strongly support the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle our account and then reclaim the fees from your insurance company.

Complaints and Standards
We hope that you never have recourse to complain about the standards of service received from the Barrier Animal Care Clinic. However, if you feel that there is something you wish to complain about, please direct your comments in the first instance to the practice manager.

Ownership of Records
Case records including radiographs and similar documents are the property of, and will be retained by, the Barrier Animal Care Clinic. Copies with a summary of the history will be passed on request to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case.

Ownership of Radiographs and Similar Records
The care given to your animal may involve making some specific investigations, for example taking radiographs or performing ultrasound scans. Even though we make a charge for carrying out these investigations and interpreting their results, ownership of the resulting record, for example a radiograph, remains with the practice.

Communicating with us and Data Protection Notice
We are a registered Data Controller under the Data Protection Act 1998. We will use your personal data to inform you about our services and information which may be of benefit to you and your pet. We may share and disclose your name and postcode with third parties including other vets about how you conduct your account. Your information may be accessed by other vets via a secure website located at www.vetdebts.co.uk which may contain your data relating solely to your account. Other third parties may use this information to make credit decisions about you. Please note, if you provide false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we will record this.

Amendments to the Practice Terms and Conditions of Business
We have the right to amend these Terms and Conditions of Business where we need to do so in order to comply with changes to the law or for commercial or regulatory reasons.

Contacting Each Other
If you wish to send us any notice or letter then it should be marked for the attention of the practice manager and sent to the practice address.

No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice unless specifically agreed in writing and signed by a business partner. No agent or person employed by, or under contract with, the practice has the authority to later or vary these conditions in anyway.

Last Revised March 2010
Data Control Registration Number: PZ2114675