Terms & Conditions

Whieldon and Forrester LTD (T/A Riverside Vets), (‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, ‘ours’) is a limited company registered in England and Wales with the registration number 14777113 based at Riverside Vets, Unit F, Candy Park, Old Hall Road, Bromborough, CH62 3PE. This document sets out the terms of the contract between us (Riverside Vets) and you (the registered animal owner or individual requiring veterinary services).

 

1. Our Contract with You

If you register with us, our acceptance of your registration will take place when the practice confirms to you that we have accepted your registration, at which point a contract will come into existence between you and us. We will provide you with a copy of these terms when you register and may also send you a copy or a link to them by post or email. The contract consists of both your registration form and any other forms that you may have signed (such as consent forms) and these terms and conditions.

 

2. Our Services

All veterinary services provided by us are supplied by suitably qualified staff, taking into account the nature of the services to be supplied in each instance. We will always carry out the services with reasonable care and skill, and in accordance with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Code of Professional Conduct.

We will provide veterinary services to you during our normal business hours. We have arranged emergency veterinary services outside of our normal business hours. This is provided by MiNight Vet.

We reserve the right to provide any veterinary services at our discretion and at any time. We will carry out the veterinary services by the time or within the period which you and we agree. If you and we have agreed no time or period, this will be within a reasonable time.

 

3. Responsible Pet Ownership, Us, and You

We offer a package of preventative healthcare, our practice plan (Riverside Pet Club). This includes regular appropriate vaccinations and regular flea and worm control for dogs, cats and rabbits, free microchipping, free insurance administration, as well as unlimited free of charge sick pet consultations.

In order to help you budget for your pet’s routine healthcare needs, and to make bills more manageable, we are pleased to offer the Riverside Pet Club. Please ask one of our receptionists for more details.

 

4. Pet Health Insurance

Animals can become ill or get injured suddenly and without warning. We strongly recommend pet insurance to cover unexpected problems. Please ask for details about insurance from any member of our team. You must advise us prior to any treatment if you wish us to submit a claim directly to your insurer in respect of our fees. We will preauthorise all treatment with your insurance company prior to the start of treatment. If you fail to do so, it is your responsibility to pay our fees at the time of treatment and then reclaim them from your insurance company.

 

5. Fees

All professional fees, and medicine charges are subject to VAT at the prevailing rate. Fee levels are determined by the time and skill-level required for a case. Most of our procedures are given fixed price packages for treatment. We will discuss with you what is or isn’t included in the package prior to treatment. You are liable for any fees incurred in the diagnosis and treatment of your pet. If an agent is nominated to bring your pet, you must make arrangements to settle the invoice. Additional fees may also apply, these include but are not limited to: accounting fees (see paragraph ‎6); report evaluation fees (see paragraph ‎10); and prescription fees (see paragraph ‎12).

 

No medicines can be dispensed without payment being received at the time the items are collected. This does not include items dispensed as part of the Riverside pet club, which are subject to the terms and conditions of the plan.

 

6. Methods of payment

Accounts are due for settlement at the end of the consultation or treatment, the discharge of your pet, or upon collection of medicines and other pet requisites. You may settle the account using cash or a credit/debit card – we accept Maestro, Solo, Mastercard, Visa. In most cases, we accept relevant vouchers that are valid and in date. Please call prior to appointment to check if we can accept a particular voucher.

 

7. Estimates of treatment costs

We will provide written estimates as to the likely cost of treatment. Please bear in mind that any estimate given can only be approximate as it is not always possible to predict how a pet’s illness will progress. If you are given a fixed price package, prices will be fixed for the treatment as set out in the package. We will try to contact you on the telephone number you have given us if we believe the treatment costs are going to exceed the estimated costs. If, however, you are not contactable, we will treat your pet as is necessary for the prevention of pain and suffering.

 

8. Settlement terms

A reminder will be sent if an account is not settled within seven days. Payment is quick and easy when away from the practice. We are able to send a remote link to settle the invoice. Additional charges may be incurred if further reminders are required. Overdue accounts will be referred to our debt collection agency and further charges will be levied in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt (these include, but are not limited to, correspondence, court fees, attendance at court, phone calls and home visits).

We don’t accept cheques as a form of payment.

All missed appointments may be charged unless reasonable notice of cancellation is given. It is in our sole discretion not to charge for a missed appointment.

 

9. 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 the team. We don’t offer payment plans at the practice.

 

10. Ownership of records

Case records, including radiographs, clinical notes, laboratory records and similar documents, are our property and will be retained by us. A copy of the history will be passed on to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case. Should you wish to obtain a copy of the case records or radiographs, we will provide these on payment of an appropriate fee.

 

11. Care of your pet during opening hours and out-of-hours Policy.

Our staff will provide appropriate and comprehensive in-patient care for your pet, as decided and instructed by the veterinary surgeon on duty. During normal practice opening hours, a member of staff will be present on the practice site at all times and will be available to provide in-patient care to your pet.

We don’t have 24 hours cover available at our clinic. We may keep cases overnight, but will discuss the level of care available at the time. Any out of hours emergencies, or ongoing night hospitalisation will be provided by MiNightVet, Chestergates, CH1 6LT. All fees must be settled with MiNightVet at the time of treatment by the client.

 

 

12. Prescription Policy

Prescriptions are available from our practice. You may obtain Prescription Only Medicines (POM-Vs) from the practice.  Alternatively, you may ask for a written prescription and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or pharmacy. Your veterinary surgeon may prescribe POM-Vs only for animals under his or her care.

You will be informed of the price of any medicine that may be prescribed for your animal. The general policy of Riverside is to re-assess every six months any animal that requires repeat prescriptions, but this frequency may increase or decrease depending on individual circumstances and the opinion of the veterinary surgeon. The standard charge for a re-examination for such purposes is the price of a consultation fee. There is a charge for providing prescriptions.

 

 

 

13. Referrals and second opinions

The veterinary surgeon will facilitate a client’s request for a referral or second opinion. A referral may be required for a diagnosis, procedure or possible treatment. After a referral, the case is returned to the referring veterinary surgeon. A second opinion, on the other hand, is only for the purpose of seeking the views of another veterinary surgeon.

 

When will we refer?

We are able to provide a broad range of advanced treatments at Riverside vets; we have an RCVS recognised Advanced Practitioner of surgery available at Riverside vets.

If we feel a case falls outside our area of competence, or facilities are required beyond those we have available at Riverside vets, we will consider making a suitable referral. We will at all times look to make you aware of likely costs that might result from such referral.

 

14. Student Care

Veterinary students may occasionally be involved in the care of your pet, closely supervised at all times. You will have the opportunity to give consent and you can withdraw this consent at any time.

 

15. Your Behaviour (and ours)

We take the health, well-being and safety of our staff, our clients and pets in our care very seriously. We therefore take a zero-tolerance approach against intrusive, offensive, violent or aggressive behaviour. Examples of behaviour that we deem unacceptable are: making malicious allegations about our staff or other clients; derogatory racial or sexual remarks; offensive sexual gestures or behaviour; using violent, threatening or abusive language (including swearing and offensive remarks); violent, threatening or abusive behaviour towards our staff, our clients or pets in our care; theft and other criminal activity; and non-compliance with the practice’s health and safety requirements.

 

Please note that we have the right to refuse to provide you services. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to decline to supply veterinary services, to ask you to leave our premises and/or to terminate our contract with you if you or any person accompanying or connected with you engage in any such behaviour, whether in our practice or when speaking to our staff via telephone, email or through our website. We understand that not all animals will respond to treatment as hoped which can be very distressing and will take this into account when dealing with such behaviour.

 

This goes both ways. If you feel that one of our staff members or other clients has acted inappropriately towards you or someone else, please let us know as soon as possible so we can investigate.

 

16. Termination of your contract with us

You can end your contract with us at any time and you can do so by visiting the practice (during normal business hours), or by sending an email or a letter to the practice informing us of your decision. When your contract ends, you will be responsible for collecting your pet from us (if it is in our care) and for paying any outstanding payments. We recommend that you register your pet with another veterinary practice from the date that your contract with us ends noting that we are not responsible for arranging this for you.

 

We also reserve the right to terminate our contract with you at any time for any of the following reasons: if the information that you provided to us on registration is inaccurate, incomplete or misleading; if you breach any of the terms of the contract (including those in paragraph ‎16; if you have failed to make payment to us when it is due and payment is not provided within 7 days of us reminding you; you do not provide us with information within a reasonable time that is necessary for us to provide the services; or in the event that the practice no longer provide services in whole or in part.

 

We will write to you either by post or email letting you know that we have made the decision to terminate our agreement with you and our reasons for doing so.

 

17. Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. However, to provide the best treatment to you and your pet, you will be required to share with us personal data, including your name, phone number, address and billing method. We may contact you either by letter, phone, text or electronic means in order to advise you of outstanding accounts, your pet’s current treatment, reminders of your pet’s preventative healthcare treatments and, where we have the right to do so, any marketing initiatives that might be of benefit to you or your pet.

 

We may also share some of your personal data with others, but only to the extent necessary, such as in the event that we refer your pet to an out-of-hours emergency service, when we need to do so in order to provide you with the services you asked of us, when it is in our legitimate interest to do so (for example, when engaging debt collectors) or when we are required to share this information in accordance with law.

 

By asking us to provide you with our services, you hereby agree to the application of our Privacy Policy and you consent to the way we process and handle your personal data. Please read the full version of our Privacy Policy here and feel free to contact us using the methods described in our privacy policy if you wish to modify how we may contact you. Please be aware that choosing to have no contact from us at all may remove the ability of the practice to send vaccination reminders and other procedural communications.

 

You are also aware that residual material or isolates from specimens submitted for diagnostic testing may be retained for laboratory quality assurance, research and development purposes.

 

18. Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you

We are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen. We are also not responsible for any damages resulting from you acting contrary to or failing to act in accordance with the instructions of us or our staff. If you purchase products from us (including medication), we will not be liable for your use of any products otherwise than in accordance with their instructions or as directed by our staff.

 

We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury to human beings caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or for breach of your legal rights in relation to our services.

 

Subject to the above exceptions, our liability to you for any damages, losses, claims, costs or expenses arising out of our supply of any products or services shall not exceed: (a) if the supply of those goods or services are covered by our public liability or professional indemnity insurance, the limit of that insurance for each claim or series of connected claims; and (b) if the supply of those goods or services are not covered by our public liability or professional indemnity insurance, the value of the total fees paid or payable by you for the products or services in question.

 

19. General

Riverside vets cannot register a pet or contract to provide veterinary services to anyone who is a minor. Persons under the age of 16 should request their parent or guardian to obtain Riverside’s services on their behalf. By engaging Riverside’s services, you confirm that you are 16 years old or older.

Reminders are provided as a complimentary service to our clients. We accept no liability for any loss, damages or costs which may result from the failure of a client to receive a reminder.

This contract is between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms.

Each of the paragraphs of these terms operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

Failure to insist that you comply with these terms or delay in taking steps against you will not mean that we have waived our rights in requiring performance of the contract or prevent us taking steps against you at a later date. For example, if you miss a payment and we do not chase you but we continue to provide the services, we can still require you to make the payment at a later date.

 

These terms and conditions are governed by English law. If you wish to do so, you can bring legal proceedings in connection with these terms and conditions or our services in the English courts. If you live in Scotland, you can bring such legal proceedings in either the Scottish or the English courts. If you live in Northern Ireland, you can bring such legal proceedings in either the Northern Irish or the English courts.

 

 

20. Complaints Procedure

We are committed to providing an exceptional standard of service and care to our patients and clients. If you feel your expectations were not met, we suggest you follow the following steps.

Initially bring the complaint up to a member of the practice team. If they are unable to resolve your complaint, it will be advanced to one of the line managers. If you are still unhappy with the result, the complaint should be put in writing and sent to the practice for investigation.

We shall acknowledge your complaint within five working days of receipt, telling you who is dealing with your complaint and when you can expect to receive a reply.

In most cases, we hope to give you a full reply within 15 working days of receipt but if it is going to take longer, we will get in touch with you to let you know what is happening. We shall then be in a position to offer you an explanation, and/or the results of our investigation.