Clients/Ownership

Our client will be the legal owner of the horse and will be responsible for any fees and invoices incurred unless otherwise agreed, for example horses and ponies out on loan. In circumstances where the horse/pony is on loan, the legal owner must be contactable and agree to any veterinary services provided, except for an emergency situation when time is of the essence. The account holder will remain responsible for paying the invoices and any fees incurred.

If a horse has more than one owner, all owners will be jointly responsible for paying our fees irrespective of which owner has instructed us to carry out veterinary services. By employing us to carry out veterinary services on your behalf, you agree that all owners of the horse have been kept informed and consented to the veterinary services being provided.

The owner of the horse must be able to provide any necessary supporting documents on request such as the horse’s passport in alignment with the Equine Identification (England) Regulations 2018.

In instances where an owner has given permission to a livery yard to request veterinary treatment on their behalf, the legal owner of the horse is responsible for paying invoices on time. When a livery yard requests and agrees to veterinary work being carried out, we will assume that the owner has given permission for a veterinary surgeon to be called. Where possible, livery yards should obtain this consent in writing. If any dispute arises between the livery yard and owner regarding the provision of veterinary services, then the livery yard will be liable to settle any outstanding invoices.

Fees

Fees for our services are based upon the time, length, technicality of the procedure/treatment undertaken, medicines, drugs and consumables used as well as our call out fees. All fees are subject to VAT at the current rate. An out of hours surcharge will be applied to any appointments undertaken outside of normal office hours which are Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm excluding bank holidays. Bank holiday visits will be charged an out of hours surcharge. Call out fees are calculated regionally based upon distance from Dunstable; please call the practice for any further information on fees chargeable. Call out fees will only not be charged for appointments which fall under our free visit scheme. ‘Free visit’ means that the call out fee will not be charged but all other procedures/treatments undertaken are chargeable. Only vaccinations, microchipping, routine dentistry and repeat prescription checks are eligible for a free visit and must be booked 48hrs in advance of your free visit day. Please see the ‘Services’ page or telephone the practice if you are not sure of your zone day. Fees for ‘free visit’ days must be paid at the time of the consultation or in advance of your appointment.

Information on fees chargeable are available upon request by telephoning the practice.

Invoices will show the date of your appointment and itemise services and treatments provided including a breakdown of costs before and after VAT and the total balance outstanding.

Estimates

Estimates for services provided can be made upon request. Estimates will be calculated based upon previous clinical experience of the procedure required. However, given the varying nature of individual conditions and illnesses, estimates are approximate and made to the best of our ability and subject to change. Reasons for change are due to the unpredictable nature of clinical work. This may be due to disease progression or a requirement to change medication used due to variations in the way that each individual animal may react to treatment. For this reason the treatment plan and the initial estimate may change. We will however keep you informed regarding ongoing costs and likely changes to the estimate. Upon request we can provide best case and worst case scenario estimates.

Payment

Payment for ‘free visit days’ must be made either in advance of your appointment or at the time of your appointment. Payment for other services can also be made at the end of your appointment or within 14 days of your invoice date. Invoices must be settled within 14 days regardless of the completion or outcome of the treatment provided. Invoices not settled within 14 days will be subject to 3% interest above the base rate.

In some instances we may ask for prepayment for services. Examples include when we have to order items of significant cost for a client. New clients will be asked to pay upfront for the first three consultations. We reserve the right to ask for payment upfront or at the time of consultation in other cases as deemed necessary.

Insurance claims can be paid to us directly by the insurance company upon prior agreement. In these circumstances, you agree to pay the excess in advance and the fee for insurance form completion prior to the completed insurance form being sent.

Payment methods

We accept cheques below £500 payable to A.R. Equine Ltd. Please include your name, address, invoice number and account number on the back of the cheque.

Debit/credit card payments can be made at the time of consultation or by telephoning the practice.

BACS payment can be made to A.R. Equine Ltd, Sort code: 60-83-71; Account no: 42332652; Starling Bank. Please include your surname and the postcode you have registered with us as the reference.

Overdue accounts

In the first instance we will contact you to discuss the reason for non-payment. Unless there are any welfare concerns, we reserve the right to suspend treatment in these instances until the account has been settled. Accounts remaining outstanding after 14 days from the invoice date will, at our discretion be subject to interest charges at 3% above the base rate. If an account has not been settled within 90 days, we will take action to recover the debt. Debt recovery may involve a debt collection agency or County Court which may have an impact on your credit rating. Any costs or expenses involved with recovering the debt will be charged to your account and added to the amount due. Persistent late payment is likely to result in us asking for you to pay for services upfront, or our refusal to provide services except for in a welfare situation.

Insurance

Insurance is a contract between you (the policy holder) and the insurance company. The policy holder is the only person who has the right to submit a claim. We are unable to advise on insurance companies but can advise on types of suitable policy for your horse. By asking us to carry out veterinary services for your horse, you are taking out a contract with us, A.R. Equine Ltd and as such, you are responsible for settling any fees incurred. Where insurance claims are likely to cost a large sum, we recommend getting confirmation/approval from your insurance company that your claim is likely to succeed. We may agree to accept direct payment from your insurance company when a valid claim form has been submitted, and the insurance excess and any relevant administrative fees have been paid by you to us. However, we reserve the right not to accept direct payments from insurance companies.

Prescriptions

Prescriptions for POM-V medicines can be provided by us to you, or alternatively we can provide a written prescription for you to obtain medicines from another pharmacy or veterinary provider. We are only able to provide prescriptions for horses under our care, and have a professional obligation to re-assess horses requiring repeat prescriptions every six months. The standard charge for a repeat prescription check is available upon request. A visit charge will be applicable if visits are not performed under the terms of our free visit scheme. For any new conditions, we are professionally obligated to see the horse in person for that condition on the first occasion before providing any POM-V medicines. If the condition becomes ongoing and the horse is clinically stable, prescription reviews will be required up to every six months. In some instances prescription checks will be required more often, this includes but is not limited to the changing clinical condition of the horse or when your horse requires controlled drugs. Should prescribing regulations change, we will keep you updated.

The price of any medicine is available upon request.

We regret that we are unable to accept the return of any prescription drugs/medicines as we are unable to resell items. This is due to us not being able to guarantee effective storage of the medicines and due to current legislation. We can however provide safe disposal of any surplus medicines for you.

Emergency Service

We provide 24/7 emergency cover 365 days a year for all our registered clients in accordance with the rules from the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons). To access this service please telephone the practice on the usual number and your call will be transferred to the duty vet. Our normal office hours are 9am - 3pm Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays. Appointments outside of these times, unless pre arranged will incur an ‘out of hours’ surcharge in addition to the usual visit fee, examination fee and treatment costs. A pre-arranged visit refers to a routine appointment organised within office hours for a time after 3pm but before 5.30pm Monday to Thursday and after 3pm but before 5pm on Friday. All appointments on a bank holiday, weekend, or after 5.30pm Monday to Thursday or after 5pm Friday will incur an ‘out of hours’ fee. Similarly all appointments before 9am Monday to Friday will be subject to an ‘out of hours’ fee in addition to the costs highlighted above.

All fees and costs are available upon request.

Referrals

In some circumstances your horse may require procedures that we are unable to provide. Examples include but are not limited to CT scan, MRI, emergency surgery and inpatient care. We will refer you and your horse to the most suitable equine referral hospital for their clinical needs. We will discuss options for referral with you at the time of your appointment.

Second opinions

We are happy to offer second opinions either in house or through an independent veterinary surgeon/practice at your request. We aim to make this process as efficient as possible in the best interests of your horse. Should you ask for a second opinion from an independent veterinary practice, we will provide them with your horse’s clinical records after receiving either verbal, or preferably written consent from the owner.

Services we provide to you

The services that we provide to you must be carried out with reasonable care and skill; we must carry out the services within a reasonable timeframe and you must pay a reasonable price for the services provided. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you certain legal rights such as those highlighted above, otherwise known as ‘Statutory rights’. To this end, we must carry out any services at a time or within a time period that you and us agree. If no time period has been set, this will be within a reasonable timeframe. In some instances services that we provide might be affected by events beyond our control, resulting in a delay to services provided. We will keep you updated on individual circumstances and aim to minimise the effect that this causes. Examples of events affecting our provision of services includes: traffic delays, vehicle breakdown or safety issue, adverse weather or a delay in the supply of materials from our suppliers. From time to time mechanical failure of equipment occurs and we may not be able to rectify the problem in time or find a suitable replacement. In all eventualities we will keep you informed and aim to rectify the issue as soon as possible. In circumstances in which horse welfare is compromised, we will work with you to find a suitable alternative such as referral to a third party.

Our Requirements

When asked, you agree to provide us with a suitable working environment. This may include a level surface and adequate lighting. Safety is of the utmost importance to us for you, your horse and ourselves. Should chemical restraint (sedation) be required to facilitate safe handling or provision of services such as endoscopy, this will always be discussed with you first. In the unlikely event that a situation arises in which safety of all parties can not be guaranteed, we reserve the right to suspend treatment until safe working can be reinstated. This may be on the following or subsequent days. The reasons for this will be discussed with you at the time. Should suspension of treatment provide a significant welfare concern, we will discuss alternative options with you.

We ask that all horses registered with us are vaccinated for tetanus. The cost of tetanus vaccinations is available upon request. The protocol is a primary course of two vaccinations, followed by a further dose within 19 months and boosters every 2-3yrs dependent upon vaccine availability.

Passports must be available for viewing at your first appointment or prior to medication being administered. Horses given certain medication such as ‘bute’ must be signed out of the food chain in their passport. I.e. The horse must be confirmed as ‘Not intended for human consumption’ within their passport. In situations where the passport is not available, you will be asked to complete the BEVA Equine Emergency Treatment Form (absence of a passport) . By completing this form you confirm that your horse ‘Is not intended for human consumption’.

On the 1st October 2020 it became law in England for all equidae (horses, ponies and donkeys) to be microchipped. By registering with us you confirm that your horse has been microchipped and that the microchip has been correctly recorded in the passport. For any horses, ponies or donkeys not currently microchipped, you agree to engage our services for microchipping as soon as possible. A valid passport must be present at the time of microchipping and signed by the owner of the horse.

Ownership of Records

Whilst carrying out services to you, it may become necessary to perform specific investigations and diagnostics such as but not limited to radiography, endoscopy, gastroscopy and ultrasound. The records obtained remain the property of A.R. Equine Ltd. Upon written request these records can be made available to the owner of the horse or be sent to another veterinary practice.

Limit on our Responsibility to You

With the exception of any legal responsibility that can not be excluded in law (such as death or personal injury) or arising from laws relating to the use and protection of your personal information, A.R. Equine Ltd is not legally responsible for a) any losses that were not forseeable to you and us when the contract for provision of services was formed; b) were not caused by any breach on our part; c) business losses; and d) losses to non-consumers. Subject to legal responsibility that can not be excluded in law, we will not be liable for the death of, illness of or injury to the horse, horse owner or anyone under their control, or for damage to or theft of any property. Property includes the horse, tack, equipment, buildings and vehicles.

Ending the agreement/contract

We appreciate that from time to time you may want to terminate our agreement/contract. This may be because you have decided that another practice better meets your needs, you have moved out of our catchment area or for another reason. Please inform us in writing as soon as possible that you wish to do this, together with the name and address of your new practice and their email. We ask that you also include written consent for the transfer of your horse’s records to your new practice. We will implement the transfer of these as efficiently as possible. Please note, that liability for any outstanding invoices remains with you, the client and that these must be settled in line with our payment terms.

In very rare circumstances we may wish terminate our agreement with you. Reasons for this include physical or verbal abuse to our staff or repeated failure to settle any outstanding invoices. We will provide written notice of our intent to terminate our agreement with you, together with a reason. The letter will be delivered recorded. Termination of our agreement will be effective 14 days from receipt of the letter.

Disputes

Whilst we hope that no disputes arise, in the event that you have a dispute regarding any services provided or invoicing, we ask that you please raise it with us in the first instance either in writing or by telephone. We will try and resolve any dispute internally and with you as quickly and efficiently as possible. Please contact us as soon as possible regarding any dispute or concerns that you may have. Any disputes regarding invoicing must be raised within 7 days of receipt of the invoice. Failure to dispute an invoice within 7 days means that you accept the invoice and payment terms. We hope that we can resolve any disputes with you internally, however in instances where we are unable to resolve the dispute internally, we will let you know that we are not able to settle the dispute. If we feel that any dispute is of a professional nature then you may write to our professional body: The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Belgravia House, 62-64 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2AF.

Data Protection

In order for us to provide veterinary services to you, we require you to provide us with certain personal data upon registration. Data requested will include your name, contact details including address, phone number and email and your animal’s details. You are responsible for providing us with correct information and updating this if it changes, for example if you move house. All data which you provide is governed by the Data Protection Act 2018. Data may be stored as either an electronic or hard copy. During the course of us providing services to you, your data may need to be transferred to a third party such as a referral hospital, another first opinion practice or a diagnostic laboratory. This will only be done with your express consent either verbal or written. Please note that booster reminders are considered to be ‘marketing’. Please inform us at registration if you wish to be opted out of marketing. All staff are trained in GDPR and no sensitive information will be shared. You have the right to withdraw consent for the processing of your data at any time. A.R. Equine Ltd is registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).