Dallance farm, Breach Barns Lane, Waltham Abbey, EN9 2AD

                 

 Terms and Conditions                                                                                     

 

The following details the Terms and Conditions for Galley Hill Equine Surgery.  Some aspects of the Terms may not be relevant to you and we request that you ask for further explanation/clarification if required.  We have provided below the important details that you should know before choosing us as your Equine Veterinary Practice. This will enable you to understand our obligations to you and yours to us. When you request our services you and we are bound by the Terms and Conditions outlined below

 

1. EMERGENCY SERVICE
Galley Hill Equine Surgery provides a 24 hour veterinary service. Horses, ponies and donkeys will only be seen out of hours after prior arrangement with the  on call veterinary surgeon. The on call veterinary surgeon can be reached by ringing the practice on 01992762185.

2. FEES
Our professional fees are determined by the time spent on a case and the drugs, resources, materials, and consumables used. All fees, consumables and drug charges are subject to VAT at the current rate. We are always happy to provide written estimates for any procedure should you require one, however please bear in mind that any estimate we give can only be approximate, as often a horse’s illness will not follow a predictable or standard course.

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3. METHODS OF PAYMENT and SETTLEMENT TERMS
Any new client will be expected to pay in full at the time of treatment and upon receipt of invoice. Routine procedures (vaccinations, dentals, passport and micro-chipping, Strangles blood test, ACTH blood tests) are to be paid at time of appointment in full.

We offer a 5% discount for immediate payment at the time of service for all clients for specific visits. 5% discounts are not availbale for vaccinations, strangles blood tests, ACTH tests (when using a voucher) and vettings. 
All hospital cases are asked to pay at collection unless other arrangements have been agreed with the practice manageress. If your horse is admitted to the hospital you may be asked to pay a deposit towards treatment within 24 hours of arrival.
You may settle your account using:

CASH, CREDIT/DEBIT CARD, ONLINE BANK (For American Express cards we charge a 1.5% fee). Payments by credit/debit card may be made by phone.

Treatment on account will only be available to established clients known to Galley Hill Equine Surgery and clients with a sound credit history. Payment is due upon receipt of invoice. An  additional accounting fee of £20 in respect of administrative costs incurred will be charged on all  invoices that remain unpaid after 1 month of the date of the invoice . We reserve the right to add this fee and interest to the account monthly until the account is cleared. Failure to pay the outstanding balance within 30 days of any treatment will result in referral to our debt collection agency and further charges will be levied in respect if costs incurred in collecting the debt, such as production of reports, correspondence, court fees, attendance at court, phone calls, home visits, etc. If you are not a registered client with us but require emergency treatment, we require £250 to be paid either by card or by cash prior to the veterinary surgeon attending to your horse.

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4. NO SHOW POLICY

We reserve the right to apply a 'no show' charge of £45 if you fail to attend your appointment at our practice or the agreed location as well as the travel fee.

 

5. INABILITY TO PAY

If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of being unable to pay your account, please immediately contact our Practice Manager to discuss the situation

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6. TERMINATION OF SERVICE
You may ask us to stop caring for your horse, pony or donkey at any time.
We may stop looking after your animals if you do not accept our advice; or fail to settle your account on time; or if we are prohibited by law from doing any further work on your matter; or if the relationship between you and us sadly breaks down; or if we no longer have the expertise. Under these circumstances we will serve notice in writing of imminent withdrawal of services. We reserve the right to charge an administrative fee for producing copies of clinical records.

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7. HORSE HEALTH INSURANCE
Galley Hill Equine Surgery strongly supports the principle of insuring your horse against unexpected illness or accidents although we cannot give any recommendations regarding individual insurance companies. Please be aware that it is your responsibility to settle your account in accordance with these terms and then reclaim the fees from your insurance company. It is possible to arrange for payment to be made direct to Galley Hill Equine Surgery when you complete your claim form, but if doing this a signed claims form must be handed in within 14 days after the start of the claim. We cannot guarantee that your insurance company will cover the costs of your horses treatment and you are therefore encouraged to contact the insurance company to verify cover before any treatment has been administered. Many policies insist on this and failing to do so will invalidate your policy.

 

7. LIVERY YARDS/TRAINING STABLES

Please ensure that you have made a suitable agreement with the livery/training yard owner that gives them permission to call the Vet on your behalf and authorise treatment for your horse. Our Policy for horses on livery/training yards, is to invoice the animal’s owner directly. Where livery yard/stables do arrange a veterinary service or purchases of goods from us, it is assumed that permission has been given by you for this service or goods to be provided. If this is the case, you will be invoiced and responsible for prompt settlement of that account. If you have a written agreement with the yard/training stable, that invoices will be initially settled by the yard/training stables, then that livery yard/training stables is responsible for ensuring accounts are settled on time. They also become liable for any late payment action. Their terms and conditions for this service are between you and them and not the responsibility of Galley Hill Equine Surgery.

 

9. COMPLAINTS AND STANDARDS
We hope that you never have reason to complain about the standards of service received from Galley Hill equine Surgery. However, if you feel that there is something you wish to complain about, please direct your comments in the first instance in writing to the Practice Manageress.

 

10. OWNERSHIP OF RADIOGRAPHS AND SIMILAR RECORDS
The care given to your horse 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 Galley Hill Equine Surgery. We reserve the right to charge an administrative fee for producing copies of clinical records.

 

11. DATA PROTECTION
In holding and using data about you, we will comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998. 
In instructing us to look after your horse, you authorise us to use that data in the course of the work that we do for you, and also to send you from time to time in the future, free of charge, details of the services that we provide. We will, where specifically required, pass on to Insurers details of clinical histories, case records and diagnostic images relating to your horse.

 

12. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
We are an equal opportunities employer and we are committed to providing the same high quality service to all our clients, regardless of age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

 

13. PASSPORTS
All horses, ponies and donkeys must have passports, which should be available for the vet to check and we strongly recommend that passports should be signed by the owner to confirm that the animal is not going for human consumption.
If you do not have a passport, we can help you obtain one.  Where a passport is not available the detailed record of medicinal products must be retained.  This information is available on your account documentation.

 

14.  PRESCRIPTIONS

Our Veterinary Surgeon may prescribe Prescription Only Medicines, Category V, (POM-Vs) only for animals under his/her care. To comply with this law, the general policy of this practice is to reassess any animal requiring repeat prescriptions at a maximum interval of 6 MONTHS but this may vary with individual circumstances. The standard charge for a re-examination is available on request as well as information on the prices of medicines.  Prescriptions are available from this practice and you may obtain prescription only medicines from your Veterinary Surgeons or ask for a prescription and obtain these medicines from another Veterinary Surgeon or pharmacy. A prescription may not be appropriate if your animal is an inpatient or immediate treatment is required.

 

15. NON-VARIATION

No addition or variation of these conditions will bind the practice (Galley Hill Equine Surgery) unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by one the practice partners.

No agent or person employed by, or under contract with, the practice (Galley Hill equine Surgery) has the authority to alter or vary these conditions in any way

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16. PAYMENT PLANS

We reserve the right to deny a client a payment plan. All payments plans are subject to additional charges and are to be paid within 3 months of receiving treatment.

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17. VACCINE SURCHARGE

We reserve the right to charge a vaccination surcharge of £10 if the vaccination is not paid on the day of the appointment. There is also a surcharge of £20 if our Vaccine and Dental Combo offer is not paid on the day. Payment can be made via BACS, cash or card.