A little rant

[rogertb]

Just a moan really - our dog needs some more "Clinagel-Vet" our chap charges over £13 (which I have, of course, paid) for it but it's available on-line for under a fiver but I can't buy it on-line without a prescription, I could ask him for a prescription but he'd probably get pissed off because I'm 'depriving him of income' and the last thing I need is a stroppy vet ... OK it's not a lot of money but still a rip-off. I can totally understand that it's not a good idea for people to be able to by dodgy drugs for their animals but this condition has been diagnosed and I consider myself capable of deciding whether I should buy what is in effect a repeat prescription especially as I've got more over me than in the dog's eyes when administering the stuff and there's next to nothing in the tube !

There I told you it was a rant ... sorry but I'm still going to post it - I'm interested in other peoples thoughts.

Roger

PS Bella has some early signs of 'Cherry Eye' and I will pay any amount to keep her well so it's not the money !

[max15]

I used to by medication for our Westie online because even after taking into account the prescription charge which was £6.00 and delivery it still worked out a lot cheaper.  Our vet was fine about providing the prescription, just had to review it after three months, I don't think they can really object to providing one.  I know how you feel we will all pay for what they need but don't want to feel ripped off.

[Carol09]

I hate thinking I am being ripped off by a vet, I know they are there for the welfare of the pets BUT I do think they overcharge as well.  I used to buy Advocate from them but since found out that it is far far cheaper to ask for prescription,   ok it's a £5 charge but I order online, at nearly half the price.  In harder economic times I can't afford to be ripped off.

[elaine.e]

Why not ask your vet for a prescription Roger?

William has Dry Eye and needs Optimmune ointment in his eyes once a day. It's hugely expensive to buy from the vet, around £55 per tube, but I can get it for £27.40 online from a reputable supplier. The vet charges me £12 for a repeat prescription every 6 months when William has his eyes checked and I can then buy up to 6 tubes during the 6 months.

I think more and more vets are coming round to the idea of writing prescriptions, especially for clients whose pets have ongoing problems that will need regular checkups.

[catcmartin]

I had a similar problem with our Charlies Vetmedin for his heart our vet was charging an arm and a leg more than I could buy it online.  I made an appointment with one of the senior partners as I have been using this vet for 15 years.  I was up front and discussed the price he was charging me for Vetmedin which Charlie will be on for the rest of his life and will probably increase dosage as at 13y/o this Thursday and grade 4 heart murmur.  The vet told me the best he could do would be a 10% discount, sorry but that was not enough so he accepted that I needed to get the best for my money for Charlie that I could.  He gave me a prescription for 3 bottles of Vetmedin containing 50 tablets enough to last Charlie about 4-5 months.  The vet accepted that I could not continue to meet his prices and there was no argument or ill feeling as I was up front and honest with him.  He charged me £10 for the prescription even after paying that for every 2 bottles I buy from petmeds.co.uk the third is free when compared to what I was paying the vet.  I would make an appointment and go and see one of the partners and be up front and let them know that in all honesty in these hard times you cannot meet their prices and want to do your best for your dog, I would be surprised if they do not accept that and give you a prescription.  Just make sure they give you a repeat prescription or  as mine  did one which enabled me to buy 3X50 tabs bottles of Vetmedin.
Good luck
Cathy

[minimoo]

 Speak to your vet and ask them to match the price, my friend who has 5 cats did this and they were more than happy to meet the price

[rogertb]

Thank you all for your comments and good to hear I'm not alone, It is, of course, impossible to know if vets really need this extra money or whether it's just greed, when I ran my own business we charged an hourly rate that gave us an income and charged 'consumables' more or less at cost, maybe theirs is a different discipline.

It does (wearing my cynical hat) make me think that it's a little too easy to add some meds to each visit and boost the fee by a few quid. I also remember years ago watching a vet who was 'treating' my ancient lab take a syringe and pretend to give the dog a jab for £30 ... I'm convinced he was faking the routine but couldn't, of course, prove it. I also remember buying some 'fish oil supplement' for £25 - a big heavy bottle containing a very small amount of the ingredient (oil and water) which had to be sprayed onto food ... just a rip-off again.

Have you also noticed how all the packaging is 'over-the-top and designed to make the simplest treatment look really superior ... the flea and tick treatment we get is in a box then a vacuum pack then a strange phial all made to seem 'worth the fortune it costs, a brown bottle with a dropper would probably do the job !

... see I'm ranting again and will need my own medication for blood pressure treatment ...

Roger

[KellyT]

Why not ask your vet for a prescription Roger?

William has Dry Eye and needs Optimmune ointment in his eyes once a day. It's hugely expensive to buy from the vet, around £55 per tube, but I can get it for £27.40 online from a reputable supplier. The vet charges me £12 for a repeat prescription every 6 months when William has his eyes checked and I can then buy up to 6 tubes during the 6 months.

I think more and more vets are coming round to the idea of writing prescriptions, especially for clients whose pets have ongoing problems that will need regular checkups.

I have this for Jennie Elaine ... Can you still claim the cost back from your insurance company? As I pay the premium prices from my vet, but twice a year he completes an ongoing claim form for me to get the money back - so my pocket isn't immediately hurt, until I have to renew my insurance of course (and I can't move now given ongoing problems)   

[catcmartin]

Roger I completly agree with you.  Especially on the fish oil suplement.  The specialist cardiac Vet suggested we suplement Charlie with a high dose Omega 3.  The first spray called Gomega I bought from the vet price £32 to be sprayed once per day on his food, lasts 1 month.  Luckily the cardiac vet had sent me a copy of her reports which said the Omega 3 must have the equivalent EPA/DHA = 900mg.  I did some research and found human quality Super Omega 3 capsules giving Charlie EPA/DHA 500mg so I give him 2 caps per day.  Cost £6.99 for 60 caps BUT the site gives buy one get one free so I get 120 caps for £6.99 lasting 2 months.  So Charlie gets his suplement every day at 1/5 of what our vet wanted to charge us.  It does pay to shop around and do your research.

Cathy

[elaine.e]

Why not ask your vet for a prescription Roger?

William has Dry Eye and needs Optimmune ointment in his eyes once a day. It's hugely expensive to buy from the vet, around £55 per tube, but I can get it for £27.40 online from a reputable supplier. The vet charges me £12 for a repeat prescription every 6 months when William has his eyes checked and I can then buy up to 6 tubes during the 6 months.

I think more and more vets are coming round to the idea of writing prescriptions, especially for clients whose pets have ongoing problems that will need regular checkups.

I have this for Jennie Elaine ... Can you still claim the cost back from your insurance company? As I pay the premium prices from my vet, but twice a year he completes an ongoing claim form for me to get the money back - so my pocket isn't immediately hurt, until I have to renew my insurance of course (and I can't move now given ongoing problems)   

Yes I still claim. I'm with NFU and I send them a letter with the receipted invoices from the vet for William's check ups and repeat prescriptions and from the online supplier for the Optimmune. I simply quote the claim number and remind them in the letter that it's an ongoing claim. I usually pay on my credit card and claim every 6 months after William's had a check up because that suits me.

Like you I can't change insurers because the existing conditions wouldn't be covered. I try to keep any claims as cheap as possible in the hope that they won't bump up my premium too much. Doesn't seem to work though!

[Holly2009]

You may find if you mention it in passing you will get it at cost price if not I'd definitely ask for a prescription, don't be afraid to ask ...vets are a business like any other!...if he became stroppy I'd tell him where to go, you are the customer 

[dizzytrish]

My vet actually supports giving out prescriptions!
they offer them, and so far I have not been charged for it either!
I realise this is most unusual, and I do get on very well with my vets, but they just seem 'more human' than some vets I have come across
they also added the cost and invoice for the online goods onto my claim form when they completed it