Clients who can't pay

Re: Clients who can't pay

jojofruits — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 15:25:54 GMT

Oh I know Arlo.. welcome to my world.. unfortunately the people also seem to be breeding at an alarming rate! lol .. ( doesnt help the poor old pets though )

Re: Clients who can't pay

Arlo Guthrie — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 18:06:57 GMT

[quote user="JaneRVN"]

My last practice used a company called Braemar Finance who offer low interest loans.

As a practice we decided to pay the interest and so to the client it was an interest free loan. They were a really good company to deal with. It meant we got the money ASAP and only lost the 6-7% interest on it, rather than waiting for a payment plan to be completed.[/quote]

Yes, someone else mentioned them over on vetsurgeon.org. I'm curious how often you found yourself offering the service. Just to those in desperate need? Anyone who wanted it?

[quote user="jojofruits"]

I am principal head nurse at the Celia Hammond Animal trust in Lewisham

One of the many things that we do is to see clients who are not charity eligible but cannot afford veterinary fees.. and the amount ( some) are charging i'm not surprised![/quote]

Hi jojofruits.

Must say, I wonder how many of those people would NEVER have been able to afford veterinary fees (i.e. they really shouldn't have bought an animal in the first place). I have every sympathy for those who have some sort of misfortune which means they can't afford treatment any more. But I have less sympathy for those who take on an animal without any ability to pay if it gets ill.

Re: Clients who can't pay

JaneRVN — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 13:26:57 GMT

My last practice used a company called Braemar Finance who offer low interest loans.

Working in the South East we seem to see alot of the issues of private practices passing the buck onto to charities. I used to ask the vets what they would do if there was no charity there, as it is in some areas of the country. You would have to make provision for these cases within your business. Its not impossible and is greatly appreciated.

Re: Clients who can't pay

molladog — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 12:28:49 GMT

I too work for a charity and totally agree with this post as have accepted several cats who 's owners cannot afford medication/bloods for their pet + are devastated to have to part with them .

Re: Clients who can't pay

jojofruits — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 12:11:22 GMT

I am principal head nurse at the Celia Hammond Animal trust in Lewisham

One of the many things that we do is to see clients who are not charity eligible but cannot afford veterinary fees.. and the amount ( some) are charging i'm not surprised!

With the estimates given for pyometras in some cases hitting the £1500 and fracture repairs running into the thousands is it any wonder that people are struggling more and more with vets fees?! Estimates seem to be produced estimating for absolutely everything .. its possible to cut back a little in some cases, but often clients are not given that option

The frustration for me is the vets who refuse treatment for these pets, but then expect charities to pick up the pieces, doing literally nothing to help ( I've had cats admitted as referrals where they have serious issues and haven't even been taken out of the box or given analgesia because of owners inability to pay - outrageous!

In my experience, smaller, family type practices are a lot more helpful to people, larger more corporate practices have very stringent rules, effectively tying the vets hands and absolutely will not budge if the client has no money.

What would they do if charities were not there? ,, because the way its going I wouldn't be surprised if some of the smaller ones went under!! We are turning away literally 5-10 referrals per day because we cannot do them all :(

Any way to help owners pay for their pets treatment is great, after all, it is the owners responsibility - While I do appreciate that good service etc and great staff, facilities comes at a price, it should not be used as a licence to print money, and there should be some left in the pot to help these people somehow?!. I do think that serious overpricing of veterinary services within the industry needs to be addressed.

All that being said, animals are not a necessity.. our profession needs to do all it can to promote responsible ownership - including encouraging the owner to make provision for veterinary fees and the good old general public need to think twice before getting their pet.. and make sure they can afford them!.

I think this is a good idea .. and may mop up some of the problem.. but the need to have something like this in place is just an indicator of a much much larger problem effecting the veterinary industry :(

Re: Clients who can't pay

Arlo Guthrie — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 10:17:27 GMT

[quote user="rachel500"]It looks great, really good idea. I'm assuming there's a fee for the practice to join though? Does anyone know how much it is?[/quote]

There's a small cost involved in registering the practice with the Financial Conduct Authority (£100), then the cost of the service is 7% of the bill (ie if the client is approved for a loan for the cost of treatment, the practice then gets paid 93% of the bill). The choice then is whether the practice absorbs that 7% charge (though it's not 7% at the end of the day, because you can offset the saved cost of admin chasing bills and bad debt), or adjusts pricing accordingly.

Re: Clients who can't pay

Sal the 1st — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 22:56:25 GMT

[quote user="fairy"]I think there is a huge gap between people who can afford private vets fees and those who are entitled to go to a charity veterinary facility because they are on the relevant benefits. I think it is better than it was a couple of years ago, but people are still struggling on a low income without beng able to get any financial assistance. Which doesn't help when you have an ill animal.

[/quote]

My experience of working for one of the largest animal charities for nearly 11 years was that people using the charity were often receiving treatment for their pets far in excess of that which the average joe on the street would ever be able to afford and whilst I would never begrudge any animal treatment or a chance the charity was in my mind guilty of throwing money at some really hopeless, end of life long term cases while other borderline qualifying cases that would have really benefited went without - I found it extremely frustrating.

Re: Clients who can't pay

Lucy-lu — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 21:45:33 GMT

P.t.s that was supposed to say

Re: Clients who can't pay

Lucy-lu — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 21:44:32 GMT

I read an article that said 7% fee is charged to the practice. At least a practice can save money by reducing their staff chasing bills/administration costs/an increase in practice procedures and more clients make opt for treatment and reduce p's ( if money is the issue)

Re: Clients who can't pay

fairy — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 21:16:07 GMT

I think there is a huge gap between people who can afford private vets fees and those who are entitled to go to a charity veterinary facility because they are on the relevant benefits. I think it is better than it was a couple of years ago, but people are still struggling on a low income without beng able to get any financial assistance. Which doesn't help when you have an ill animal.

Re: Clients who can't pay

Sal the 1st — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 20:52:18 GMT

its a good idea - but still waiting to find an answer to my query on the original post

Re: Clients who can't pay

rachel500 — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 20:09:08 GMT

It looks great, really good idea. I'm assuming there's a fee for the practice to join though? Does anyone know how much it is?

Re: Clients who can't pay

elaine elder — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 19:54:08 GMT

I think this is a great idea. I'm not shy about money or what we as a profession charge. We all work very hard and I believe our time is invaluable. Yes there are genuine people out there who just need a little help and there are unforeseen situations like RTAs. However there are also many people who I believe have no intention of paying, they think it's their right to have free veterinary treatment. I used to work for vets now and we covered the out of hours for the PDSA and the amount of people that abused the system was terrible. Phoning up privately one minute with one name then phoning back as aPDSA customer with a different surname. In normal day practice I have experienced people coming in seeing the vet then turning around and saying I don't have money to pay and just refusing point blank to pay!!!

Re: Clients who can't pay

Ems — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 18:31:11 GMT

I think this is a great idea, I think the reason most people don't pay is because they are terrified about confronting the bill so they run from it. I have had the "emotional blackmail" line, verbal abuse and backed into a corner over bills. I think that if this is done well, most clients would really appreciate it as an optiion :) I would say we come across it numerous times on a daily basis!

Re: Clients who can't pay

Nicola Smith — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 18:09:40 GMT

We already have a company who offers interest free credit to people but those that need it are usually refused due to poor credit rating. For most people with good credit they can just get a credit card interest free anyway. We have quite a few people saying they cant afford treatment. We never refuse to see them (even though neighbouring practices do) and we try and get something off them even if its just £10 and we use the cheapest treatment we can.

Re: Clients who can't pay

Alasdair Mathieson — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 17:28:22 GMT

For us, definitely an increasing problem, but mainly smallish amounts, short term. We ask genuine strugglers to sign an agreement to pay one third at the time, the same after one month and the balance after two months, which does work +/- phone reminders. Paying in full through taking out a loan, would be great. No threats as yet, and the clients who really annoy are those that tell you they're skint after you've done everything you can for their pet.