[shygirl]

My dog is on loxicom longterm and as the vets are charging double what i can get it for on-line, iv asked for the vet for a written prescription.
now i know the vets have to have seen the dog within the last 6 mths before you can get a prescription, thats not a problem as hes been to the surgery every week for the last 5 weeks.
being naive,  i thought the prescription would be free, but no, it was £12 AND limited to ONE 100ml bottle (which is 30 days supply). im so so peed off right now ...grrr

on the plus side the vet reduced his Loxicom price from £80 per 200ml to £54 after i asked for a script. now thats a big price cut, but its still only £42 online. our vets is 20miles drive away so picking it up every 4 weeks is a pest.
i feel so ripped off. Do you all pay for prescriptions? and is there a reason (except greed) why i cant get a repeat prescription that is valid for 6mths?

 

[doganjo]

No other vets you can use? Sounds like he's taking advantage when he can reduce it that quickly! And restricting the amount you can get online too is keeping you going back to him.

[shygirl]

im very tempted to move vets, and iv been with them for 10 yrs.
the receptionists are so surly anyway, its not very welcoming.
but they are good farm vets though - why are they so greedy?

[Bionic]

Can't you just move vets for the dog and keep the farm animals with the existing vet?

[doganjo]

Can't you just move vets for the dog and keep the farm animals with the existing vet?

That's what I would do

[Garvie]

i feel your pain, our vet did a similar thing to our cat, she had recurring cat flu and needed to go to the vets every 6-8 weeks, so i asked if we could just go pick the meds up rather than having to take her back and forth as this stressed her to the max, vet said no as it had been over 4 weeks since the last time they saw her, i was so angry as the last time they "saw" her they didnt even look at her just the computer screen, sad to say we ha to put her to sleep as it wasnt fair on her having panic attacks everytime we had to put her in her cage. 

[shygirl]

the call-out fee has gone up 90% since it changed hands. 
there is a mobile vet that comes to your house for pets and livestock, everyone is raving about him as he is very cheap. but i wonder whether he would have all the equipment if we had an emergency or so, compared to a bigger practise.
where would a mobile vet castrate our kitten for example?  im a bit of a worrier 

[doganjo]

the call-out fee has gone up 90% since it changed hands. 
there is a mobile vet that comes to your house for pets and livestock, everyone is raving about him as he is very cheap. but i wonder whether he would have all the equipment if we had an emergency or so, compared to a bigger practise.
where would a mobile vet castrate our kitten for example?  im a bit of a worrier 

Stop him and ask those questions - he may be mobile but be part of a bigger practice

[shygirl]

the call-out fee has gone up 90% since it changed hands. 
there is a mobile vet that comes to your house for pets and livestock, everyone is raving about him as he is very cheap. but i wonder whether he would have all the equipment if we had an emergency or so, compared to a bigger practise.
where would a mobile vet castrate our kitten for example?  im a bit of a worrier 

Stop him and ask those questions - he may be mobile but be part of a bigger practice

i found his website but it wasnt working    if he charged more then he could afford a secretary to maintain the website 

[doganjo]

You could offer to do it for a discount 

[lokismum]

i would jump at the mobile vet
no running back and forth
no shoving animals in boxes or cars yay happy days
one of my horses are on long term pain killers
my vet dose me a prescription that lasts her almost a year
as long as hes seen her within a year of doing it hes quite happy
and charges £7.50
I think your vets taking the micky out of you

[funkyfish]

Once stable on long term meds most vets will do a script for 6months. The online places will be buying the bottle for like a pound and have  a huge mark up. It's still  cheaper sold to you then we can buy it in for! It is illegal for us to buy from anywhere but a wholesaler so we can't compete on price. Some of our flea products we make £2 on! And we r still a few pounds more expensive than online.

As a new practice with big out goings we r struggling with our meds as most people buying online which we don't mind as you have to do what you can afford.  But we are Having to put up our other fees to compansate like the prescription fee and consult fee because we are making nothing so can't afford to pay for the xray machine! My boss hasn't paid herself since opening 6months ago so the bills get paid.
Going online is a massive problem for us.

Not to say that some big practices in a buying group are not taking the micky on prices.

[SallyintNorth]

but they are good farm vets though - why are they so greedy?

Because of pet insurance and the way farming works in this country, is why.

In a farming community, a practise that wants to do farm vetting has to charge at a level that farmers are willing and able to pay.  There's no veterinary insurance for livestock, so we have to pay the fees out of our businesses.

Now that pretty much everyone has pet insurance, however, the small animal fees have gone through the roof.  I'm sure that side of the business will help a mixed practise to offer a sensibly-priced farm tariff.

As a farmer, I am of course grateful that my vet can manage to offer me a good range of services at an affordable price.   And I see that, although pet owners are charged a lot for the services they get, the practise reinvests and has an impressive array of equipment and procedures available for the treatment of small animals.

But there will always be cheaper options for a pet owner, and if the equation doesn't work for you, then you have to vote with your feet.

[luckylady]

Our vets charge £15.00 for a prescription but they are very amicable about it and it is for a six month supply.  I have never had pet insurance (besides horses) and the vet takes this into account when pricing for major medical issues.   

[shygirl]

i suppose i should have asked for a repeat prescription, rather than just a prescription, but being the first time id requested one, i didnt think. but being on loxicom for the rest of his life i think its pretty obvious i need more than 30 days supply. i wonder if i could get them to amend it to a repeat script for free?