Terms & conditions of business

Thank you for entrusting the care and attention of your pet/pets to The Wylie Veterinary Centre and Wylie Wellness Centre. This document details our Practice Terms and Conditions. By registering your pet/pets with the Practice, you agree that you have read and understood our conditions of business, should you require any clarification of any aspect of the terms then please ask.

Both The Wylie Veterinary Centre and Wylie Wellness Centre are a trading name of The Wylie Veterinary Centre Ltd. Company No. 8349526, registered office 44/45 Orsett Road, Grays, Essex, RM17 5ED. This document sets out the terms of the contract established between us (The Wylie Veterinary Centre/Wylie Wellness Centre) and you (the registered animal owner or individual requesting veterinary services) which comes into being when you register your animal with our veterinary practice or when you ask us to provide veterinary services.

General Terms (applying to the provision of all goods and services)

The Wylie Wellness Centre - 40 William Hunter Way Brentwood Essex CM14 4WT
Tel: 01277 584470


Branch opening times: Monday to Saturday: 9am to 6pm

Veterinary consultations are by appointment only.

Parking is available in nearby public car parks; either in Sainsbury’s car park directly opposite the branch or in William Hunter Way car park.

Out of hours cover

Emergencies can be seen at our Upminster hospital 24/7. Should you require this service, please call the Upminster number on 01708 251200 to discuss with one of our team members.

The Wylie Veterinary Centre - 196 Hall Lane Upminster Essex RM14 1TD

Tel: 01708 251200

Surgery opening times:
Monday to Friday: 7am to 11pm (please note this may differ during the Covid-19 pandemic)
Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays: 9am to 4.30pm
Christmas Day we are open for emergencies only.

Consultations are by appointment only except in the case of an emergency when, if possible, a telephone call to the surgery detailing the emergency could be critical in dealing with it. We provide a 24 hour service.

Off street parking is available for clients, including disabled bays.

Out of hours cover and hospitalisation

We see emergencies at our Upminster hospital 24 hours a day, year round. Call our usual number 01708 251200 (Option 1). A veterinary surgeon and a nurse are on duty through the night to ensure continuous patient care.

In patient care

Our patients are looked after constantly by a team of veterinary surgeons, qualified and student nurses. Vets will discuss patient care at ward rounds at the beginning, middle and the end of the day. They will also examine the animal as many times as necessary during the day. If you want to know how your pet is doing, you can access directly the kennel nurses by calling 01708 251 200 (Option 4) after 11am.

Fees

All fees for services and prices for goods (including food, accessories and drugs) are subject to VAT at the current rate.

Prices for goods are as marked or notified at the point of purchase. A full fee breakdown will appear on your invoice.

Fees for services include our professional fees in respect of the veterinary services provided along with the cost of any drugs, materials or consumables used in the provision of the services. Professional fees vary according to the time spent on a case, and the level of expertise required of the staff looking after your animal.

Estimates

Estimates are provided verbally either at the time of booking the appointment or during the consultation itself. Written estimates are available on request. All estimates given are only approximate, and the final fee could be higher or lower than this estimate depending on complications during treatment and patient response to treatment. We will endeavour to contact you as soon as we have reason to believe that the costs could be significantly higher than the estimate.

Payments

You must pay for all services and goods as they are received. You will be advised exactly when payments are due depending upon the nature of the services that we provide to you but you should expect to make payments at the end of each consultation and upon the discharge of your pet from our care. In the event that your pet is hospitalised we may require part payment in advance of any period of hospitalisation and/or stage payments on a daily basis. If your pet is hospitalised we will try to phone you each day to discuss the progress of your animal
and the fees incurred once the veterinary surgeon has completed their morning rounds.

Payment is accepted by cash, debit/ credit card or cheque. Please note that if a pet is registered with our Practice we will assume that any person other than the registered pet owner who may bring the pet in for treatment is duly authorised by the registered pet owner to seek treatment for the pet and to incur costs for which the registered pet owner will be liable. Where a pet is not registered with our Practice we will assume that the individual requesting treatment accepts liability for all costs incurred.
The following general payment terms apply in all cases.

If you become unable to pay your account according to these standard terms, this must be discussed with the Practice as soon as possible.

If you do not pay your invoice when it falls due we shall take such action as we consider appropriate to recover our fees which may include engaging third party debt collection agencies to recover the outstanding fees and/or instigating proceedings against you in the county court. In such cases, any costs levied by the debt collection agency will be added on to the outstanding balance owed by you and/or we will seek to recover any legal expenses from you. Please note that the use of debt collection agencies and the county court could affect your future credit rating.

We shall be entitled to suspend the provision of any further goods and/or non-emergency services until you have paid any outstanding sums in full. Where we consider it appropriate to do so we may require payment on account before goods and/or services are provided.

Prescriptions

Animals requiring repeat prescriptions will need to be re-assessed as deemed fit by the veterinary surgeon dealing with the case but no less than every 6 months. Please give us 48 hours’ notice for any requests for a repeat or written prescription. There is a charge for a re-examination details of which will be provided on enquiry. Repeat medication requests can be made on our website: https://www.wylievets.com/ following the “medication click and collect” process or requested over the phone 01708 251 200 (Option 3).

Under DTI regulations you may request written prescriptions for your pet’s medications. There is a charge for this service – please telephone the practice to ask for the relevant fee. However, you will be responsible for sourcing these medications from a suitable supplier and should bear in mind that delay in the start of treatment may not be in the best interests of the welfare of your pet. The original written prescription can be collected or we can email it directly to the pharmacy of your choice. We will not post written prescriptions.

Please note that as a registered premises for dispensing of medication, we cannot accept the return of any prescription drugs as such items cannot be resold. If you wish us to safely dispose of any unwanted medication we can do so, free of charge.

Health care plans

We offer a range of healthcare plans for your pet which are paid for with a monthly direct debit.

The Wylie Health Circle Plus plan covers your pets preventative health such as regular check-ups, vaccinations, flea and worm treatment and discounts off food, neutering and dental treatment.

The Total Care Plan covers preventative health as mentioned above along with all other services we offer, for services we do not provide you’ll have an annual amount to use on referrals. Specific age and nutrition requirements must be met to register. There are no exclusions or price hikes as your pet ages.

Please get in contact with us for specific T&C of our Health Care Plans.

Student veterinary surgeons and nurses

As an approved training centre veterinary students and trainee nurses under qualified guidance, may be involved in the care of your pet.

Client records

Client and clinical records, and other such similar documents (including, but not limited to, digital imaging results), are and shall remain the property of The Wylie Veterinary Centre. Copies of clinical records may be passed to another veterinary surgeon on request should you move surgeries, you will be contacted to give your consent before we send this on.

We never discuss or sell confidential records to any third party other than if you move surgeries, are referred to another veterinary surgeon or have an insurance claim being processed. We will always gain your consent before sharing your personal data.

Second opinions and specialist referrals

Should you feel you would like another opinion on your pet's illness please ask. We are always happy to arrange a second opinion with another vet or vets within the practice.

Should a case require equipment or skills not available at our Practice, we will recommend for you to be referred to an appropriate centre of excellence. We will organise referral and provide the specialist with all relevant information and investigation results in a timely manner. Any request for estimates and payment of fee incurred at the other Practice are your direct responsibility.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

When you register your animal with our Practice or request that we provide veterinary services we will collect personal data about you. We will only collect data that we need to perform the services, take payment or contact you such as names, contact details and possibly some financial details. Please note that we may pass your details to debt collection agencies or our legal advisers for the purpose of recovering unpaid fees if you do not pay invoices when they fall due.

We comply with GDPR and will take reasonable precautions to ensure that your data is kept securely, used appropriately and is not shared with third parties except as required for the purposes outlined above. You are entitled to be provided with details of the data that we hold about you upon request.

Liability

Our liability in respect of all and any claims, damages or losses arising in respect of the goods and/or services provided by us or arising in connection with any attendance at our Practice or attendance at any property by one of our vets shall be limited in accordance with our insurance cover. In the event of any uninsured claims, damages or losses our liability shall be limited to the value of the goods and/or services to which the claim, damages or loss relates.

Feedback

We are always happy to receive feedback so that we can continue to improve our service and it’s also nice to hear what we are doing well! If you would like to pass any comments on, you can do so in a variety of ways; feedback cards in Reception, give us a ring, send an email to our Customer Care Manager at office@wylievets.com, on our Facebook page or Google reviews. We regularly do client surveys to gauge how we are doing.

Complaints

We pride ourselves on offering a quality service, and take customer complaints seriously. Should we not meet your expectations on any aspect of our service please discuss this in the first instance with the Practice Manager or the consulting Vet as soon as possible. We will provide you with a copy of our complaint procedure and try our best to resolve your concerns.

If a satisfactory resolution cannot be reached please forward your complaint in writing to:
The Customer Care Manager
The Wylie Veterinary Centre
196 Hall Lane
Upminster
RM14 1TD

We will not tolerate any aggressive, or abusive behaviour to any staff member, at any time. Any client behaving in such a way will be asked to leave the premises immediately and will then be notified in writing that they must find alternative veterinary cover.

Insurance

We strongly support the principle of insuring your pet against unexpected illness or accidents. It is important that you know which type of cover that your policy provides. Unfortunately many pet owners don’t realise the level of cover that they have in place until they need to make a claim.

We believe that our clients should make their own choice when it comes to pet insurance, therefore we cannot advise on pet insurance providers or their products. However, on our website we have laid out some guidelines and if you have any questions about your existing policy or claims we are always here to help.

The cost of veterinary treatment is to be met by the client and costs will be reimbursed to the client / policyholder by the insurer once a claim is settled.

We are happy to consider Direct Insurance Claims, (where the insurance company pays the Practice directly) for procedures and unexpected illness or accidents. However this must be agreed by the Practice first. If you wish to request a Direct Insurance Claim, please let the Practice know at your earliest opportunity so that one of our insurance administrators can assess this for you as quickly as possible.

Please send queries or claim forms to be completed to insurance.claims@wylievets.com and a member of our Insurance Claims team will get back to you, or process your claim at their earliest opportunity. Please note there is an administration fee for processing insurance claims.

Communication

If we need to correspond with you regarding your pet, an insurance claim or any other matter we may do so by telephone, text or email. If you have a preference please let the team know.

If you wish to gather further information about the services we provide please visit our website www.wylievets.com or our Facebook page.

Home visits

Unfortunately, we are currently unable to offer home visits due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Animal Health Certificate (travel in the EU) and Import/Export

We have several Official Veterinarians able to certify travel documents and are happy to offer advice on pet travel requirements. It is your responsibility to ensure the pet's travel documents and vaccinations are up to date.

It is your responsibility to ensure you have knowledge of the requirements for the travel, import/export of your pets and that these requirements are met and/or that they are met under the terms of travel for the Pet Travel Scheme. We do not undertake the duties of an export agent and recommend owners contact Animal Health (DEFRA) for current and accurate advice. In many instances, the travel agent/company offers advice on specific requirements for specific destinations.

Reminder Service

Whilst we make every reasonable effort to send out reminders for annual vaccinations, the responsibility to keep them up to date remains with you. Please be aware that Pet travel documents require rabies vaccination boosters so please keep a personal record of when this is due.

Transportation

If your pet requires transportation it shall be your responsibility to arrange this. You will be liable for all costs and risks of transporting your pet. Reception is able to provide details of some local pet ambulance services should you need them.