Young keepers + Vets Fees.

[Georgeyboy!]

What do younger keepers do when large vets fees arise?

I thought of this while reading the thread about i think Harlequin's? £750+ upwards is alot of money on vets bills, and even bigger amount of money for people below say 16.

What would younger keepers do in this situation?

[ian14]

Then the parents foot the bill. It is illegal to sell any animal to a person under 16, except with parental consent. Vets fees have to be paid, and if you have a pet and are under 16 then mum or dad will be footing the bill!!

[craig_mufc]

im 16 and ive got a bit saved up for vet fees but not that much if i needed to pay out that much id probly have to ask the parents or take money out of my car fund instead its pretty inevetible that one day you will need to go to the vets but hopefully it doesnt cost that much

[moodyblue1969]

Originally Posted by ian14

Then the parents foot the bill. It is illegal to sell any animal to a person under 16, except with parental consent. Vets fees have to be paid, and if you have a pet and are under 16 then mum or dad will be footing the bill!!

i agree,tbh if you have an animal then at some point you can expect a vets bill,in harlequins case it was unfortunate that an animal was sold in that condition

[Danbellini]

It'll cost more than you'd like every time. Mainly because all vets are money grabbing who don't tell you til after the appointment what you are supposed to be paying.
I asked for a consultation once and they said all i'd have to pay on the day is the consultation fee, regardless of what outcome or treatment they administer. So i only took the exact amount of money needed and then after the appointment the receptionist had a go at me for not bringing more money! twat. She tried to make me feel 3 foot tall, and i may only be over 18 (19 infact) but i do look young still so what made it worse is that she assumed i was a kid and told me to bring my parents next time! i was fuming, i nearly threw my RUB at her face.

[Athravan]

Under 18s shouldn't get pets in my opinion without the support of their parents, who should appreciate that things can go wrong and potential vet fees may arise.

I don't know how much pocket money or savings kids get these days but perhaps if worried it might be enough to cover insurance on one or two animals - or you could ask your parents if they would be willing to pay insurance when you get the pet. For my exotic parrot this was only £6 a month, my cats £12 and my dog £18 but I've never insured a reptile personally. If it's only £10 a month anyone young who's worried could offer to do extra chores/tasks for their parents if they can cover these costs.

[Danbellini]

Yes, insurance all the way.
When vets start charging for using their front door (figure of speech :P) just throw the insurance details at the receptionist! Very satisying.

[Joolz1975]

Originally Posted by Danbellini

Yes, insurance all the way.
When vets start charging for using their front door (figure of speech :P) just throw the insurance details at the receptionist! Very satisying.

I thought about insurance for my tortoise but in the end decided to put £20 a month into an account instead as the insurance excess was quite high.

[stevemartin]

Originally Posted by Danbellini

all vets are money grabbing who don't tell you til after the appointment what you are supposed to be paying.

That's a bit unfair isn't it? Most vets will talk you through your expenses for a particular course of treatment, and are obliged to offer a breakdown of costs if you request so, and most will also offer a payment plan or a timeframe within which to pay so that you don't get stung all at once.

Also, they don't KNOW until after the appointment what the charges will be as they can't predict the treatment required before seeing the animal.

I wouldn't let your negative experience with one vet cloud your judgement, as I have had some outstanding vets look after animals and would recommend them to anyone. If they were really that bad, just move to a different practise.

Steve

[mooselee]

Originally Posted by Danbellini

It'll cost more than you'd like every time. Mainly because all vets are money grabbing who don't tell you til after the appointment what you are supposed to be paying.
I asked for a consultation once and they said all i'd have to pay on the day is the consultation fee, regardless of what outcome or treatment they administer. So i only took the exact amount of money needed and then after the appointment the receptionist had a go at me for not bringing more money! twat. She tried to make me feel 3 foot tall, and i may only be over 18 (19 infact) but i do look young still so what made it worse is that she assumed i was a kid and told me to bring my parents next time! i was fuming, i nearly threw my RUB at her face.

Thankfully this isn't strictly true.

When my BCI had an RI my vet was excellent. I took her in and could tell immediately he was smitten with Alice. He checked her out, confirmed RI, weighed her then advised me to come back later to pick 10 ready to jab injections up.

£15 he charged me