Payment options

Thank you for choosing Fitzpatrick Referrals for your pet’s treatment. We understand that this time is very stressful for you, but please take a few minutes to read this section to help you understand the terms and conditions of treatment for your pet as well as the costs.

Terms and conditions of business

Please have a look at our terms and conditions

This document details our practice terms and conditions. Some aspects may not be relevant to you and we request that you get in touch with us for further clarification or explanation if required.

Payment

All queries relating to the costs of the patient’s treatment should be discussed with the clinician at the initial consultation and then arrangements can be finalised with reception after your appointment. The VAT inclusive estimate of the treatment will be specified on the treatment consent form that you are asked to sign.

Please appreciate that any estimates given to you by the clinician are estimates only and the cost of treatment can change depending on what extra medication or treatment the patient may need. Our clinicians work with the patient’s best interest at heart at all times and no two patients are the same.

Non-insured patients

If you do not have insurance, you are required to pay a 50% deposit of the estimated costs at the time of your initial consultation; the balance is then due on the collection of the patient.

Insured patients

If you have adequate insurance cover, we offer a direct claim service if you are unable to settle the bill in full and cannot wait for reimbursement from your insurance provider. In this instance, we will claim the invoices due directly from your insurance provider.

Please note that direct claims must be arranged in advance with us (not your insurance provider), prior to your appointment.

To take advantage of this, please complete the following steps:

  • Call your primary care vet (who referred you to us) and ensure that the full clinical history has been emailed through to us.
  • Call your insurance provider and give them permission to speak to us.
  • Request a pre-authorisation form and fill in your sections, sign it and then forward it to us to complete and send to your insurance provider for processing. Please note that insurance companies can take seven working days to provide a response to a pre-authorisation request, depending on whom you are insured with. Therefore please let us have your form as early as possible so that we can start the process. We are not always informed directly whether the request has been approved, so we recommend you contact your insurance provider prior to attending your appointment.
  • In some circumstances, a pre-authorisation is not available. In these cases, we will need to speak to your insurance provider and discuss with them to see whether they are likely to cover the condition or not. Note: the insurance provider will not guarantee to pay over the phone, they will just give us the information required to make a decision.
  • You must bring a claim form and a copy of your current insurance schedule with you to your appointment.

Note: a direct claim will not be possible if your insurance company will not cover the treatment, or if upon receipt of the clinical history we have concerns that your insurance provider will not cover the condition.

Insured with an RSA affiliate company – additional excess

For clients who are insured by More Than or Tesco Bank and underwritten by RSA Insurance Group, Fitzpatrick Referrals will cover the cost of the £200 additional excess*, if it is deducted from your insurance payment, for sending your pet to us instead of the RSA Referral Vet Network. This is to ensure that you are not penalised unfairly for choosing to have your pet treated here. *Read Fitzpatrick Referrals’ policy for the RSA Referral Vet Network.

Financial responsibility

You are required to sign a consent form for the treatment of your dog or cat. This form contains a clause that specifies that you are responsible for any of our fees and costs of treatment. If you are insured and we have agreed to do a direct claim for you but there are costs that do not get settled by your insurance provider, you remain responsible for settling those costs directly with us; this includes any ‘owner excess’ that your insurance provider may deduct from their payment to us. In signing this consent form you agree to these terms and accept the liability.

Invoices

Your main invoice will, in some circumstances, include the first set of recheck x-rays that will be required. Please note that if the patient requires any further rechecks or treatment this will be invoiced separately. Should you be advised that the patient requires rehabilitation, e.g. hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, shockwave treatment or acupuncture, these treatments are all charged for separately, and are not always covered by pet insurance policies. You will therefore need to check with your insurance provider whether you are able to claim.

Financial assistance

If you do not have insurance or your policy does not cover the full cost of the treatment and you are not able to meet the costs in one payment, we may be able to help you spread your payments through the service of a third-party payment plan provider, subject to you meeting their credit requirements. This service can be made available to clients if requested in good time before treatment takes place. Applications will often return an answer very quickly, but depending on your financial circumstances the process can take several days.

Fundraising

We understand that it may be necessary to fundraise some or all of the funds for your treatment. In these cases, we require you to agree to our fundraising and media policy, which asks that no names related to Fitzpatrick Referrals are referenced in your campaign; and once your referral has been accepted to notify our finance team so we can email you full details of our policy guidelines.

If you have any questions or queries relating to payments please call us and ask to speak to a member of the finance department.

Fitzpatrick Referrals