Terms & Conditions

Thank you for entrusting us with the care of your pet.

Watkins and Tasker Veterinary Group is a three-centre practice caring for pets across North Somerset, with sites in Portishead, Yatton, and Nailsea.

All our practices are equipped to a high standard and can diagnose and treat most clinical conditions. Portishead has a hospitalisation facility, and animals requiring inpatient care are treated at this practice.

We offer a 24-hour emergency service in addition to our normal daytime service. This can be accessed by phoning our normal number and following the instructions on the recorded message. More detail on our services can be found on our website here.

Below our Terms and Conditions of Business:

Fees and Estimates

Fees are made up of a combination of our professional time and cost of provision of goods or medications.

Estimates: while the care of your pet is the most important thing, we know cost is very important to many clients, and we endeavour to be as transparent as possible. We are able to provide an estimate for any inpatient care or high-cost outpatient care. We endeavour to keep you updated should costs alter significantly from the initial estimate provided.

Payment is made at the point of treatment in almost every case. If you are unable to afford treatment, it is your responsibility to inform us of this before the consultation or treatment is started, or as soon as you become aware that the costs have risen beyond your ability to pay. We will never withhold first aid treatment to an animal that is suffering but will discuss the options available with you. We do not charge for emergency treatment of wildlife.

Where a pet is insured, many fees paid to us can be claimed back from your insurers, subject to any excesses and exclusions stated in your policy. Alternatively, for an administrative fee (which in most cases cannot be reclaimed from insurers), we can ask your insurance company to pay us directly. In this case you only need to pay us your excesses and the administration fee. We will need to see your insurance policy before we agree to a “direct claim”.

In a very few special circumstances, charities may contribute to costs of treatment. Charities rarely agree to pay for treatment already given, so it is important to organise this before treatment is started.

If you do not pay for treatment as required, we will take whatever action we consider appropriate to recover our fees, which may involve further costs for which you will be liable, and we may refuse further treatment (other than emergency first-aid treatment to relieve suffering).

Home Visits

In the vast majority of cases your pet will receive better treatment in the clinic than can be offered in your home. In the clinic, the full range of equipment and handling facilities are available. House visits are undertaken only when necessary and are charged for. The only exception to this is end of life care. We feel it is less stressful for both you and your pet if they are allowed to be euthanised at home. When visits are for this purpose, a reduced visit fee is charged.

Prescriptions

All animals need to be regularly examined in order for us to be able to supply prescription medications long term. The length of time between examinations in this case is determined on a case by case basis, but to assure the welfare of your pet, and to comply with legislation and professional guidelines, will be no longer than six months.

Written prescriptions for use in pharmacies other than our own are available on request. These can only be supplied after a clinical assessment of the animal by the prescribing veterinary surgeon. A prescription may not be appropriate if an animal is an inpatient or requires immediate treatment, and a written prescription fee applies.

Referral and Second Opinions

We have a wealth of experience and special interests within the Practice. We are happy to offer second opinions for animals registered with us and even those that are not. If you are not registered with us, we will need to contact your original vet for your pet’s medical history and we would recommend a double appointment (30 minutes) so we have sufficient time to meet you and your pet. Please discuss your requirements with us so we are able to advise you of the appropriate charges.

If your pet is currently under treatment with us, but you would like a second opinion, please do not hesitate to ask. If we cannot offer further expertise from one of our own vets, we can direct you to the appropriate specialist, and arrange the appointment for you. Most specialist vets will not accept an appointment request from a pet owner - it has to come via the veterinary surgeon.

Use of client data

How we collect, store and use client data complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and is detailed in our Privacy Policy.

Complaints

Should you have concerns about any aspect of our services, please contact us. We welcome such conversations as they are an opportunity both to help you and to improve our service. Our full complaints procedures can be supplied on request or downloaded from here.

Friend-Get-Friend and Other Discount Vouchers:

These vouchers are to be used in the spirit they were intended, that is to introduce new clients who have not used our practice before
For the Friend Get Friend Voucher the £20 will only be allocated to the recommender after the new client has registered and had their first consultation
For use against consult fees only
No cash alternative offered and voucher is non-transferrable
Subject to availability
For all vouchers, only one voucher can be used per animal per transaction
Any additional cost exceeding the value of the voucher will be paid by the redeemer
Vouchers will not be replaced if lost, damaged or stolen. Friend Get Friend Vouchers are available to print from our website here.
Any misuse of the scheme may invalidate the voucher
The final say will lie with the practice

6 Month Free Health Check Vouchers

We know you care for your pets immensely as do we, which is why we offer this voucher. Having regular health checks allows us to spot and treat conditions early which could otherwise cause distressing problems for your pet and expense for you.

These vouchers are issued by a Vet to you the client, at the time of your pet’s standard, annual vaccination appointment
The vouchers can only be redeemed in Practice
For use to cover the cost of a consultation with a Vet, 6 months after a standard vaccination appointment e.g., if your standard vaccination appointment is in July 2022, the Vet will issue the voucher for use, by appointment, during the month of January 2023
Where issued, a 6 Month Free Health Check voucher can be used to check your pet’s health and wellbeing, and can also be used if you are concerned your pet may be injured or unwell
It does not cover the cost of any medication prescribed to your pet, or for any further treatment as a result of the consultation
There is no cash alternative offered and the voucher is non-transferable
The offer is subject to availability
Only one voucher can be used per animal per transaction
Vouchers will not be replaced if lost, damaged or stolen
Any misuse of the voucher may invalidate it
The final say regarding voucher validity will lie with the Practice
Please phone and book your free health check appointment in the normal way, mentioning that you have a 6month health check voucher
You can use your appointment to discuss your pet’s welfare, behaviour, feeding and health, or any other concerns you have about your pet.

Neutering Wound Guarantee

Neutering is a routine, everyday procedure carried out by vets, but for pet owners it can be an understandably worrying time as it may be the first time your pet has been away from you and their home. It is also often the first time they have had an anaesthetic or surgical procedure. We are confident of the high quality of our care here, so we are placing a limited Neutering Wound Guarantee on our routine neutering surgeries. As far as we are aware, no other vet offers this complete peace of mind.

We have total confidence in our surgical techniques and post-operative care, so we give you this promise:

In the highly unlikely event that your pet has any wound complications as a direct result of today's surgery, no matter how minor, you'll not be charged for any treatment prescribed or undertaken by us to correct things. This guarantee is limited financially to the monetary value of the operation your pet undertook.

The little bit of common-sense small print:

You agree to follow our recommendations, and in particular to use a collar or bodysuit to prevent licking of the wound, and give post-operative medications as prescribed
You let us know as soon as possible if you have any concerns at all
You do not use any other veterinary practice for aftercare
You understand that we cannot be held responsible for treatment for any undiagnosed or unrelated condition that comes to light because of the surgery
The guarantee is limited to covering the costs of treatments, up to the value of the original surgery, that may be required as a direct result of the neutering surgery - no cash value can be given under any circumstances
In the highly unlikely and remote event of a complaint, we will do our utmost to fix things to make you and your pet happy, but as qualified vets we reserve the right to have the final say and decision in these matters.

TopStart Packages

Our TopStart puppy and kitten packages are only valid for pets that are under a year old. No refunds can be given if full package not required. There will be separate terms and conditions for the four week free insurance cover note which are not party to but are between you and the insurance company.

Senior Dog & Cat Package

Our Senior Dog and Cat packages are only valid for pets that are over the suggested ages stated, unless agreed with the Vet. One package may be taken per year, per pet. No refunds can be given if the full package is not required and the price does not include additional treatment or follow up tests that may be required due to the findings. The package may or may not be covered by your insurance, dependent on several factors such as whether the pet is unwell, or a diagnosis made as a result. The 25% introductory offer is applicable when stated within the Practice.

Pet Health Club Competition

As with anything, there are some terms & conditions that you should be aware of, so please read carefully before entering the competition.

The competition is for collection of treatment only and does not include the delivery option available.
You must be signing up as a new member of Pet Health Club and cannot enter as an existing member.
The winner will be entitled to one free year on the Pet Health Club from the date of signing up.
When entering the competition, you will sign up as normal, set up the direct debit as normal and pay your direct debits as normal until (if) you are chosen as the winner. Once (if) you have won, we will refund all monies paid towards the Pet Health Club.
Entries will include anyone who has joined online, in Practice or over the phone.
The winning membership is for one pet only. If you are signing up three pets for example, you will have three entries but only one pet can win.
Each pet will be allocated a number for the draw to ensure we don’t share any personal information.
The draw will take place on Friday 3rd November 2023 and will be live on our Facebook and Instagram pages for clients to watch.
If you are entering and you win, you must be happy for us to take a photo of you and your pet to share on social media to show you have won.
No cash alternative offered.
The final say will lie within the Practice.
Any additional cost outside of the Pet Health Club will be paid by the redeemer.
The offer/prize is non-transferable.