Name: Vets Now
Address: Penguin House, Castle Riggs, Dunfermline, Fife
Rating: 4.26

“DO NOT TAKE YOUR PETS TO THESE NASTY PEOPLE IN SWINDON I have a beautiful 15 year old Shi-tzu girl called Lily, and she has a beautiful daughter called Petal. A few months ago, lumps on her mammary glands grew quite rapidly, and under our vets advice, due there her age, it was against their advice to operate, due to her age. Still full if fun and life, the tumours didn’t bother Lily, and were not cancerous, so other than the weight of them, she was a happy girl, and she was still living life, in the fullest possible way. Thursday she went out for her walk, with her daughter Petal, and our new puppy, Frankie. Lily went over rough ground, and had a tiny graze on her lump, which she started to lick. We thought nothing if it, but she licked it so much, that by tonight I got in from work, it looked like someone had stubbed a cigar on the tumour, and it was leaking water consistent blood and fluid. I panicked, and rang my vets in Faringdon, and their out of hours vets, were based in Swindon, so when we rang them and explained, they said bring her in, but the consultancy fee, just for looking at her, was going to be £223 !!!! Omg I nearly had a fit, but my baby girl is my world, so I gulped, then agreed to this. I Took Lily to the vets, and went inside, to be greeted by a young receptionist who told someone we’d arrived. I don’t think this person was a vet, we didn’t get called into get called a room for the consultancy, she looked at her in reception, walking around, saw the wound, announcing that they couldn’t do anything, she either had the operation (which we just couldn’t afford nor would she survive at 15) or “call it a day” !!! Go to your vets tomorrow. What do you mean call it a day ? She said it with absolutely no empathy, compassion, care or emotion, in fact this woman was a total cow. She dismissed us to leave, and then said she wouldn’t charge us for the £223 consultancy, so I breathed a sigh of relief, but was leaving with a very sad and heavy heart. My dogs are my world, and this woman was ruthless and vile, at a very distressing time, peering her head around the door , had to pay £88 for that piece of advice !!! Have an operation she can’t survive or have her put to sleep, but go to your vets in the morning and see what they say!!!! I could have just done that anyway, but my baby was leaking fluid, she needed attention, and they just told us to leave !!!! She didn’t look at the wound properly, or anything, didn’t even leave the reception sofa, that wasn’t advice, it was a statement, how could something that occurred in reception, by some woman in a blue scrub uniform, who hadn’t even taken her time to look at my fur baby:(:(:( or announce her name, or role in the establishment. If this is the out of hours services for local vets, then they should be shut down, I paid £88 for nothing, they didn’t even dress the wound, what was I paying for, we were no better off than before we arrived, but £88 poorer, and very distressed at the lack of empathy and support. Don’t take your pets anywhere near this money making racket, I now have to stay awake all night with my baby, until my vets open in the morning, because she’s loosing fluid and very distressed. I’m taking this complaint further, I’m not prepared to be treated like this. People who are vets should be compassionate towards animals and their owners, this is their jobs. What a traumatic experience, I’ll never forget, please please please don’t take your pets here, they are rip off merchants, and other words that shouldn’t be put to print. Nasty Nasty nasty franchise who aren’t fit for looking after the welfare of animals, and money making pigs THIS WILL NOT BE THE LAST THEY HEAR FROM ME I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“700 complaints about this company who cause distress to all these animal lovers who have lost their loved fur babies and outrageous charges for OOH don't use them”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I understand that vets study for many years and are highly qualified professionals. And I also understand that we should pay well for the services of these professionals. But the fees charged here are off the scale and really take advantage of someone who is distressed about a sickly vet out of hours. Total lack of compassion, I had to make endless calls to find out what was happening, no invoice and 3 months later got a demand letter for an extra £300 that we knew nothing about. Customer Care are useless and I just gave in and paid it. Unless it is an absolute emergency out of hours, hang on until the morning and see a vet whose main purpose is not to rip off their customers.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Our hamster was having a tough time of it with breathing difficulties and objectively, I knew it wasn't going to make it. But speaking with my fiancé, we agreed to take it to the vet to see if there was anything to be done or to offer it a painless death. I already knew the out of hours was around £100+, but I thought it was worth a try. We arrive swiftly, having called ahead and giving an ETA (which is exactly what it took me to arrive). Once in, we waited upwards of 35 minutes to be seen, in a little consultation room, watching our hamster dying. Eventually, the vet arrived and confirmed it would be best to put our hamster down (funnily enough, we'd come to this conclusion during the agonising wait). Of course, we agreed. At no stage did money come up, i.e. how much the consultation fee was, the cost of euthanasia, the cost of the (promoted by the vet) 'cremation'/disposal. I was just told they'd see to our hamster and to see a colleague at the front desk when ready. I was greeted with a £160 bill, no invoice. I asked for one, curious to see a cost breakdown - and guess what? There wasn't one. I still have no clue what I paid for, but I wasn't in the mood to have a fuss around in front of my partner, late at night. Paying £160 to put a rodent down (which I could have done equally painlessly at home) is crackers, but you do these things for your pets. Money is fine; what isn't fine is opaque pricing and offering choices but not being clear about what is chargeable, what isn't, etc. Equally, waiting as long as we did was not acceptable. Bottom line, I wouldn't use again. If it was my cat or dog, and they needed out of hours emergency care, I would find another service in my city, as there wasn't one redeeming feature on that night. Slow service, high prices, opaque pricing structure and minimal empathy.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“My two year old cat started having seizures and I phoned Vets Now to see if I should bring her in (out of hours emergency is £150 just for consultation), the receptionist said the vet would call me back but two hours later I was still waiting. I phoned them again and the receptionist had taken my number down wrong even though I had given it to her TWICE. No apology even though seizures are very time sensitive. The care is good and their vets are extremely knowledgeable but the prices are insane. We were quoted £600-900 for a one night stay, full biochemical blood work and some medications. She needed to be monitored and after three nights the vet bill was £2,259.44. She had a relapse 6 days later and had to go in for another night at a cost of £505.70. Vets Now have a very close working relationship with the PDSA, and If Vets Now really cared about animals they would have informed me that because I am on universal credit (just graduated, waiting to start new job), I could have taken her to the PDSA emergency practice in the East End and get treated there at a much lower cost. We are at the point where we have tested for everything and still don't know what is wrong, the only option for diagnosis is an MRI (quoted £2500-3000) which I can no longer afford. Another point to mention is that their onsite laboratory is not UKAS accredited (which you think it should be for the prices they charge) and therefore when you get a result that is unexpected they have to send a sample to an external lab for confirmation, so essentially you are charged twice for the same test because of their inadequate facilities. I do not have a bad word to say about the veterinary staff who work at Vets Now, they are exceptional and I am grateful we have this service available in Glasgow, but the organisation itself is making a hefty profit at the expense of animals and their owners, while driving up the price of pet insurance at the same time.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Took my daughters 12 week old puppy here after injuring her paw on Saturday 17th August. Agreed £150.00 first consultancy due to her being in severe pain. Upon being took into a room we were told to weigh her and she had her temperature taken. We were told that she had to stay in till Monday morning and quoted a £1200.00 fee for care. On telling her we could not afford this she said to either pay the money or euthanise her. We were then told we could not take the dog due to her being in pain. I told her we were going elsewhere and she gave her a injection of morphine. Had to pay the princely sum of £180.00. we took her to another vet's who were much cheaper. She had my 17 year old daughter in floods of tears and she is a disgrace to the profession. How they can justify the quoted fee is astounding. Vet's now Liverpool are a disgrace. Do not go there. Daylight robbery.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“My mum took a phone call from Vets Now yesterday saying that they had our cat in their care and that it was a black and white cat, when our cat is black. She rang them back later to confirm that it was indeed our cat they had, to be told very bluntly by the receptionist 'Yes the cat is dead'. That is not the compassionate way to tell someone their beloved pet has passed away. I didn't find out for several hours but when I did I rang to ask to go and see our cat and to find out what had happened. I was told that I couldn't see her as she has been put in cold storage and the bag was sealed up. again I think these things could have been phrased in a much more considerate way. Then when I went there to pay for the cremation I was told there was no need for me to have come to the practice. I asked again if I could see her and was told I could request to take the bag outside and open it in the car park and then bring it back inside to say I had changed my mind and wanted a cremation. I was told that it was to do with health and safety and that 'fleas would be jumping off the body.' I have had cats my whole life I wouldn't have minded having a couple of fleas jump on me if it meant I got to see my cat inside at the vets with a private space to go through my feelings, not outside in a car park with people around. Also they have no notes on why my cat was taken to them so we have just received a phone call from them firstly regarding a cat that is not ours and then one to very bluntly tell us the cat has passed away. What sort of vets do not even make a minimal note to allow an owner the closure of knowing why their poor animal has ended up there. I'm glad they are not my vets and after the service we received I would not recommend them.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“My dog became ill and I had to take him to the emergency vet at Vets Now. The vet had no empathy or interest in my boy, all she was interested in was ramping up the bill and checking I could pay. My poor dog ended up being put to sleep and I was devastated. I have now changed vets to one with its own out of hours service as I cannot ever face going to Vets Now again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Absolutely disgraceful company I had to take my dog this weekend for treatment and he ended up being put to sleep. No empathy whatsoever and all they were interested in was if you could pay the extortionate bill they charged. Vets really need to look at this service because it’s well below what should be received. They are money grabbing parasites and should not be allowed to practice. I’m not even confident that they gave the treatment they charged for I’m absolutely heartbroken at the loss of my lovely boy and advise anyone to steer clear of Them. I will be taking my concerns to my vets tomorrow and will be moving my other pets to somewhere with their own out of hours service as I don’t want to go through this shoddy money grabbing company again.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I would advise to avoid VetsNow at all costs if you can but it's difficult when your normal vet use this cowboy outfit for their out of hours service. Our Goldie was with them overnight during which time they charged £1,100, including £20 for incorrectly filling out a Pet Plan claim form. As it turned out, when she went to our specialist vets the following morning, we found out the course of action VetsNow had suggested was completely wrong. So not only are they cowboys but they are also incompetent and, in our case, potentially negligent.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Took my 3 week old puppy in early hours of Saturday morning told she had respiratory pneumonia gave her painkiller and antibiotic injection and told she will be sleepy for 24 hours and to take her to own vet for more antibiotics on Monday paid the £400 bill. Sunday morning we called them as felt she was getting worse to be told she will be sleepy it’s been a traumatic night, by 4pm we are panicking as she was becoming very limp, called again and said we wanted her seen again, on arrival we had to wait for a quote before they would even look at her, the vet said it will be between £1,000-£1,200 and she had a 50% chance of survival, we took those odds as thought that was good chance then exactly 1 hour and 17 mins later they called to say she’s worse and needs to be put to sleep, that short time is NOT 50% I have spoken to 2 vets and google and all said she should have been kept in the first night. They are now trying to charge us another£239.00 on top of the £500 deposit we had to pay on the night. We are now changing our vets to 1 that offers 24 hour care which is a shame because we were happy there but unless they stop using vets now they loose our pets and from all the reviews and gossip I’m hearing I wish to god I had gone else where and paid extortionate price but had a better service”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I had my first experience with VetsNow 5 years ago and vowed never again for just a painkiller to be given to my rabbit and their prices were £1200 as they make up "other" things that it needs too. Again last Friday 00:10 I was desperate as a rabbit we rescued had just had maggots hatch. I cleaned the few that I saw but know I needed urgent Vet medical help. The response was "you can bring the rabbit in now or wait till 08:30 when your normal practise operates. And also, we are like ER for the animals if something more urgent comes in, you will have to wait" Really!! Flystrike is urgent! Do these delinquents know what they are doing other then like the mafia charging made up ££ depending on the desperation of the client. Please check for 24hr Vet medicle centres near you, do not trust these vets.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“At a difficult time when we lost our Freddie the attempts to save him & the service we received was compassionate, professional & appropriate. Thank you ❤️”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“My dog had to be put to sleep because of vet eleanor forbest did not give her blood clotting plasma for 9 hours full of blood and then given more”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Took my 3 week old puppy in early hours of Saturday morning told she had respiratory pneumonia gave her painkiller and antibiotic injection and told she will be sleepy for 24 hours and to take her to own vet for more antibiotics on Monday paid the £400 bill. Sunday morning we called them as felt she was getting worse to be told she will be sleepy it’s been a traumatic night, by 4pm we are panicking as she was becoming very limp, called again and said we wanted her seen again, on arrival we had to wait for a quote before they would even look at her, the vet said it will be between £1,000-£1,200 and she had a 50% chance of survival, we took those odds as thought that was good chance then exactly 1 hour and 17 mins later they called to say she’s worse and needs to be put to sleep, that short time is NOT 50% I have spoken to 2 vets and google and all said she should have been kept in the first night. They are now trying to charge us another£239.00 on top of the £500 deposit we had to pay on the night. We are now changing our vets to 1 that offers 24 hour care which is a shame because we were happy there but unless they stop using vets now they loose our pets and from all the reviews and gossip I’m hearing I wish to god I had gone else where and paid extortionate price but had a better service and compassion”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“this was the first time i had to deal with the death of a family dog and the experience i had with your staff was just shocking. From being told "he will be put in cold storage" to being hand a leaflet of costs with no compassion, empathy or explanation of what to expect. I will never use Petsnow ever again or recommend to any of my family or friends. I now months later i have a new puppy and the first thing i checked was who they sent their referrals to, and it is not Vetsnow. I have also given my complaint to the Glasgow office so they are well aware of my feelings.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“These people should be shut down.... yesterday. My friend had a horrendous money grabbing experience at the Staines branch recently. It’s far from a one off it seems. Preying on vulnerable people. Lowest of the low IMHO.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Never will I take a pet of mine here again they put my cat to sleep because they couldn’t be bothered to treat him they made you feel like they can’t be bothered with him just put him to sleep and get on to the next one. They never even tried him with antibiotics I still say to this day if they had been bothered to give him antibiotics he would still be here I felt like he wasn’t important I felt like I was treated awful and then said in the report they give him antibiotics they give him nothing all they done was his temperature they just seems like they never had they time for him I would never trust them with a toy pet let alone a real one disgusting service when we was little the vets always put the pet first now it feels like they just put money first they could of treated my cat but no they didn’t want to know if you love your pet go somewhere else. I am writing this review on how I felt I was treated and my pet cat 😡😡😡😡😡😡”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I have ticked the one star as there is not a zero review status. Firstly do not ever take your beloved pet to this vets. They are purely there to empty your wallet. I took my cat to the Oldbury site on Good Friday morning as she was really unwell and our suspicions were correct that she had poisened. On telephoning the vets they told us to bring her in straight away. On arrival the vets was completely empty and was made to wait in reception for 25 minutes whilst my cat was clearly in distress. i could hear members of staff laughing in the rooms behind reception but still no one came out until i made a comment to the receptionist on how long i had been waiting and that this was an emergency. The vet eventually examined her which took about 5 mins and cost £160.00. the vet then recommended blood tests to confirm that she has been poisend then proceeded to show me print out for one overnight stay whilst she was on a drip which would have cost me £1270.00 pounds. My cat died in my arms 7 hours later in excrutiating pain and at a cost of £614.00. I feel this is just a business to make money and not in the interest of aleviating the pain and suffering of animals..”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“a friends cat was taken to vets now after being run over it was badly injured and nedde to be put to sleep they charged 250 quid .. i feel this is very disproportionate it was to fragile to take to another vets who would have been cheaper . my friend is on benefits and vulnerable and will struggle to pay this amount of money i want her to go to trading standards but she wont”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

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