"My small dog screamed loudly when…"

My small dog screamed loudly when stroked so I took her to Belmont Vets, Hereford. The vet, in my opinion, did not fully examine her. She did not stretch her legs out, feel her all over etc. I said that I was worried that the dog had eaten something she shouldn’t. The vet asked if that was usual, I said it was. End of conversation. I said that I was worried that my dog didn’t eat much but was gaining weight, no reply. The vet was going to give my dog a painkilling jab, the dog screamed even before the needle was in, the vet and I both jumped. The vet didn’t examine the spot where the dog had been touched, she just stuck the needle in again. The vet prescribed paracetamol for my dog without explaining that an overdose can be fatal. She prescribed 7 days of paracetamol when I was to go back two days later! I do not feel that this vet is experienced enough for me to trust my dog with her again.

"Thank you all"

I think it's important to give good reviews when due, and so I'm here to thank Belmont for their help, especially over the past few weeks. I have several rescue donkeys, getting on a bit now, and they've suffered blockages and impactions this summer. Belmont did a great job every time, and when one proved beyond help and had to be destroyed, Dom was wonderfully kind and considerate. I found a chicken with egg peritonitis the same afternoon, the Saturday before Bank Holiday, tried local small animal practices and got the brush off. I called Belmont again and got immediate help from Sarah, who met me at the practice and put the suffering bird down. Thank you. You were all great.

"Super vet but be careful of the misleading quotes"

I recently had to make the sad decision to have my horse PTS and after calling a few vets, including our usual vet for quotes, we opted for Belmont Farm and Equine as they were more competitive on costs and the reception team were very understanding in what was a very difficult situation.

I couldn’t face being there but by all accounts the Vet, Amelia, was amazing. Very professional and treated my mare with kindness and respect. We couldn’t fault the way she handled what was a very difficult situation. From this perspective Belmont Farm and Equine were amazing.

Sadly, this is where the positive experience ends as when the bill arrived we had a nasty surprise!

Both my husband & I were in the office when the call was made to check the costs and heard the receptionist confirm that the price quoted was VAT inclusive. When calling back to book the appointment my husband reconfirmed the figures we had been given and that they were VAT inclusive so we were surprised to receive a bill with VAT on top.

After calling to highlight the mistake, we were told, after checking with a Director, that we’d been given incorrect information but the higher bill stood. When dealing with horses and livestock bills can run into thousands and thousands so something as simple as quoting VAT inclusive instead of exclusive can add hundreds to a bill.

We will have no choice but to pay but are far from happy at being misled. Mistakes do happen but it’s how a situation is handled that either recovers an experience or cements it and the ‘hard cheese’ attitude of the Directors has left a very sour taste. Ironically the final bill was significantly higher than if we had of used our normal vet or indeed the third vet we called for prices.

I would highly recommend the Vet that attended my horse but if you quote a price, that is the price you should expect to pay. If considering this vet for any treatments, I would strongly advise getting a quote in writing before you proceed and double checking that they have indeed included the VAT or you could have a nasty surprise!

Update: After receiving a call from one of the Directors it emerged that the practice had switched from a system that quoted inc VAT to a new system that quoted ex VAT, which had caused confusion. The Director acknowledged we were given incorrect information to on and amended the bill accordingly. Very happy with the resolution and pleased that the issue with the system has been addressed.