Practice Policies, Terms & Conditions

Pear Tree Vets is registered in England and Wales with company number 15555731, whose registered office is at Kings Lodge, London Road, West Kindsdown, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 6AR.

We are contactable via telephone, email or post - please find details at www.peartreevets.co.uk/contact-us.

We are able to contact you via telephone, email or post, using the details that you provided to us when you registered as a client with us.

In order to enable us to carry out appropriate treatments for your pet, we will require information from you. If this information is not provided within a reasonable time frame, then we will not be held liable for any delays in carrying out veterinary services, or injury or death of an animal as a result of this information not being provided.

Pear Tree Vets is registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), and all of our Veterinary Surgeons and our Veterinary Nurses are suitably qualified and subject to the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct in accordance with the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966.

Our opening times are visible on our website.

Consultations are available by appointment; appointments can be booked using our online booking portal or over the telephone.

We reserve the right to ask for a deposit in the case of repeatedly missed appointments. Please do make us aware as soon as possible if you know that you cannot make your scheduled appointment.

Veterinary services will be provided by a suitably trained or qualified member of staff, and sometimes this may include trainees working under direct supervison or a suitably trained or qualified member of staff.

During our normal business hours, we will provide veterinary services to you. Outside of our regular business hours, emergency services will be provided to you by our dedicated out-of-hours (OOH) provider. By registering with Pear Tree Vets and requesting our veterinary services, you accept that your pets may need to be seen by the vets at our OOH provider outside of business hours.

Our veterinary services will ordinarily be provided to you at our premises in Lillington. We may also provide veterinary services to you at other locations, such as your home. You must comply with any health and safety instructions given to you at any premises that we use, and you are responsible for any belongings left at any of these premises. Where we provide veterinary services to you in your home, you are responsible for making sure that the premises are safe and accessible by our staff. Home visits do incur additional costs, and you will be provided with an estimate of fees at the time of booking a home visit. We cannot guarantee to be able to provide home visits, but will always endeavour to do so where possible and appropriate.

You are responsible for making and attending appointments, via telephone or our online booking system. We cannot guarantee that appointments will be available at your desired time. We reserve the right to refuse treatment if you arrive without an appointment, or if you arrive late for your prebooked appointment.

Estimates may be provided verbally or in writing. All estimates are approximate, and the final fee may be higher or lower, due to the possibility of complications and differing response to treatments. We will always endeavour to keep you updated if the expected costs change during the course of treatment.

You may obtain prescription only medications (POM-Vs) from Pear Tree Vets, or you may ask for a written prescription to be provided, and then use this written prescription to obtain medications from another veterinary surgery or a pharmacy. Animals must be under our care in order for us to prescribe POM-Vs for them. Our governing body, the RCVS, defines "under our care" as having been recently physically examined. In some cases where immediate treatment is necessary, a written prescription might not be appropriate. A fee will be charged for a written prescription. Animals which need repeat prescriptions for ongoing medications will require examinations periodically, and the duration depends on the case in question. Usually, the maximum time between examinations is 6 months. All re-examinations incur a charge.

We are unable to refund or exchange any unused medication once it has left the premises.

In certain circumstances, where a suitable alternative is not available, we may use or prescribe medication which is not licensed for veterinary use. We may ask you to sign an "off license consent form" when this is required.

During an initial consultation, we will normally agree a treatment plan, and wherever possible we will obtain your consent before carrying out any procedure or treatment. You will be required to sign a "consent form" for this purpose. In exceptional circumstances, where deemed necessary by veterinary staff, we are authorised to take all steps neeed in order to ensure the welfare of your pet, and you are responsible for any costs incurred in taking such steps, whether or not your prior consent has been obtained. We will provide you with full details of treatment provided as soon as it is reasonably possible.

We can accept and rely on insturctions and information given to us by your representatives, for example, a family member, pet sitter or kennels presenting your pet to us. We reserve the right to refuse instruction from them, for example if they are under 18 years of ages, or if we resonably believe that they are not authorised to represent you. We may require proof that they are authorised to represent you. You can email us to let us know who is authorised (or not authorised) to represent you should you wish.

You are free at all times, at your own cost, to seek or request a second opinion concerning any veterinary services that we have provided.

We will not be responsible for any delays outside of our control, but we will always contact you as soon as possible to let oyu know, and take steps to minimise any further delays.

Your animal's medical records, including x-rays, test results, and ultrasound images, are our property. You may request a copy of your animal's medical records to be sent to another veterinary service provider by emailing or phoning us. We will process your request in a reasonable period of time. We may request that you pay any outstanding fees to us before doing so.

We do not provide pet insurance; you are responsible for arranging this, and we recommend that our clients take out appropriate insurance cover for their pets with a reputable insurance provider.

We have a zero tolerance policy against offensive, violent or aggressive behaviour.

We reserve the right to decline to provide veterinary services, to ask you to leave the premises, and to terminate our contract with you if you, or any person connected with you, engage in such behaviour (whether in our practice, on the phone, via email or via social media sites).

You can end your contract with us at any time. When your contract ends, you are responsible for collecting your animal from us, and for paying any outstanding bills. We recommend that you register your pet with another veterinary practice from the date your contract with us ends, and we are not responsible for arranging this for you. If you wish to end your contract with us, then please do let us know via email or post.

We may end the contract with you if you break any terms of the contract, if you do not make payment to us within 7 days of us reminding you that payment is due, or if you fail to provide information necessary for us to provide veterinary services in a reasonable timescale of us requesting such information. We may end the contract for other reasons, and will under these circumstances provide 30 days notice.

Veterinary practices provide private healthcare, and professional fees vary according to the case and the level of treatment required. All charges are subject to VAT at the current rate (20%). A full itemised invoice will be provided for any transaction made with us.

If your pet is hospitalised with us for a period fo time, you will be updated on costs incurred at least every 24 hours.

Payment is excpected at the time of treatment, or at the time of discharge of your pet.

We may, at our discretion, require you to pay part of pay the whole of the estimated service costs in advance.

Where you have a valid insurance policy, we may at our discretion agree to make a claim for payment directly to your insurance policy. We may charge a fee for completing, submitting and/or managing an insurance claim on your behalf. You agree to pay us on request for that fee, and any amounts that the insurance company do not pay within 30 days of the invoice being issues to you.

Payment is accepted via cash, debit or credit card. We are unable to accept cheques.

We may take further action to recover overdue payments. We may refer overdue accounts to our debt collection agency for recovery. Additional charges in connection to collecting outstanding balances will be added to your bill, including but not limited to administraion costs and debt collection agency fees.

We may refuse to supply further veterinary services to you until all outstanding bills are paid.

If you are unable to pay for the veterinary services provided by us, we are only obliged to fulfill our minimum legal responsibilites and professional regulatory obligations in respect of the animals under our care.

If we fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for any foreseeable loss or damage you suffer as a result of our breach or failing to use reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable.

We supply products to you for domestic and private use only, and are not liable for business losses. Our website and promotional / social media material is for general information purposes only and does not constitute advice. We endeavour to provide accurate and true information at the time of writing, however we can give no guarantee or assurance regarding the accuracy of any content. If you are unsure, then please contact us. 

In normal circumstances, we will not disclose any information about a client, or their pet(s) without prior consent. Full details on the data we collect and how it is used can be found in our privacy policy at www.peartreevets.co.uk/privacy-notice.

We may occassionally share anonymised data with reserach groups and institutions as part of our ongoing commitment to progression in the veterinary profession.

Phone calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

CCTV recording is used at Pear Tree Vets for the safety of our staff, clients and patients. Recordings will be kept for 30 days.

Please see our complaints procedure should you need to contact us with any concerns.