Small Animal Hospital

These Terms and Conditions include important information - please read them carefully. We recommend that you retain a copy for future reference.

By buying veterinary products or services from us you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these terms. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not buy veterinary products or services from us.

Your attention is particularly drawn to the paragraphs entitled, “Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you”, “Delays and events outside our control”, and “Entire agreement” below which limit our liability under these Terms and Conditions.

Terms and Conditions

Who we are

The Small Animal Hospital (School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow, G61 1QH) is part of the University Court of the University of Glasgow (incorporated under the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889 and having its principal office at University Avenue, Glasgow G12 8QQ, a registered Scottish charity in terms of Section 13 (2) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (Charity Number SC004401, Charity Name 'University of Glasgow Court')(hereafter, the “Hospital”).

These terms and conditions, the terms of our Privacy Notice (https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/bohvm/sah/privacystatement/) , and any consent form, to which these terms and conditions are attached (together the “Terms and Conditions”) are the terms and conditions on which we supply veterinary services to you.

How we may use your personal information

When you register with us or order any goods or services from us, we will collect personal data about you. We will only use your personal information as set out in our Privacy Notice (a link to which is included above).

Estimates of Treatment Costs

Wherever practicable, the Hospital will provide a written price estimate before providing services. If we believe that the price estimate will be exceeded, wherever practicable we will discuss this with you and agree a revised price estimate with you before continuing to provide veterinary services. However, we reserve the right to provide such veterinary services as are reasonably necessary, in the professional judgement of our staff acting in the best interest of the animal under our care, without first agreeing the price estimate or revised price estimate with you (such as in an emergency). You accept that any estimate given can only be approximate and does not include any emergency procedures, follow-up treatment or investigation - often an animal’s illness will not follow a conventional course. You accept that you are liable for all costs incurred in the treatment of your animal.

Charges

All fees, diets and drug charges are subject to Value Added Tax at the current rate. Fee levels are determined by the time spent on a case (in accordance with our standard price and rates at that time) and according to the drugs, materials, consumables and diets used. You will receive an invoice for every consultation, surgical procedure and/or transaction with the Hospital. A cancellation fee of £18 (incl. VAT) will be charged if the Hospital does not receive 24 hours’ advance notice of any unattended appointments.

Methods of Payment

You must settle your accounts at the end of the consultation, the discharge of your animal or upon collection of drugs/diets. You may settle your account using cash, cheque (with a current Bankers Card), or credit/debit cards (Switch, Solo, MasterCard, Visa, Delta). Online payments are also available at http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/vet/sah/makeapayment/. Any cheque returned by our bank as unpaid, any credit card payment not honoured and any cash tendered that is found to be counterfeit will result in the original account being restored to the original sum with further charges added in respect of bank charges and interest.

Settlement Terms

Should your account remain outstanding, a reminder will be sent. If you do not make any payment due to the Hospital by the due date for payment (being the later of the end of the consultation, the discharge of the animal or upon collection of drugs/diets), the Hospital may charge interest to you on the overdue amount at the rate of 4% a year above the base lending rate of HSBC. This interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay the Hospital interest together with any overdue amount. 

After due notice to you, overdue accounts may be referred to our Debt Collection Agency and charges (10% of outstanding debt) will be levied in respect of costs incurred in collecting the debt. 

While any debt remains unpaid, the Hospital may refuse to supply further elective veterinary services to you until all outstanding sums are paid (subject to our right and obligation to provide such veterinary services as are reasonably necessary, in the professional judgement of our staff acting in the best interest of the animal then under our care, the cost for which you will be additionally responsible).

Inability to Pay

If, for any reason, you are unable to settle your account as specified, the Hospital asks that this matter is discussed as soon as possible with a senior member of Hospital staff. In these circumstances, the Hospital is only obliged to fulfil its minimum legal responsibilities and professional regulatory obligations in respect of the animal under its care.

Animal Health Insurance

Where you have animal health insurance, it is your responsibility to maintain contact with your insurance company throughout the process and to keep the Hospital updated.

It is your responsibility to settle the Hospital account and to make any reclaim from your insurance company. The Hospital will complete any required sections of a claim form as soon as reasonably practicable. In some circumstance direct claims may be permitted (at the Hospital’s sole discretion), however it remains your responsibility that the account is settled. If a pre-authorisation is required it is your responsibility to ensure this is submitted and approval received by the insurer before treatment is carried out.

If a direct claim is made and your insurance has not paid the full balance within thirty (30) days of the form being sent to them, you will be required to settle the full balance. All excesses should be paid immediately by you.

Ownership of Clinical and Financial Records

Your animal’s medical and your account records including (but not limited to) test results, discharge instructions and written advice, radiographs, scans, ultrasounds, and similar documents, and invoices and financial records, are the property of, and will be retained by, the Hospital. You may not upload to social media, crowdfund, or other online site or otherwise publish our medical or account records without our express prior written consent.  Copies of your animal’s medical records with a summary of the history will be passed to you and/or to another veterinary surgeon taking over the case within two weeks following a written request.  The Hospital will, on request, provide to you (without further charge) an explanation of any relevant medical terms referred to within your animal’s medical records. However the Hospital reserves the right at its discretion to charge a reasonable fee in respect of any further documentation or consultations requested by you..

Prescriptions

Medications will not generally be refunded once dispensed (including blister packs) due to unknown and off-site storage conditions. The Hospital can provide repeat prescriptions and can also post drugs (although an additional charge will apply) if required. The Hospital may, at its discretion, require an updated clinical assessment of your animal before issuing a repeat prescription – please make your request in sufficient time to be able to arrange an updated clinical assessment if required.  You may obtain relevant veterinary medicinal products from your veterinary surgeon OR ask and pay for a written prescription from the Hospital and obtain these medicines from another veterinary surgeon or a pharmacy.

Reliance on information and instructions

The Hospital will be entitled to accept and rely on instructions and information from your representatives who bring your animal to the Hospital. You can let us know who is authorised or not authorised to represent you. The Hospital reserves the right at its discretion to refuse to accept instructions from them (such as if they are under 16 years old or we reasonably believe that they are not authorised to represent you) or to require proof that they are authorised to represent you.

Out of hours policy

The Hospital provides qualified veterinary surgeons and additional support staff to care for animals overnight. Further veterinary surgeons are on call overnight however it is not possible to provide specialists in all disciplines that are provided by the Hospital during normal working hours. 

Students

The Hospital provides clinical experience for veterinary students. You accept that students, acting under appropriate supervision, may be involved in the examination and care of your animal. 

Retention of samples

You give permission for the retention and use of all clinical data/records, pictures (including digital diagnostic images), samples (urine, blood, DNA, biopsies, autopsies) by the Hospital for teaching purposes and for future studies to help animal welfare. All such material will be used anonymously.

Attendance by particular clinicians

No assurance can be given that the treatment will be carried out by a particular veterinary surgeon. This is because the veterinary surgeon may have to attend to other animals at that time. Whenever reasonably possible however, the Hospital will try to provide the veterinary surgeon of your choice.

If there is a problem

The Hospital welcomes your comments. If you feel that there is something that you wish to discuss, please email sah-feedback@glasgow.ac.uk FAO Customer Care Manager, in the first instance, or send a letter by post to the address below. Each letter/email will be acknowledged within fourteen (14) days and passed to the appropriate person. A response will be provided as soon as possible thereafter. Any queries in relation to treatment costs must be put in writing within fourteen (14) days of the relevant invoice date.

Customer Care & Service Manager

Animal Hospital

University of Glasgow

464 Bearsden Road

Glasgow

G61 1QH

Standards

We will provide our veterinary services in accordance with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (“RCVS”) Code of Professional Conduct. The RCVS regulates veterinary surgeons in accordance with the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, to protect the public interest and to safeguard animal health and welfare. 

The Hospital is under a legal duty to supply services that are in conformity with this contract. See the box below for a summary of your key legal rights. Nothing in these terms will affect your legal rights.

Summary of your key legal rights

This is a summary of your key legal rights. These are subject to certain exceptions. For detailed information please visit the Citizens Advice website www.adviceguide.org.uk or call 03454 04 05 06.

If your product is services, for example veterinary services, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says:

1. You can ask us to repeat or fix a service if it's not carried out with reasonable care and skill, or get some money back if we can't fix it.
2. If you haven't agreed a price beforehand, what you're asked to pay must be reasonable.
3. If you haven't agreed a time beforehand, it must be carried out within a reasonable time.

 

Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you

We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by our negligence. If we materially fail to comply with these terms, we are responsible for direct loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breaking this contract or our failing to use reasonable care and skill, but we are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable. Loss or damage is foreseeable if either it is obvious that it will happen or if, at the time the contract was made, both we and you knew it might happen, for example, if you discussed it with us during the sales process. In addition, we are not responsible if and to the extent that any loss or damage was avoidable (something you could have avoided by taking reasonable action including, without limitation, following our reasonable instructions).

We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability to you where it would be unlawful to do so. This includes liability for death or personal injury to human beings caused by our negligence or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; for breach of your legal rights in relation to the services; and for defective products under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

We are not liable for business losses. We only supply the products and services for domestic and private use. If you use the services or any products that we supply in providing the services for any commercial, business or re-sale purpose we will have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.   To the extent that you use a product or service for the purposes of a trade, business, craft or profession then, save in respect of any liability which cannot legally be limited, our total liability to you for all losses arising under or in connection with any contract between us, whether in contract, delict (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall be limited to what you paid for the product or service and all claims for loss of profit or indirect or consequential loss are wholly excluded.

We are not liable for your use of any products otherwise than in accordance with its instructions or as directed by your veterinary surgeon. Veterinary medicinal diet feed should only be used where recommended and by way of regular monitoring by a veterinarian. The veterinarian should be visited regularly during the feeding for check-up examinations and without delay in the event of deterioration in the animal’s condition.

Our liability to you is limited. Subject to the above exceptions, our liability to you for any damages, losses, claims, costs or expenses arising out of our supply of any products or services shall not exceed: (a) if the supply of those goods or services are covered by our public liability or professional indemnity insurance, the limit of that insurance for each claim or series of connected claims; and (b)  if the supply of those goods or services are not covered by our public liability or professional indemnity insurance, the value of the total fees paid or payable by you for the products or services in question.

You shall not make any claims under, or in relation to, these Terms and Conditions against any individual (including, but not limited to, students and staff of the Hospital), any such claims shall be made against the Hospital.

Delays and events outside our control

We are not responsible for delays or failure to perform due to any act or event outside our reasonable control. If our supply of the veterinary services is delayed or prevented by an event outside our control (such as, by way of example only, adverse weather, pandemics, government intervention, trade sanctions, accidental destruction of a building or industrial action by non-University staff) then we will contact you as soon as reasonably practicable to let you know.  Where possible, we will take steps to minimise the effect of a delay. Provided we do this we will not be liable for delays or failures caused by the event, but if there is a risk of substantial delay or failure you may contact us to end the contract and receive a refund for any services you have paid for but not received.

Unacceptable behaviour

The Hospital takes the health, wellbeing and safety of its staff, clients and the animals in its care seriously. The Hospital will not accept intrusive, offensive, violent or aggressive behaviour. Examples of behaviour that the Hospital deems unacceptable are:

1. Making malicious allegations about our staff or other clients;
2. Derogatory racial or sexual remarks;
3. Offensive sexual gestures or behaviour;
4. Using violent, threatening or abusive language (including swearing and offensive remarks);
5. Violent, threatening or abusive behaviour towards our staff, our clients or animals in our care;
6. Theft and other criminal activity; and
7. Non-compliance with the practice’s health and safety requirements.

The Hospital has the right to refuse to provide services, to ask you to leave our premises and/or to terminate our contract with you if you or any person accompanying or connected with you engage in any such behaviour, whether at the Hospital or when speaking to our staff via telephone, email or through our website.

Variation of Terms and Conditions

No addition or variation of these Terms and Conditions will bind the Hospital unless it is specifically agreed in writing and signed by an authorised signatory of the University Court of the University of Glasgow. No other agent or person employed by, or under contract with, the Hospital has the authority to alter or vary these Terms and Conditions in anyway.

Other Important Terms

The Hospital may transfer its rights and obligations under these Terms and Conditions to another organisation, and the Hospital will always notify you in writing if this happens.

You may only transfer your rights or your obligations under these Terms and Conditions to another person if the Hospital agrees in writing.

Each of the paragraphs and sub-paragraphs of these Terms and Conditions operates separately. If any court or relevant authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs and sub-paragraphs will remain in full force and effect.

If the Hospital fails to insist that you perform any of your obligations under these Terms and Conditions, or if the Hospital does not enforce its rights against you, or if the Hospital delays in doing so, that will not mean that the Hospital has waived its rights against you and will not mean that you do not have to comply with those obligations. If the Hospital does waive a default by you, the Hospital will only do so in writing, and that will not mean that the Hospital will automatically waive any later default by you.

Your right to end the contract

You can always end your contract with us at any time (by telling us by email or post). When your contract ends, you will be responsible for collecting your animal from us (if it is in our care) and for paying any outstanding payments. We recommend that you register your animal with another veterinary practice from the date that your contract with us ends (and we are not responsible for arranging this for you).

Our right to end the contract

We may end the contract immediately at any time for any of the following reasons:

1. if the information that you provided to us on registration is inaccurate, incomplete or misleading;
2. if you break any of the terms of the contract;
3. if you breach the requirements of the paragraph entitled, “Unacceptable behaviour”;
4. if you do not make any payment to us when it is due and you still do not make payment within 7 days of us reminding you that payment is due; or
5. you do not, within a reasonable time of us asking for it, provide us with information that is necessary for us to provide the services.

We may end the contract at any time for any other reason. We will write to you to let you know at least 30 days before the contract ends. We will refund any sums you have paid in advance for services which will not be provided.

We may write to you to let you know that we are going to stop providing particular services. We will let you know as soon as reasonably possible and will refund any sums you have paid in advance for services which will not be provided.

Entire Agreement

These Terms and Conditions constitute the entire agreement between the Hospital and you and supersede and extinguish all previous agreements, promises, assurances, warranties, representations and understandings between them, whether written or oral, relating to its subject matter.

Nobody else has any rights under this contract. This contract is between you and the Hospital. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms and Conditions and any claims relating to its subject matter (contractual or otherwise) shall be interpreted according to the laws of Scotland. The Hospital and you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Scotland.