Village Vet - Highgate Reviews 13

I have just had a very upsetting experience here. My dog was in great pain so i rushed there for an emergency appointment. In my haste i forgot my phone (with Apple Pay) so i asked them to let me pay for the pain killer over the phone when i got home. They refused as they said they do not give "credit". The medicine was £30 (£3.59 on line). We are a member of the practise and are on their health plan so they have all my details. I even offered to leave my very valuable watch as surety! They were prepared to let my dog go home while whimpering in pain in order not to give "credit" for what can be bought for under £4 for the 20 mins it would take me to get home. (It was too late to go home and come back again that day ). When i questioned this , i was told that it was my fault i forgot my phone and it was unacceptable that i was making my dog's suffering their responsability. I know that there are a lot of complaints about the greed of these vet chains and Village Vet are amongst the most guilty here, but the lack of care and human kindness is a whole other story. I have obviously left the practise now. I could not have anyone look after my dog who has so little care for animals and so little kindness. The reception was empty otherwise i am sure a stranger would have offered to cover me as i would if i were to witness this. Not many people would be able to watch a dog suffer unnecessarily, but Village Vet did not seem to mind at all.

An honest and caring practice that will be able to guide you through difficult situations. Never felt that they were overdoing things for the money and I do feel the care they have with my dogs.

I rang a couple of days ago to enquire about getting my dog's teeth cleaned. I was quoted £1000-1500. After I regained consciousness, I rang the vet where we're registered outside London. They quoted £250-400. I then rang the Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital at the RVC, where our cat is registered. They quoted £550 with the caveat that that might increase if extraction was required, though they said that was unlikely given my dog's age.

I've also now clocked that I can buy 3 months' worth of my dog's Nexgard and Millbemax tablets from Pet Drugs Online for less than £30. Today I paid Village Vet £112 for these. Insane.

In fact, I left Village Vet years ago when I discovered that every passing thought about my late cat's health had been added to his record, which made him uninsurable, even though he was never investigated or diagnosed with any of these hypothetical concerns. I returned during Covid when they were the only vet I could find who could offer the puppy vaccinations we needed.

To be fair, while reception staff always sound mildly irritated, I've had some good care at Village Vet, in particular when my dog had an eye injury. But the prices are insane, extortionate and unjustifiable. A single visit here makes it clear why private equity are buying up chains of vet clinics: they are pure profit centres.

There's something acutely unpleasant and cynical about exploiting people's worry about their pet's illness or injury, and the lack of options other than these chains, especially in central London. So I'm off once again.

I have been a Customer with Village Vet for almost 5 years now. One of my cats developed very unhealthy scratching disorder, he scathed his nose, around eyes, years to blood and bite his tail, I was very concerned. He was not neutered either. I brought him to VILLAGE VET HIGHGATE, VET DR called Shelton was in charge of my cat neutering and skin biopsies. The neutering was very successful, operation and biopsy stitches all healed very well.
VET Shelton is a highly professional animal Doctor, he is very knowledgeable and specialised. He dealt with my cat's scratching issues - and prescribed my cat medication that helps my cat with his scratching/self harming issue. The medication works, my cat is no longer stressed out and his skin does not bleed any more. I am very satisfied with help and support my cat and I received and very grateful to VET Shelton and his team who provided me with lots of re-assurance and Customer Care. I highly recommend VET Shelton and his team, very professional, approachable, experienced and friendly Team, Thank You!

The vets themselves get 2 stars but the rest of the practice lets the review down.
I have been using the practice since January 2022. Whilst the standard of care of my dog appears to be satisfactory and caring, I have regularly not been informed of the 'real' costs of treatments or alternative treatments costing significantly less, enabling me to make a choice myself before the treatment is given. One particular example was when they took it upon themselves to charge a ridiculous amount for an ear gel, making the decision themselves that I was unable to administer ear drops myself. That was not their decision to make and it left me significantly out of pocket. They did not disclose the difference in cost between the treatments.
The staff are mixed, usually polite. One vet was really concerned about his new apple watch being scratched (maybe take it off when you work with animals?) and one particular nurse has been rude from the start and is quite condescending in the way she talks to you. Her attitude is far from helpful. I don't think it's unreasonable for my dog to bark for further treats, given the fact the vet has just shoved handfuls in him to enable vaccinations and an annual health check to take place. Unlike some dogs, he's large enough to see the treats on the reception counter they openly leave for clients to use. To be lectured on 'how I shouldn't be giving my dog treats every time he barks', was not only rude, inappropriate, but failed to take account of the actual circumstances. A little more empathy would be appreciated. The fact that she was told 'to leave it' by another member of staff could suggest this is not the first time she has behaved like this and that her attitude is inappropriate. She also proceeded to rub my dogs ear, (which had just been diagnosed as sore and needing a swab by the vet) and wondered why he was still barking!
I also took out an annual plan to spread costs of vaccinations etc and in 2023, when I questioned whether I was able to leave the practice, was told by a receptionist that the plan could not be stopped until the policy began again. One year on 2024 and apparently that's not the case. If a receptionist is providing info on such schemes, then surely it's standard practice responsibility to ensure all staff are fully trained and informed of procedure?

I agree with previous post L dot
Still Grieving!

Over priced, you go for a consultation and they take unnecessary tests and then you need to wait over 4 days plus weekend to get results and get treatment??? Really?
Why they do not have machines like zoetis to do tests there as they charge over £400
Then the wait for the test results??? My pet can die while waiting for results
They should have better clinic skills to diagnose without making you wait for a week with a sick animal

So far our experience has been wonderful, I look forward to having more concrete things to highlight but we've only just registered and VERY suddenly needed their services much sooner than expected.

This review is for the vet - not the ‘Village Vet’ business itself. My darling Persian cat Coco had endured examinations by three different vets in the space of five days, she also received hospital care for 24 hours. All the vets were lovely and caring ….. and then I had the honour to have Coco examined by Dr Sheldon Bunting. Have never experienced a vet examination like it. My cat was examined from head to toe and his passion, experience, knowledge,kindness and relaxed demeanour with her was so reassuring. Village Vets is very expensive but this definitely isn’t the fault of the hardworking vets. Actually, considering the thorough training that they have, the consultation fee is not that bad. It is the prescriptions, drugs, blood tests etc that are heinously expensive. Coco was prescribed Mirtazipine that for humans is incredibly cheap. Yet, the prescription for this was very expensive - same with Gabapentin. I could appreciate costs incurred to support new and ground breaking vet drugs but not stuff that has been around for years.

Overpriced care

How quickly I received my results! I'll be doing a lot more testing in the future.