Hello everyone,
Thank you so much for your patience while we’ve been collating your feedback about Vet fees in our T&C. We understand that it’s an important topic for you.
We’re now in a position to give you some feedback.
We’ve received confirmation that no changes will be made to the T&C with regards to paying any Veterinary fees upfront on behalf of the Pet Parent. We know that’s not the answer that you were hoping for, and we’re sorry that’s the case.
It’s really important to remember that the majority of sits will go ahead without any unexpected issues, but we know (some of us from personal experience!) that things can very occasionally go wrong. We feel that advance communication with your Pet Parent is key when it comes to mitigating any negative financial (and emotional) impact that these potential situations might cause.
We can see that quite a few of you have already suggested advance communication, and not accepting sits where there’s no clear provision in place. We very much agree, therefore our advice would be to ensure in advance that the Pet Parent at a potential sit has a payment agreement in place with their regular Vet, that they have insurance in place for their beloved pet, and that they can leave funds for any pre-arranged trips to the Vet.
The Pet Parent is responsible for any treatment required, including any emergency costs and expenses incurred by the Sitter, and the Sitter must be reimbursed within 14 days of the completion of the sit. You can find this information under 5.2 in the T&C.
Should anyone not be reimbursed for those costs and expenses, we strongly recommend contacting Member Services for assistance.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to share your thoughts and advice. Although we haven’t been able to make a change based on your feedback this time, the discussion around the issue has been invaluable, and we hope that anyone reading it has been able to learn from the solid advice given by our members.
Take care,
Angela