I was unfortunate enough to want to contact the vet helpline recently.
We are currently sitting in Ecuador so when the pop up warning that this was a call to a UK number, which I was unable to make, came up I was a bit distressed.
Instead I went looking for the online chat option that I remember using, 8 years ago, the last time I wanted to contact a vet.
There was no online chat so I contacted the HO asking whether she wanted me to ring their vet.
I contacted THS support to express my dissatisfaction with the āfree 24 hour vet lineā as it is anything but free, even if I had been able to call on Skype (I couldnāt use this option as Skype is only on my husbandās phone and we were struggling with internet). In this day and age should we not be able to call over WhatsApp enabling much cheaper easier communication?
I also said that I knew Iād used online chat in the past so was disappointed that this function had gone.
The reply from support was to thank me for the WhatsApp call suggestion (really? Has no one else thought of this?)
And to say that online chat is only available to standard and premium members. It is this that has made me so angry, if the welfare of the pets in our care is of paramount importance (or whatever they said when they stopped overlapping sits) how can they justify limiting access to the vet helpline depending on how much money I pay them?
Iām sorry to hear youāve had such a stressful time and maybe the fee for pet care via THS should be inclusive of veterinarian calls. That is logical to me and had you not brought it up, I would have just assumed that was the case. Although I pay premium so when I read the fine print it is included in the fee I pay. I agree that WhatsApp is probably a more useful tool too. Other than you bringing it to the attention of THS, Iām not sure what else anyone can do. Is there a reason you donāt pay the premium fee? Is the pet okay now?
Thank you for your reply, I hadnāt even realised video calls were a thing, what platform do they happen over. That puts me at even more of a disadvantage.
The information I can find, I think, is misleading as it reads that itās a free call as well as free advice but thatās semantics.
I have replied to THS support, I just thought that the power of many people may make them rethink putting the health and wellbeing of the pets in our care at risk depending on the level of membership I have.
To answer your question as to why Iām ābasicā, Iāve been a loyal member since 2012 when there was only one membership level. Payment by direct debit means I pay Ā£79 a year, so for the 2 or 3 sits we do a year the extra Ā£50 for standard membership is a big jump.
Itās very sad to me to see all the changes that have happened in the intervening years all seemingly degrading what was the best thing we ever found, all for the sake of raking in a bit more cash.
Yes, THS should really upgrade the contact options for the vet helpline. These days everyone has probably multiple (video)call options on his/her phone or laptop. And as an experience international traveller, I can testify that this is really needed because not every communication options works (or is too expensive) in every country.