BLUE CROSS TERMS AND CONDITIONS
BACKGROUND:
These Terms and Conditions are the standard terms which apply:
A. to provision to a customer and a patient of any Services (as “Services” is defined in Clause 1 below) by the BLUE CROSS, a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 00363197) and a charity registered in England and Wales with charity number 224392 and in Scotland SC 040154 whose registered office is at Shilton Road, Burford, Oxfordshire, OX18 4PF (“Blue Cross”); and
B. where the customer of the Blue Cross is a “Consumer” as defined by the Consumer Rights Act 2015
1. Definitions and Interpretation
1.1 In these Terms and Conditions, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the following meanings:
“Animal”
means the patient (which is the animal belonging to the Owner) that is to be the subject of consultation and/or treatment by the Blue Cross;
“Business”
means any business, trade, craft, or profession carried on by You or any other person/organisation;
“Consumer”
means a “Consumer” as defined by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, that is to say an individual who receives any of the Services for his/her personal use for their Animal that requires such Services and for purposes wholly or mainly outside the purposes of any Business;
“Price List”
means the Blue Cross’s standard price list for all of the Services which We offer which is available on request from a Blue Cross hospital reception desk.
“Regulations”
means The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013;
“Services”
means any veterinary services including supply of any other services, treatments, medicines, drugs, consumable and other materials, and other items provided or used in the course of Our normal business;
“Blue Cross/Us/We/Our”
means the Blue Cross staff, apprentices, trainees and volunteers and shall include reference to any and all staff including veterinary surgeons; and
“You/Your/Owner”
means an individual who is a customer of the Blue Cross and is the owner of an Animal;
1.2 Unless the context otherwise requires, each reference in these Terms and Conditions to:
1.2.1 “These Terms and Conditions” is a reference to these Terms and Conditions as amended or supplemented at the relevant time; and
1.2.2 A Clause or sub-Clause is a reference to a Clause of these Terms and Conditions;
1.3 The headings used in these Terms and Conditions are for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation of these Terms and Conditions;
1.4 Words signifying the singular number shall include the plural and vice versa; and
1.5 References to any gender shall include the other gender.
2. Registration and payment requirements for Blue Cross veterinary services
2.1 In order to receive the Services pursuant to these Terms and Conditions You are required to register with Blue Cross and to pay an administration fee as stipulated in that process.
2.2 Registration can be done online at https://www.bluecross.org.uk/register-at-our-animal-hospitals or at any Blue Cross hospital.
2.3 During registration (should you wish to take advantage of the discounted provisions set out in clause 2.5 below) You will be required to provide evidence that You are the Owner of the Animal or Animals that you wish to register and that you are in receipt of means tested benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), your local authority, local council or other government body.
2.4 Blue Cross reserves the right, at their absolute discretion, to refuse registration for any reason including in the event that they are not satisfied that such evidence of receipt of means tested benefits is sufficient or complete.
2.5 In the event that Blue Cross is satisfied with evidence supplied by You proving Your valid eligibility for means tested benefits and duly registers You and Your Animal for the Services the following will apply:
2.5.1 If You are in receipt of any one or more of the following benefits:
2.5.1.1 Universal Credit – maximum award;
2.5.1.2 Income Support;
2.5.1.3 Jobseekers Allowance (Income Related);
2.5.1.4 Employment & Support Allowance (Income Related); or
2.5.1.4 Pension Credit;
then You shall be eligible to receive the Services at a reduction of 100% from the Price List subject to clause 2.6 below.
2.5.2 If You are in receipt of any one or more of the following benefits:
2.5.2.1 Universal Credit – not maximum award;
2.5.2.2 Working Tax Credit;
2.5.2.3 Child Tax Credit;
2.5.2.4 Housing Benefit only; or
2.5.2.5 Council Tax Benefit only;
then if You have registered with Blue Cross at their Grimsby hospital You shall be eligible to receive the Services at a reduction of 37% from the Price List or if You have registered with Blue Cross at their Victoria hospital (London) You shall be eligible to receive the Services at a reduction of 30% from the Price List
2.6 If You have registered with Blue Cross pursuant to clause 2.5.1 then Your eligibility to receive a 100% discount from the Price List shall be for a maximum of two Animals only. If you wish to register a third Animal for the Services then for the Services provided by Blue Cross for that third Animal the discount shall only be 30% from the Price List.
2.7 All Services shall be agreed in advance subject to an estimated quotation provided by Blue Cross to You pursuant to clause 5.
2.8 Blue Cross reserve the right to unregister You from the Services if You or an associate are in any way agressive, rude or act antisocially with any Blue Cross staff, volunteers, other clientele or members of the public. All forms of such behaviour are unacceptable and continued registration will not be permitted for those that act in this way.
3. Consultations and Appointments
3.1 In non-emergency cases, consultations and treatment shall be by appointment only.
3.2 In emergency cases, You may bring Your Animal to the Blue Cross without an appointment and We will use all reasonable endeavours to treat the Animal as quickly as possible. In such cases, We ask You to give as much notice to Us as is reasonably possible.
3.3 The Services shall be available during our normal business hours (these may change from time to time, but the current opening hours of Blue Cross Hospitals can be found on our website www.bluecross.org.uk). In an emergency, a veterinary urgeon will see Your Animal outside these opening hours, but this service will carry an extra charge. There will be a standard extra fee of £50 for any veterinary care provided during out of hours times. This £50 fee is not part of the Price List and so will be payable by You in full even if you have been accepted to receive a discount in accordance with claure 2 above.
3.4 If You know You are going to be late for an appointment, You should contact Us to tell Us. If You arrive later than 15 minutes after an appointment time, We will try to provide the Services You have booked but if We decide that We cannot, the appointment will be treated as cancelled without notice by You.
3.5 In accordance with clause 3.3. out of hours emergency care is available from the Blue Cross. If you require such care, You should contact Victoria hospital on 0300 777 1890 or Grimsby hospital on 0300 777 1840 as appropriate.
3.6 We may cancel an appointment booked by You at any time before the time and date of that appointment in the following circumstances:
3.6.1 The required personnel and/or required materials necessary for the provision of the Services are not available; or
3.6.2 An event outside of Our reasonable control continues for more than 24 hours; or
3.6.3 We find that you are not a “Consumer” (as defined in Clause 1 above).
If We cancel an appointment in such circumstances We will refund to You in full any deposit or other advance payment that You have made to Us for that appointment;
3.7 We will use all reasonable endeavours to start the Services at the appointment time which You have booked but the start may be delayed by an overrun of a previous appointment or by other circumstances. If a delay to the start is at least 15 minutes, or at any time before or after You arrive for an appointment We notify You that there will be a delay of at least that time, You may cancel the appointment and We will refund to You in full any deposit or other advance payment that You have made to Us for that appointment; and
3.8 Where the contract We make with You is not made on Our premises, the Regulations give You the rights set out in this sub-Clause 2.11, and they will be in addition to the rights given to You by the above provisions of this Clause 2. You may for any reason cancel an appointment for any Services during the 14 day period after We accept the booking for those Services but if the appointment is on a date which is before the end of that period and if You have expressly requested Us to provide Services at that appointment and We do so. If You request that Your appointment be cancelled, You must confirm this in any way convenient to You. If You cancel as allowed by this Sub-clause 2.11, and You have already made any payment(s) to Us for the appointment, We will refund the payment(s) to You within 14 days of receiving Your cancellation.
4. Fees and Payment
4.1 All registration fees and out of hours fees payable subject to clauses 2.1 and 3.3 shall be due immediately on such registration or prior to admission of Your Animal to the relevant Blue Cross hospital.
4.2 You must pay for all Services in accordance with Our Price List upon completion of provision of those Services;
4.3 We shall invoice You for all sums due at the following times (as appropriate):
4.3.1 the end of a consultation; or
4.3.2 the discharge of an Animal following Blue Cross or other prolonged stay at the Blue Cross; or
4.3.3 the dispensing or collection of drugs and/or other products;
4.4 Payment should generally be made immediately subject to other terms agreed between You and Us from time to time;
4.5 For elective procedures, 80% of treatment cost must be paid for by or at admission. The remainder is then payable at discharge. If this is not possible, and treatment can be delayed, the procedure will be rescheduled.
4.6 You may pay Us for Services (and for any deposit or other advance payment on account of that payment) using any of the following methods:
4.6.1 Cash; and
4.6.2 Debit or credit card.
4.7 In cases where treatment is being covered by an animal health insurance policy, it shall be Your responsibility to pay all sums due to Us and to reclaim such sums from the insurance provider.
4.8 All prices of Services shown in the Price List are inclusive of VAT. All fees due shall be invoiced including VAT; and
4.9 We may alter Our prices without prior notice but if the price of any Services increases between the time when You book an appointment and the date of the appointment, the price increase will not apply to Your appointment for those Services on that date.
4.10 Failure to pay any sums owing, within the correct timeframe, pursuant to this clause 4 shall entitle Blue Cross to unregister You from the Services forthwith.
5. Estimates
5.1 If treatment or Blue Cross is required, We shall provide You with an estimate of sums due prior to such treatment or Blue Cross. Estimates do not constitute quotations and You may not take them as an accurate indication of the final sum due as the final sum due may vary according to unforeseen circumstances; and
5.2 All estimates will be valid for 30 days and You must accept them before We will commence treatment or Blue Cross.
6. Treatment
6.1 You confirm that, in connection with any appointment or receipt of any Services from Us or Your request for the same, You are and will be a “Consumer” as defined in Clause 1 above;
6.2 We will provide all treatment in accordance with all relevant laws, rules and regulations including, but not limited to the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Docking of Working Dogs’ Tails (England) Regulations 2007, the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 and the Supply of Relevant Veterinary Medicinal Products Order 2005;
6.3 We will not undertake any procedure that is in conflict with any law in force, any voluntary or mandatory code of practice, or any similar rules, regulations or codes; and
6.4 In certain cases, We may be legally required to keep Animals receiving prescription medication under Our care by way of regular and routine examination. We shall apply reduced fees to any and all such regular appointments.
7. Documents and Records
7.1 We will keep records and case documents relating to each Animal that is registered with Us;
7.2 Documents including, but not limited to, ultrasound scans and radiographs remain Our property notwithstanding any associated payment which You may make to Us;
7.3 You have the right to request a copy of any documents which We may hold in relation to Your Animal which We shall provide if You first pay a reasonable fee as determined by Us; and
7.4 We shall not release any documents either to You or another veterinary Blue Cross if You owe Us any outstanding sum.
8. Animal Health Insurance
8.1 We recommend that You take out a suitable animal or pet health insurance policy to cover Your Animal;
8.2 We are unable to provide recommendations with regard to animal or pet health insurance policies;
8.3 We are not a party to any contract between You and an insurance provider; and
8.4 If You make an insurance claim, We may provide additional assistance in liaising with the insurance provider. Any such assistance shall be provided at Our sole discretion.
9. Limitation of Liability
9.1 We will be responsible for any foreseeable loss or damage that You may suffer as a result of Our breach of these Terms and Conditions or as a result of Our negligence. Loss or damage is foreseeable if it is an obvious consequence of Our breach or negligence or if it is contemplated by You and Us when Our contract with You is created. We will not be responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable;
9.2 We provide or sell all Services only for Your personal and private use/purposes. We make no warranty or representation that products, or other goods or materials that We provide or sell are fit for commercial, business, industrial, trade, craft or professional purposes of any kind (including resale). We will not be liable to You for any loss of profit, loss of business, interruption to business or for any loss of business opportunity;
9.3 Nothing in these Terms and Conditions is intended to or will exclude or limit Our liability for death or personal injury caused by Our negligence (including that of Our employees, agents or sub-contractors); or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; and
9.4 Furthermore, if you are a “consumer” as defined by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, or a consumer for the purposes of any other consumer protection legislation, nothing in these Terms and Conditions is intended to or will exclude, limit, prejudice, or otherwise affect any of Our duties or obligations to You, or Your rights or remedies, or Our liability to You, under:
9.4.1 the Consumer Rights Act 2015;
9.4.2 the Regulations;
9.4.3 the Consumer Protection Act 1987;
9.4.4 any other consumer protection legislation; or
as that legislation is amended from time to time.
For more details of Your legal rights, please refer to Your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau or Trading Standard Office.
10. How We Use Your Personal Information (Data Protection)
We will only use Your personal information as set out in Our privacy policy at www.bluecross.org.uk/privacy-and-cookie-policy .
11. Regulations
We are required by the Regulations to ensure that certain information is given or made available to You as a Consumer before We make Our contract with You (i.e. before We accept Your request to make a booking) except where that information is already apparent from the context of the transaction. We have included the information itself either in these Terms and Conditions for You to see now, or We will make it available to You before We accept Your request to make a booking. All of that information will, as required by the Regulations, be part of the terms of Our contract with You as a Consumer.
12. Information
As required by the Regulations:
12.1 all of the information described in Clause 10; and
12.2 any other information which We give to You about any Services or the Blue Cross which You take into account when deciding to make a booking or when making any other decision about the Services;
will be part of the terms of Our contract with You as a Consumer.
13. Complaints and Standards
The Blue Cross always welcomes feedback from its customers and, whilst We shall use all reasonable endeavours to provide a high standard of service, care and treatment to all Animals and their Owners, We nevertheless want to hear from You if You have any cause for complaint. If You have any complaint about Our Services or any other complaint about the Blue Cross, please raise the matter with [the veterinary surgeon responsible for their Animal OR Hospital/Practice Manager who can be contacted at the Blue Cross.
14. Changes to Terms and Conditions
We may from time to time change these Terms and Conditions without giving You notice, but We will use Our reasonable endeavours to inform You as soon as is reasonably possible of any such change.
15. No Waiver
No failure or delay by Us or You in exercising any rights under these Terms and Conditions means that We or You have waived that right, and no waiver by Us or You of a breach of any provision of these Terms and Conditions means that We or You will waive any subsequent breach of the same or any other provision.
16. Severance
If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is held by any competent authority to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part the validity of the other provisions of these Terms and Conditions and the remainder of the provision in question shall not be affected.
17. Law and Jurisdiction
17.1 These Terms and Conditions, the Contract, and the relationship between you and Us (whether contractual or otherwise) shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the law of England & Wales.
17.2 As a consumer, you will benefit from any mandatory provisions of the law in your country of residence. Nothing in Sub-Clause 16.1 above takes away or reduces your rights as a consumer to rely on those provisions.
17.3 Any dispute, controversy, proceedings or claim between you and Us relating to these Terms and Conditions, the Contract, or the relationship between you and Us (whether contractual or otherwise) shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, as determined by your residency.
18. Photographing of Animals for student portfolio case studies
Blue Cross supports students with their training in veterinary practices and as part of that training students are required, from time to time, to do case studies of Animals in Blue Cross care. This includes taking photos of Animals and noting how they were helped in the hospitals. Students may wish to take photographs of your Animal for these purposes, but will seek your consent to do so beforehand.