Wary of making a complaint against your vet ? Here's how to escalate concerns
Vet
Pet owners feel the odds are "stacked against them" when raising concerns against vets, leaving many put off filing complaints, according to a leading consumer group.
New research by Which? found that more than a third of owners did not raise concerns, because they did not want to fall out with their vet, while 16% did not know how to complain.
It also showed that more than 50% of pet owners consider the price of vet care was excessive, despite just less than a quarter saying they have issues with the quality of care.
How can pet owners escalate complaints? ITV News explains.
Are pet owners protected under the law?
According to Lisa Webb, a legal expert at Which?, pet owners are protected under the law.
If a vet has acted negligently, pet owners can seek compensation or damages from the veterinary practice, Webb said.
Under the Consumer Rights Act, vets have a duty to provide a 'service with reasonable care and skills', according to Which?
They are also expected to be open and honest about fees under the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Code of Professional Conduct.
What can you do if you are unhappy with the service provided?
If you are unhappy with the service provided, Which? says you can either complain to the practice directly or request a remedy under the Consumer Rights Act.
This could include redoing part or all of the service at no extra cost, or agreeing to a price reduction or refund.
How can you complain to the practice?
Which? advises that customers should first speak to the practice about their complaint.
If this does not resolve the issue, customers can then ask the veterinary practice for its complaints procedure. Each practice will its own way of handling complaints.
The practice must provide the complaints handling policy, their regulator and their insurer's details when asked, Which? says.
What if the complaint still isn't resolved?
You can escalate your complaint further by seeking help from the Veterinary Client Mediation Service (VCMS).
Which? says they can help if you are seeking:
An apology
A refund
Corrective or further treatment
A payment of goodwill
As this is a voluntary service, the vet must agree to the VCMS' involvement, according to Which?
You can also complain to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
They deal with the most serious complaints including very poor professional performance, criminal convictions and fraud or dishonesty, Which? says.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
08-08-2025
- The Sun
I'm a cosmetic cowboy victim & had kitchen lip filler – she was only qualified to work in McDonald's, says Faye Winter
WHEN I hear stories about the horrors of 'cowboy' cosmetic surgery, it makes my blood run cold. There's the utterly horrifying and tragic death of Alice Webb, a 33-year-old mother of five who died after a non-surgical butt-lift. 5 5 Then Sasha Dean, a 53-year-old mum from Bedfordshire, who was left in a coma after a liquid BBL performed by a practitioner who was not a qualified surgeon. Speaking after the incident, she said: 'It's like playing Russian roulette with your life. If I'd known there was even 1% chance of dying, I'd never have done it.' Not to mention there are countless other cosmetic procedures currently being done by ' Wild West operators ' right now - and they are truly leaving people scared for life. In May MPs heard that Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) are being carried out 'by anyone' in people's living rooms, in Airbnbs and in hotel rooms, leading to adverse health effects. For far too long, these devastating incidents have been a horrifying reality, a grim roll call of lives maimed and lost. So, it's about bloody time the government sat up and took notice. My journey with fillers and Botox started out well, and ended terribly with a couple of 'cowboy' clinics. I was going to a brilliant nurse, and I was happy with the results but she sadly decided she didn't want to do it anymore. And she actually told me the industry was so dangerous and she'd had a baby, so she felt like it was only a ticking time bomb before something bad happened. With her gone, I made the mistake of looking for someone cheaper on Instagram. Faye Winter opens up about surgery reversal after Love Island It was so easy to find people back then through competitions and word of mouth. And that is when my nightmare began. I paid around £100 a mil for my lip filler, and I came across someone in Devon who claimed to have a dental background. Everyone saw how big and lumpy my lips were on Love Island back in 2021, and now I know why. They were overstretched, and the woman who did the procedure had actually come from a fast food hospitality background, not a medical one. She had lied to me completely and had only completed a one-day course. Now, my lips are wrinkly and have lost their natural collagen, so I'll never be able to go without filler. The whole procedure was done in her kitchen - not a clinical setting at all - with dogs and children walking around while she worked on my face. Cheap Botox disaster She wasn't even dressed in any professional medical wear. Then, just before my Love Island audition, I had a cheap Botox disaster. I paid just £180 for three areas, which is relatively cheap for that sort of procedure and the results were awful. Little did I know the person was a property developer who lied about his medical background. My eyebrows fully relaxed, my eyelids were hanging, and there was no shape to my face. When I saw what had happened, my heart was in my ass. I was about to go on national television and had no idea how long it would take for the effects to wear off. When I went back to him to ask what he could do, he was pleased with the results and said I'd need PDO threads - a non-surgical method to lift and tighten sagging skin - to fix it! 5 5 The rise in unregulared aesthetic practice Dr Hayder Ria, Aesthetic Doctor and founder of Harley Street Dermal, says: 'Having worked in the industry for over a decade, we've witnessed the serious consequences of unregulated aesthetic practice – from botched treatments to a widespread erosion of patient trust. The introduction of tighter regulations is long overdue and marks an important step towards improving safety, accountability, and professional standards across the board. It's about protecting patients, ensuring products used are properly regulated, and upholding the quality of results people expect. While there's still more to be done, particularly around enforcement and clarity, this is a positive and necessary first move.' He did not admit any fault, and gave me no refund - it's a memory that will never leave me. The UK's largest register for accredited practitioners, Save Face, received reports from more than 3,000 people in one year about complications or unwanted outcomes from cosmetic procedures. Like Ashton Collins, of Save Face, has said this 'Wild West' cosmetic world is truly a "crisis waiting to happen" due to dangerously unregulated practices. I know I made mistakes. I can appreciate that I didn't do things correctly, but my friends have definitely learned from me. They're not going to people just based on price, which is so important. We don't think about it at the time, but what's fine for one person could be disastrous for you. If I hadn't gone through that, I wouldn't be able to share my story and raise awareness. Every cloud has a silver lining. The death of Alice Webb, a 33-year-old mother of five, has been a tragic wake-up call. Fatal incidents She is believed to be the first person in the UK to die after a non-surgical Brazilian butt-lift procedure last year. Following her death and many other fatal incidents, a new crackdown is set to protect patients with strict rules on who can perform cosmetic procedures and in what locations. Ashton is campaigning for Alice's Law, a new piece of legislation named after Alice Webb who died after a BBL, to ensure these procedures are conducted only by qualified surgeons. Officials have now issued a warning that 'rogue operators' with no medical training are causing serious harm and even death by carrying out invasive treatments in unregulated spaces like homes and pop-up clinics. Which is great but I can't be too excited yet. We don't know what those licenses will look like - they could just say you need a passport and a UK address. Once we know a bit more, it will be amazing, but for now, this is a massive step in the right direction. The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that the NHS frequently has to pick up the expensive bill for fixing these failed procedures. As for me, I don't think we, as taxpayers, should be paying for that. I never asked anyone to pay for my own correction work - that was on me, and I had to learn the hard way. I'm hopeful the new government licenses will create a much-needed industry standard. The wild west of cosmetic procedures has gone on for too long, and it's time to safeguard people and make sure no one has to go through what I did. So what's next? By Ashton Collins, Director at Save Face I am delighted that the government has recognised the significant and potentially fatal risks posed by highly dangerous procedures like liquid Brazilian butt lifts, and has made it a priority to implement restrictions to protect public safety. We have been campaigning tirelessly for nearly 2 years for this critical change and have supported over 750 women who have endured traumatic experiences. I have seen first hand the devastating impact these procedures can have on the lives of victims and their families - none more so than the family of Alice Webb. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the government and key stakeholders throughout the next stages of this process, to build a safer landscape for the public and promote high standards across the industry.
BBC News
07-08-2025
- BBC News
Transplant plea from Hartlepool man on record waiting list
A man living with stage five kidney disease due to complications from type 1 diabetes has shared his story in the hope of encouraging more transplant donors to come Webb, from Hartlepool, is one of more than 8,000 people in the UK currently on the active transplant waiting list, the highest recorded number spends more than four hours on a dialysis machine three times a week while he waits for a transplant, with the average wait time about three and a half doctors described an "urgent need" for donors to register their intention, Mr Webb said: "Every time the phone rings, you're wondering is this the transplant team." He said the needles required for his dialysis, which filters waste from the blood when the kidneys cannot perform the function, can be three inches (7.6cm) long and "really uncomfortable".Missing even one session can be particularly dangerous, he said."I've had fluid overload... it's absolute torture," he said. Mr Webb, who has been on the transplant list since February, said he previously trained as a chef but had been unable to work while undergoing treatment. "I enjoy cooking and [would] like to go back and work in a kitchen again." 'One donor helps nine' Specialist organ donation nurse Dominic Manning, based in Newcastle, said the transplant list was so long now that "someone will die every day waiting for an organ transplant".NHS Blood and Transplant said there were 100 fewer deceased organ donors last year than in Anthony Clarkson said: "We urgently need more people to register their decision to donate and to have these vital conversations with their families."Meanwhile Mr Webb hopes that sharing his story will encourage others to consider organ donation and ensure their loved ones know of their decision."From one person you can save and prolong and improve the quality of life of nine different people," he said. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Daily Mail
06-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Nutrition expert reveals a huge mistake millions make when taking supplements: 'There can be serious consequences'
A nutrition expert has warned about the dangers of taking too many supplements—and how a fistful of 'healthy' tablets can do more harm than good. A previous survey of over 2,000 Britons by Which? found three quarters take supplements, and about one in five respondents take four or more each day. But recently, writing for the product testing website, Dr Rachel Woods, who has a PhD in nutrition, said overloading on supplements can cause nausea and diarrhoea, or in more extreme cases, weakened bones and birth defects. And, when taken in excess, they have been linked to liver, heart, and kidney damage—which can prove fatal. 'Many people take supplements for years without knowing whether they need them or how much is too much,' she wrote. Many people do not realise, she explained, that fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K aren't flushed out of the body, which can lead to a build-up of harmful levels. 'Too much vitamin D, for example, can lead to a build-up of calcium, which may damage the kidneys and heart, as well as weakening bones,' she said. In the spring and summer months the NHS says the majority of people should get all the vitamin D they need through sunlight. However, in the autumn and winter months, people may need to take vitamins to ensure they get the recommended 10 micrograms (mcg) a day. This is how much adults and children above the age of one need, but babies up to the age of one year only need 8.5 to 10 mcg per day. The NHS advice is that you should never take more than 100 mcg of any one vitamin a day, and children between one and ten should have no more than 50 mcg. Babies under 12 months old should never have more than 25 mcg of the vitamin per day. Meanwhile, Dr Woods added: 'High doses of vitamin A can cause liver damage, birth defects in pregnancy, and decreased bone density.' The right amount of vitamin A needed for adults between the ages of 19 and 64 for men is 700 mcg per day, while for women it is 600mcg per day. The NHS warns that you shouldn't take more than 1.5mg of vitamin A a day which is the equivalent of 1500mcg—but they don't specify if the limit for children is lower. She continued: 'Even water-soluble vitamins can cause problems, with long-term overuse of vitamin B6 being linked to nerve damage. 'Since most people don't regularly check their blood nutrient levels, they often don't realise something is wrong until symptoms appear.' The amount of vitamin B6 needed for those between the ages of 19 and 64 is 1.4mg a day for men and 1.2mg a day for women. And the NHS warns more than 200mg a day can lead to loss of feeling in the arms and legs—known as peripheral neuropathy. Earlier this year, a father developed the condition after taking a selection of supplements to help him fight common bugs. Dominic Noonan-O'Keefe, 33, from Australia, started taking daily capsules of vitamin D, vitamin C, and what he thought was magnesium, in the summer of 2023. But since, he has spoken out to say the simple decision 'absolutely ripped apart' his life. The magnesium tablets contained significantly above the recommended dose of the vitamin B6 in them.
