Kitty held at Vets till bills paid, 'interest' added daily. Help?

[Mr Jones]

My girlfriend's kitty injured her leg yesterday (an infected thorn apparently) and with her limited budget, she could not afford the £160 bill. The vets are holding the kitty till the bill is paid and everyday the kitty is held at the vets, £20 will be added, living cost or something silly.

My question is, apart from begging money from people around her, what other legal alternatives are there to resolving the issue? There's complication which I don't think it's relevant to explain in public and I am tight this month to help and advise is appreciated.

EDIT - just to save repeating. My girlfriend did not willingly bring the cat to the vets. The cat was injured and found early this morning just before she went to work. Her mum, who seem to have a financial budgeting of a badger, sent the kitty to the vet and now faced with this issue. My girlfriend have put this issue on her own shoulder to bear, as she had always been with her family, having to pay for a variety of essentials which any financially balanced mother of 3 kids would have done so properly.

And there's me, on my own tight budget looking for alternative and advise to help, before dipping myself in my own financial issue just to help alleviate her stress. A women / girlfriend stressed = non-issue problems become a problem in a relationship.

 

[Mr Jones]

Borrow money, pay for GF's kitty, reap dividends from GF's grateful generosity after?

I am considering bake beaning it for the rest of the month, not that I'll get a lot out of it apart from hot farts.

Borrow the money. It's only going to get more and more expensive if you don't.

Looks like I'll have to step in and help.
The thing is, it's her mum not being able to foot the bills and IMHO, she's rubbish at budgeting and I feel I am in no place to criticise or tell her. I can afford it if I bake bean the rest of the month, postpone my flyers collection (I ordered 5000 flyers to help advertise my on the side photography work due for collection next week).

Thing is, helping them will severely screw up my budget this month. My girlfriend already owes me money as it is, I am kinda stuck here wanting to help.

 

[Mr Jones]

Has she asked if it's possible to come up with a payment plan?

IIRC, that kitty is already on a payment plan after an op on her stomach due to an issue 6 months ago. I cannot confirm if the payment have complete, perhaps this was this problem thus the 'ransom'?

 

[Mr Jones]

Do neither of you have a credit card for emergency purposes?

In short, no. 'ex'-Students on shoe string budget, graduated recently. I'm working full time checking/eating cakes till January when my PGCE starts, she's silver service whilst looking for the right job due to poor and saturated market.

 

[Mr Jones]

I assume you're used to staying in hotels for free?

No but for £20, I've stayed in B&B that offered Breakfast that filled me up for 2 meals a few times before.

Is this legal? It doesn't sound like it to me. I think a jailbreak is in order.

If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The A-Team!

Burn the place down. Kill them. Kill their kids, kill their wives, kill their parents and their parents' friends. Burn down the houses they live in, kill the people that owe them money.

Put a smile on my face but from the looks of it, I'll step in and just work like a mad man for the next few weeks, and pray to whatever deity out there that can offer the swift return of my money.

 

[Mr Jones]

I'll say it.

If you can't afford to look after a cat maybe you shouldn't have one.

Apologies if my OP left out some details but as said, it's the GF's mum that has brought this upon her family and my girlfriend is having to pay for almost everything these days. Just very bad budgeting from her mum IMO.

Have a read of this.

Holding an animal against unpaid fees

17. Although veterinary surgeons do have a right in law to hold an animal until outstanding fees are paid, the RCVS believes that it is not in the interests of the animal so to do, and can lead to the practice incurring additional costs which may not be recoverable. This right should therefore only be exercised in extreme cases and after discussion with the RCVS.

Whatever the outcome they shouldn't be using this vet again.

Interesting to know and I'll make sure they don't use that vert again, or at least avoid it.

 

[Mr Jones]

If you keep bailing her out, she will never change. Why should you eat baked beans and put your plans on hold because of her?

I'd help my girlfriend, despite it's helping her mum, I'd rather suffer for a short term than see my girlfriend stressed and make non-issues in our relationship become some adultery crime has been committed.

 

[Mr Jones]

Sell the cat.
You clearly cant afford to look after it properly

Please reread thread.

 

[Mr Jones]

Hmmm, difficult one this, I will say from the outset that I am NO LEGAL EXPERT and can only offer my opinion based on debts that have been outstanding to me (it happens, I run my own business).

Firstly it strikes me that it should be illegal for the vet to hold the cat, though unfortunately pets are counted as property even though they are alive.

I would suggest going to the vets tomorrow morning with whoever owns the cat take in proof of ID and address so the vet can chase them for payment if needed.

Explain the situation with the manager / owner of the vets and say - and be prepared to sign a statement agreeing to pay all of the outstanding bill but by a date that is affordable.

The fact that you are showing willing and setting realistic times to be able to pay back the debt and proving where you live (should debt recovery be needed) should (I think) show enough willing that the debt will be settled in an appropriate manner.

From there the cat should be demanded to be returned to stop the fees escalating as it will be impossible to catch up with the repayments - £140 a week extra is totally unreasonable. If you can prove that you have been willing and able and are offering a solution to resolve the situation then the vet loses a lot of their bargaining power in the eyes of the law.

If I have to recover a debt from someone and they agree to pay it, but at a rate they can afford then I have to take it, even if it's £1.00 a week (they would have to prove to a small claims court that they can't afford more than £1.00 a week mind you).

So in short:
Take evidence of who the owner is and where they live.
Provide the vet with a payment plan and schedule of when and how the owner is going to pay.
That should be enough to secure the release of the cat.

Of course...I'm not taking into account any previously outstanding bills...

And as has so often been mentioned in these forums...contact citizens advice in the morning!

The other way would be for you to be a knight in shining armour and pay for it to be released, if for the cats sake if nothing else...just make sure you have ways of getting the money back asap!!!

Good luck with it, keep us updated.

Cheers for the advise.
Being a knight in shining armour will have to do for now, for the girlfriend and the kitty sake. Now an advise to help to approach her mum and say stop putting her eldest daughter under so much stress just because she's a badger with her budget.

And only just found out as I am typing that the kitty can be picked up today for £149. Off to the ATM now.

Relationships and sacrifices. The real world can be such a douch.

 

[Mr Jones]

When you say she didn't "willingly" take the cat to the vet are you suggesting she wouldn't have taken it herself, knowing there was a problem?

She would have still got the kitty there but perhaps exchange better words or agreement before signing any treatment for the cat - she can be a total anal when it comes to situation where signing and agreeing to anything is involved. Her mum, nope.

 

[Mr Jones]

sell the story to 4chan

I honestly thought of that first but then the mother might become a target rather than the Vet. Anyway, paying the bills, freeing the cat, looking at affordable pet insurance before the next issue arise. Lets hope Daisy, the cat appreciate my more than a meow the next time I see her.

 

[Mr Jones]

dowie, your argument for the vet seems sound and I didn't think of it that way. It's a good tactic on their part and perhaps that isn't quite as unreasonable as I first thought of it.

 

[Mr Jones]

So if you had found the cat yourself you wouldn't have taken it to the vet?

You're liable for the bill, if you had pet insurance you wouldn't be, it's not expensive.

No sympathy here, get begging.

If it's my own kitty, I'd had insurance and rainy day funds at the ready before I even got the cat.

Is what they're doing documented in their t&c's or policy?

Not sure, will read soon.

 

[Mr Jones]

Money is given, kitten is released.
Apparently the kitty has pet insurance with an excess of £50 BUT money have to be paid upfront and claimed back. How ridiculous is that!!