# PDSA concession charges



## Milo17 (Sep 13, 2017)

my daughter qualifies for reduced costs if her cat becomes ill at PDSA would anyone know how cheap the rates are or would it still be better to have pet insurance? Thanks


----------



## stockwellcat. (Jun 5, 2015)

Milo17 said:


> my daughter qualifies for reduced costs if her cat becomes ill at PDSA would anyone know how cheap the rates are or would it still be better to have pet insurance? Thanks


I don't know how insurance would work with a charity vets as they take nominal donations. I am not sure if the PDSA suggest an amount to pay towards the cost of the treatment or not. But if they do it is only a fraction of the price a normal vet charges. You could ring them and ask. I dont think you can claim insurance on charity donations.


----------



## Milo17 (Sep 13, 2017)

Thank you for reply when I registered my daughters cat they said for example the consultation would be £22 but if the cat ever needed operations would we have to pay towards it ? So in that respect would it be better to have pet insurance rather than use PDSA


----------



## stockwellcat. (Jun 5, 2015)

Milo17 said:


> Thank you for reply when I registered my daughters cat they said for example the consultation would be £22 but if the cat ever needed operations would we have to pay towards it ? So in that respect would it be better to have pet insurance rather than use PDSA


Insurance wouldn't pay for the £22 consult. Charity hospitals/vets would charge way less than a high street vet. Insurance companies normally only pay out after a certain amount eg £75 or £90 (which is called an excess fee). What the PDSA charges is classed as a donation as they are a charitable pet hospital. Others might be able to inform you better but I don't think you can claim insurance against charitable donations. Your best option is to ask the PDSA.


----------



## buffie (May 31, 2010)

Milo17 said:


> Thank you for reply when I registered my daughters cat they said for example the consultation would be £22 but if the cat ever needed operations would we have to pay towards it ? So in that respect would it be better to have pet insurance rather than use PDSA


As above you would really be better to ask the PDSA but I would assume if your daughter is only eligible for reduced rate veterinary care then I think she would have to pay for any operations/tests over and above just as you would if registered with a private vet .
I would assume like the consultation fee these would be at a reduced rate but only while your daughter qualified for the reductions .
If/when she no longer qualifies for reduced cost veterinary care it would then mean that all treatment would need to be done at a private vet surgery.
With insurance ,if there are any conditions which have been logged on her pets history they will most likely be excluded from cover ,at least for a few years so it may be worth taking out insurance now if there is nothing which could be excluded on the records.
Just be very careful when deciding which insurer to use as once a claim has been made it is difficult to change companies as there will be exclusions applied connected to any illness claimed for.
This link may explain the insurance "minefield" a bit for you.......http://www.petinsurancecompare.co.uk/


----------



## LostSoul (Sep 29, 2012)

the pdsa do their own pet insurance now so that might be worth looking into,

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/shop/pdsa-pet-insurance

they have concessionary charges for everything but that simply means a reduced cost, treatment for any serious illness or an operation could still cost thousands, I do know my mother in law was charged just over £100 recently for an out of hours pdsa appointment, so i would most definitely look into insurance.


----------



## TallulahCat (Dec 31, 2015)

I'd suggest getting some quotes from insurance companies so she knows what the cost of that would be. 

Insurance doesn't cover neutering, vaccination or flea/worm prevention, so these costs must also be factored in. 

It's really not possible to predict what will work out cheapest, as it depends on how much veterinary treatment the cat will need. If the cat has a serious illness or injury, then insurance is well worthwhile. If the cat is lucky enough to enjoy fabulous health, then it is cheaper to "pay as you go."

You just can't predict that in advance. Another benefit of insurance is the peace of mind that you can provide the best treatment for your cat.


----------



## Lisa2701 (May 15, 2010)

I don't know for sure but I would think if the cat needed an operation then your daughter would be expected to pay something towards it. For that reason I think she'd be better even having an annual cover with a pet insurance for those emergency situations! Generally (although not always) the most costly things are the diagnostic stages/surgery etc.... so even an annual plan would help hugely. 

I will soon qualify for PDSA as my husband is having to cut his hours at work drastically. None the less I will be keeping my animals pet insurance cover, I just find it such a piece of mind knowing that no matter what they could get whatever treatment they needed immediately! My cats are with petplan and on their top life long plan and it's only about £13 for my girl and about £17 for my boy I think....works out £30 a month for the two of them, boy slightly more.


----------



## Lisa2701 (May 15, 2010)

Found this:

So this suggests that it depends on what benefits your daughter is in receipt of wether she will get 'reduced treatment' or 'free treatment'.


----------



## ribbon (Apr 16, 2012)

I use the PDSA but I'm entitled to "free" treatment (I say "free" as I always give a donation and try to give as much as I can afford as I feel really lucky the help is available). I didn't plan to end up using PDSA services but life happened and it's necessary in my current circumstances. If your daughter has the option I'd say insurance is definitely better as obviously the PDSA is a charity and can't help an infinite amount of people. Also, if your daughter is only eligible for the concession services, things like an operation could still end up pretty expensive.


----------



## LostSoul (Sep 29, 2012)

According to the paperwork given to my mother in law recently if you're on the right benefit you can register one pet for 'free' any other pets you must pay for at a concessionary rate , even if you currently have more than one pet registered you will only receive 'free' treatment for one of them from the 30th October 2017.
I have seen online that people are disgusted with this and are blaming the pdsa for them not being able to afford treatment for their pets but in truth if people stopped sending hundreds on animals and then not paying a penny toward the treatment from the pdsa then maybe they wouldn't have had to change their rules.


----------



## Milo17 (Sep 13, 2017)

thank you all for your replies i have spoke to PDSA and they suggested my daughter has an insurance for her cat as well


----------

