‘Our dog died on Christmas Day after a £7k vet bill – then our insurer ghosted us'
Dear Katie,
We bought a terrier dog seven years ago and called him Herriot. I used to work offshore and loved the company of a good James Herriot book. The breeder described him as a 'thinker', as he was quieter than the rest of the litter.
We fell in love with him immediately. He never barked and never showed his teeth, not once. He was soft as anything.
Everyone loved him. When my wife and I had babies, he used to love walking beside the pram and coming to the pub with us.
He suddenly got ill on December 15 last year. We assumed he had eaten something and would be fine. Our neighbour came and went while we were at work worrying and took his temperature. He had not improved so we took him to the vets on December 17.
The vet said he needed an immediate scan, which cost £1,000 just before Christmas. The vet diagnosed a blocked gallbladder and we were told we would need to pay another estimate of £6,000 on top of what we had already paid. My wife and I did not hesitate. He survived the operation and one of us went to visit him every night.
During this period, my wife had contacted our insurer, Purely Pets Insurance, who informed us the claim would be assessed after all procedures and care had finished. We felt sick not knowing if we would get the money back.
When we asked the vet about Herriot's chances of survival, we were told 50/50. But our boy did not progress as we had hoped. By the third day, we were out of money as the post-operative care was costing £900 a day.
I rang the vet in tears saying we had used up all our savings and maxed out our credit card. I said if he had not improved by the evening, then we would have to call it. I was mentally shattered. The vet rang back 20 mins later and said we could have a 48-hour grace period, which was a huge relief.
He eventually came back home on December 23. It was so hard to keep the Christmas magic alive for the children, while trying to keep Herriot alive. He had a feeding tube and endless medications to take.
Eventually, having done night shifts with him downstairs, on Christmas night I could see he was in agony. I rang the vet and took him in and my dad turned up for support. At 3am at my lowest ebb, my dad gave me a tap on the shoulder and I knew I had to call it. As the final injection went in, I wanted to scream 'stop', but it was already done.
Some people might say 'it's just a dog', but he was our dog, and we are mourning his loss so heavily. Every corner of the house has a reminder of him, from dog beds, dog toys, blankets, dog hair and the dog food cupboard.
We contacted Purely Pets to make the claim, and the vet was really efficient and gave them everything they needed within 24 hours. Then nothing.
This is completely unacceptable. I am a self-employed electrician and would normally have a month or two's wages to fall back on.
Purely Pets proceeded to ignore my calls and emails, prompting me to read reviews online, and it seemed we were not alone in our poor experience. There have been weeks of silence now.
Reaching out to you feels like our last roll of the dice, as we are getting nowhere.
– MC, via email
Dear MC,
I was so sorry for the loss of Herriot, who as you rightly say, was not 'just a dog'. You sent me a photograph of him with your daughter and I saw then what a special, little soul and adored member of your family he was.
As an animal lover myself, I understand the pain of saying goodbye to a deeply cherished creature, so although some people may scoff, you don't need to worry that you're over-egging anything as far as I'm concerned.
As a company built around people's emotional attachment to animals, Purely Pets should have understood this too.
It was only natural that you wanted to do all you could to save Herriot and, since you had pet insurance in place, you were under the impression that most of this hefty £7,000 bill you had incurred would be reimbursed by Purely Pets.
However, instead of being supported as you expected, the new year rolled in and there you were grieving the loss of Herriot while £7,000 out of pocket and facing a wall of silence from Purely Pets. This was cold and callous behaviour, so I contacted its parent company, The Insurance Factory, demanding answers.
I'm pleased to say things changed the moment I stepped in. Insurance Factory quickly apologised and accepted your claim, which was for your maximum limit of £6,000. It has also paid you £750 as compensation for the upset it caused, which brings your total vet bill down to £250.
I'm so pleased this has all been put to bed so you can move on from this upsetting chapter. When you eventually feel ready to adopt another animal into your life, you say you'll do a bit more research before buying pet insurance.
Another option would be to create a savings pot into which you save every month and only use it for vet bills. This way, you won't face the stress of waiting to see if a payout comes, as you'll know the money is there.
A spokesman said: 'Firstly, we would like to express our deepest condolences for the loss of Herriot as we fully recognise the pain and stress the loss of a pet can cause. We can confirm that all outstanding claims have been reviewed and settled and we've updated Mr C.
'We acknowledge we have fallen short on this occasion with our communication and responsiveness. We are addressing this with the team.'
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