Beech House Veterinary Centre - Hersham, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey

I'm not one to usually complain, however on this occasion I have gone out of my way to share with the public my experience with this vet. My cats have been patients of this vet for around seven years and it has come to the point where my anger with them has resulted in me leaving them.

I have always heard bad stories, but thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt, purely only for the convenience of them being very local to us. On a recent annual trip to them, the vet informed us that our cat needed to have surgery to remove three of his teeth, and informed us that the surgery would be a little risky due to our cat having a heart murmur. We have been aware of this condition for the whole of his life so it did not come of surprise to us.. however, the vet (not naming and shaming) did not put it very lightly. Even with my daughter in the room, he bluntly said, and I quote; 'Don't be surprised to find him dead in the garden one day'. I know that people dealing with animals have to let the owners know the truth, but I was horrified to hear how he was saying this information to the both of us.

Following this, he continued the check up with our cat, and then said he would contact us later on in the week with information as to what the dental surgery would entail and how much it would cost. We received the email from the vet enclosing how much it was going to cost - an in excess of £600. Thinking this was a little steep I contacted another vet for an alternative quote. They came back to suggest this would cost around £300-£350. At this point we booked an appointment with the alternative vet for him to be assessed and to have the procedure done. Upon arriving on the day of his surgery, the new vet took the time to assess his condition and informed us that in fact he did not actually have the severity of dental decay that was originally stated and any invasive surgery would not be required!

He also remarked on the fact that his diagnosed heart murmur was not as serious as originally stated and in the new vets opinion, daily medication that the original vet suggested was also not required.

Having gone through this latest stressful scenario, I am disgusted, upset and appalled that a company dedicated to the well being of animals would willingly put the animal at risk just for financial gain!

Having supported and put trust into The Beech House Veterinary Centre for the last seven years, I am appalled by the way they have treated myself, my family and our pets and therefore would not be recommending them as a company to anyone.