Version 1.1 – November 2026

Thank you for choosing Tom Walters Equine Vets. We are an independent practice, established in 2014. Our vets, Tom Walters MBA BVSc MRCVS, Dr Jess Flyn BVSc MRCVS, Dr Kate Davison MRCVS and Dr Savannah-Rose McAuley MRCVS, provide a friendly, knowledgeable and trustworthy service at your yard.

These terms explain how we work and what you can expect from us. Please read them with our one-page Key points summary before you sign the registration form. If anything is unclear, please ask us. Nothing in these terms affects your legal rights as a consumer.

1. About us

Trading name	Tom Walters Equine Vets
Legal name and status	Tom Walters Equine Ltd, a private limited company registered in England and Wales, company number 09237269
Registered office	20 Moorland Road, Stoke-on-Trent ST6 1DW
Practice and postal address	Barn 1, Somerford Business Court, Holmes Chapel Road, Somerford, CW12 4SN
Contact	01270 660014 • info@tomwaltersequine.com
VAT number	GB195807760
Regulator	Our vets are registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), 1 Hardwick Street, London EC1R 4RB (www.rcvs.org.uk), and must follow the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct: RCVS Code of Professional Conduct
Professional indemnity insurer	The Veterinary Defence Society Limited (VDS), 4 Haig Court, Parkgate Industrial Estate, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 8XZ. Cover applies to our work in the United Kingdom.

2. Registering with us

• To register, complete and sign our registration form and set up the card payment authority in section 3. You are not a registered client until we have received the signed form.
• Please tell us straight away if your contact details, yard, card or horses change.
• If someone else keeps or pays for your horse, or you name an authorised agent, see sections 3 and 11.

3. How payment works (continuous payment authority)

We don’t offer credit accounts or payment plans. We ask that invoices are paid in full when they are raised. We will not waver from this policy. It suits most of our clients best, and it lets us keep our prices as low as possible.

• When you register, we send you a secure link to save your card with our payment provider, Blink. Blink meets payment card industry data security standards (PCI DSS). After that, we can only see part of the card number.
• Your signed card authority (continuous payment authority, or CPA) lets us take payments from that card for our services and medicines, as follows.
• Invoices of £200 or less: we take payment from your card straight away, with a 5% discount applied. We then email you the itemised paid invoice.
• Invoices over £200: we take £200 from your card straight away. We then send you the itemised invoice and ask you to pay the balance, by email with a secure Blink payment link, or by phone. You can pay by the link or by calling us on 01270 660014.
• Discount on invoices over £200: the 5% discount is worked out on the whole invoice and taken off the balance, as long as you pay the balance within 5 days of the date we send the invoice. If the balance isn’t paid within 5 days, we take the full balance (without discount) from your card.
• If an invoice over £200 comes to £200 or less once the 5% discount is taken off, we simply take that discounted amount from your card straight away, and there is no balance to pay.
• We usually take payment in the days after your visit, and always within 14 days.
• We never take more than £200 from your card for an invoice without first sending you the invoice and asking you to pay the balance. Please make sure at least £200 is available on your card before each visit. We contact the bill payer before every visit (except in emergencies), so you can always expect a charge.
• You can cancel the CPA at any time by telling us or your card issuer. If you do, we will need another way to secure payment, such as payment in advance, before any further non-emergency visits.

4. Prices, VAT and estimates

All our prices include VAT at the current rate. Professional fees depend on the time spent on a case, and on the drugs, materials and consumables used. Our fees are always available on request. We give an itemised invoice for every visit, procedure or transaction.

• We are always happy to give an estimate before a visit. Please ask when you book. An estimate is not a fixed quote. Cases can change, and if costs look likely to go well over the estimate we will tell you as soon as we reasonably can.
• Our prices and estimates are shown before the discount. All fees are eligible for the 5% discount when paid in line with section 3.

5. Declined payments

• If a payment from your card is declined, we will contact you straight away. This is usually because the card has expired or been replaced. We will ask for your new card and take the payment, without the discount.
• If we can’t reach the account holder, we will email to warn you that we may not be able to provide further non-emergency services until the account is paid.
• If a payment problem isn’t sorted out quickly, we may ask for deposits for an agreed period before future visits.

6. Unpaid invoices

If an invoice isn’t paid when due, we will:

• remind you in writing and give you at least 14 days to pay or contact us;
• then we may stop providing further non-emergency services until the account is paid. We will always meet our legal and professional duties to your horse, including emergency first aid and pain relief;
• then, after a final written warning, we may pass the debt to a debt collection agency or claim through the County Court (small claims track). A court judgment (CCJ) can affect your credit rating.

Costs: we do not add debt collection fees or charges for reminder letters. If we have to claim through the court, we may ask for the court fees and any other costs the court allows. If you are a business client, we may also claim interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

If you are struggling to pay, please talk to us early. We would much rather agree a way forward.

7. Out-of-hours care and emergencies

• Our own vets provide 24-hour emergency cover, 365 days a year. We do not outsource this.
• Emergency number: 01270 660014 (the same as our main number, 24 hours a day). A vet will call you back, give advice and, where needed, come to your horse.
• Normal hours are Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 6pm, excluding bank holidays. Visits outside these hours carry an extra out-of-hours fee of up to £175 including VAT, on top of the normal visit and treatment charges.
• For specialist surgery or imaging (such as MRI, CT or gamma scanning), we work closely with several leading equine referral hospitals. Most clients are within an hour of one.

8. Medicines, prescriptions and returns

• Written prescriptions: you can ask us for a written prescription instead of buying a medicine from us, and buy it from another vet, a pharmacy or a registered online retailer. Medicines may be cheaper elsewhere. Our fee is £24.00 (inc. VAT) per prescription. A vet can only prescribe prescription-only medicines (POM-V) for a horse under our care, after a clinical assessment. A written prescription may not be suitable where the horse needs treatment straight away.
• If you buy medicines online, please check the retailer is on the VMD’s register of online retailers (search “VMD online retailers” on GOV.UK).
• Returns: once a medicine has left the practice, we can’t re-use it or sell it again, so we can’t refund unwanted medicines. Please bring unused medicines back to us for safe disposal. This doesn’t affect your rights if a medicine is faulty or we supplied the wrong item.
• Postage: we charge postage on items we send out. We will confirm the cost first and ask for payment before dispatch. Everything is sent by a recorded delivery service.

9. The prescribing cascade

Medicines are authorised (licensed) for particular species and conditions. Fewer medicines are authorised for horses than for people or pets. If there is no suitable authorised horse medicine, the law (the “cascade”) lets your vet use a medicine authorised for another species or condition, or a human medicine, in a set order. This is called using a medicine “off-licence”. It doesn’t mean the medicine is unsafe or experimental. Usually it just means no company has paid for it to be authorised for horses.

• Your vet decides case by case and will explain why the medicine is needed and what side effects are possible.
• Each time we use a cascade medicine, we will give you our Cascade Information Sheet for that medicine (by email or WhatsApp, as PDF). It explains what the medicine is, why we are using it, how to give it safely, possible side effects, and any food chain points.
• We will ask for your written consent (a signature, or a reply by email or WhatsApp) before treatment starts. In an emergency, we may record your spoken consent first and ask you to confirm in writing as soon as possible. We keep consent records for at least 5 years.
• Medicines used under the cascade have not been assessed by the regulator for safety, quality or effectiveness for that particular use, and there may be side effects. Please tell us at once if you notice anything unusual.
• You don’t agree to cascade use by signing these terms. We ask you each time.

10. Passports and the human food chain

• By law, every horse, pony and donkey must have a passport and a microchip. Please have the passport available when we visit.
• Every passport has a declaration saying whether the horse is intended for slaughter for human consumption. It is in Section II Part II, or Section IX Part II in older passports (issued before 2016).
• If the horse is signed out (“not intended for human consumption”), we can use the full range of medicines. If it is not signed out, or the declaration is blank, the law treats the horse as a food animal. Some medicines, such as bute (phenylbutazone), can’t be used, and certain treatments must be recorded in the passport.
• Signing out is permanent and can’t be undone, by you or any future owner.
• You choose the status of each horse on the registration form. We do not sign passports automatically when you register. If your horse needs a medicine that isn’t allowed in food animals, we will explain this first. The horse must then be signed out (by you, the keeper or the vet) before that medicine is used.

11. Consent, authorised agents and the person responsible

• We will ask for consent before treatment, except in an emergency where delay would harm your horse’s welfare. For non-urgent procedures, we will discuss the options, risks and likely costs with you first.
• If you name an authorised agent on the registration form (for example your yard manager), we may accept their instructions and consent when we can’t reach you, up to the spending limit and within the permissions you set. You remain responsible for paying.
• If someone else asks us to treat your horse, we need to be satisfied they have your authority.

12. Euthanasia

• We are happy to tell you the cost of euthanasia in advance. It may vary slightly depending on the size of the horse. We can arrange collection of the body at extra cost, paid in advance.
• We will ask you (or your authorised agent) to sign a consent form at the time. In an emergency, where a horse is suffering and nobody can be reached, the vet may put the horse to sleep on welfare grounds.
• If your horse is insured, many policies require you to tell the insurer before euthanasia, except in an emergency. Please check your policy.

13. Second opinions and referrals

• We are happy to give second opinions. Please tell us when you book, and send us previous records, X-rays, scans or blood results if you have them.
• If you would like a second opinion elsewhere, or want to move to another practice, we will send your horse’s relevant records to the vet you choose promptly. Records are never held back because of an unpaid invoice. Any outstanding invoices still need to be paid.

14. Insurance and direct claims

• Please check your policy before starting investigations or treatment you couldn’t otherwise afford. You remain responsible for all invoices, whether or not a claim is made or paid. We can’t promise that treatment will stay within your insured amount. Keeping track of that is your responsibility.
• Direct claims (where your insurer pays us) are at our discretion and only start once your insurer has confirmed in writing that the claim is accepted. Until then, invoices are paid as normal under section 3. After acceptance, we will accept further payments for that condition from your insurer.
• We don’t normally charge for handling a direct claim. For particularly complicated or lengthy claims, we reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £36 (inc. VAT). We will tell you before we charge it.
• Excess: your insurer charges an excess for each condition. We don’t know your excess and aren’t responsible for it. If your policy has a percentage excess, you pay that share of each invoice for the condition when it is raised.
• Some policies don’t cover certain items (for example supplements) or limit some treatments (for example complementary therapies). We will take payment for items that won’t be covered when they are invoiced.
• If your insurer doesn’t pay all or part of a claim, for any reason, you will need to pay the balance.

15. Our service and your statutory rights

• We will provide our services with reasonable care and skill. Any products we supply will be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described.
• Nothing in these terms limits your legal rights. For example, your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 if goods are faulty or a service isn’t provided with reasonable care and skill. For more information, contact Citizens Advice.

16. Other charges

• We sometimes pay costs on your behalf, such as specialist laboratory tests. These may be invoiced to you later.
• We may ask for payment in advance for routine services such as vaccinations, dentals, passports and microchipping.
• We may ask for a deposit for investigation visits. We refund it if you cancel with at least 2 working days’ (48 working hours’) notice.

17. Your right to cancel

You registered with us remotely (for example by email and e-signature), so you have a legal right to cancel this agreement.

• You can cancel within 14 days of the day you sign the registration form, without giving any reason.
• To cancel, tell us clearly (for example by email to info@tomwaltersequine.com, by post to Tom Walters Equine Vets, Barn 1, Somerford Business Court, Holmes Chapel Road, Somerford, CW12 4SN, or by phone on 01270 660014). You can use the model cancellation form in the Appendix, but you don’t have to. It is enough to send your message before the 14 days are up.
• If you cancel, we will refund any payment you have made for services not yet provided, without undue delay and within 14 days of hearing from you, using the same payment method.
• If you asked us to start providing services during the 14 days (there is a box for this on the registration form), you will pay for the services provided up to the time you tell us you are cancelling. Once a service has been fully provided, you can’t cancel it.
• Medicines and other goods: for health reasons, you can’t return medicines once they have been supplied. This doesn’t affect your rights if they are faulty.

18. Ending your registration

• The card authority lasts for as long as you are registered with us. There is no fixed term, and you can leave at any time. We ask that invoices up to that point are paid.
• If the card authority is cancelled and we can’t agree another way to secure payment, we may end your registration.
• If we end your registration, we will tell you in writing and give you 14 days’ notice, so you can arrange another vet. We will still meet our duty to provide emergency first aid and pain relief during that time.

19. Feedback and complaints

• We want you to be happy with our service. If something isn’t right, please tell us at the time, or as soon as you can.
• For a formal complaint, please write to Sophie Coombes, Practice Manager, at info@tomwaltersequine.com or by post to Barn 1, Somerford Business Court, Holmes Chapel Road, Somerford, CW12 4SN. We ask that you contact us within three months of the event if possible, as it helps us look into it properly. This doesn’t limit your legal rights. If your complaint is about the Practice Manager, please email it to info@tomwaltersequine.com, marked for the attention of Tom Walters, Practice Principal.
• We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and send a full written response within 10 working days of receiving it. If we need longer, for example to speak to everyone involved, we will tell you why and when to expect our response. A copy of our complaints procedure is available on request.
• If you aren’t happy with our response, you can use the free, independent Veterinary Client Mediation Service (www.vetmediation.co.uk, 0345 040 5834). You can also contact the RCVS about a vet’s professional conduct.

20. Privacy notice (short version)

Tom Walters Equine Ltd is the controller of your personal information. The full privacy notice is at tomwaltersequine.com/privacy-notice/ or on request. In short:

• What we collect: your name, contact details, address, yard details, payment details (held by our payment provider), and your horses’ details and clinical records. We also collect details of anyone you name as a bill payer or authorised agent. Please tell them you have given us their details.
• Why: to provide veterinary care and run your account (our contract with you); to meet legal duties, such as medicines and passport records; and for our legitimate interests, such as recovering debts and improving our service. We only use photos or videos that identify you or your horse with your consent. We do not send marketing.
• Who we share it with: only as needed, with our practice software supplier and other service providers named in the full notice, our payment provider, and, case by case, laboratories, referral practices, insurers (if you claim), debt collectors (if an account is unpaid), and regulators or authorities where the law requires (for example the VMD, APHA or RCVS).
• WhatsApp: if you choose WhatsApp, we use a practice account. WhatsApp is run by Meta.
• How long: we keep clinical and client records for 7 years after your last contact with us. This includes medicines records, which the law requires us to keep for at least 5 years. Accounting records are kept for 6 years after the end of the financial year they relate to.
• Your rights: you can ask for a copy of your information, ask us to correct it, object to some uses, and withdraw consent at any time. If you are unhappy with how we use your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113).

21. Changes to these terms

• We may update these terms, for example when our prices change. We will tell you about important changes at least 30 days before they apply. You can end your registration if you don’t agree.

Appendix: model cancellation form

Complete and return this form only if you wish to cancel within the 14-day cancellation period (see section 17). You can also simply email or phone us.

To: Tom Walters Equine Vets, Barn 1, Somerford Business Court, Holmes Chapel Road, Somerford, CW12 4SN, info@tomwaltersequine.com

I/We* hereby give notice that I/We* cancel my/our* contract for the supply of the following service*: veterinary services under the Tom Walters Equine Vets registration and Terms of Business.

• Signed (registered) on: ________
• Received on*: ________
• Name of consumer(s): ________
• Address of consumer(s): ________
• Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is sent on paper): ________
• Date: ________

* Delete as appropriate.