Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service - Solihull Opiniões 305

Absolute rip off.

My pet was still covered in piss stains when I collected him, after being told 'He'd be washed and well looked after'.

The complaints procedure was rude and extremely unhelpful. I ended up requesting a DSAR, and only half of my calls were sent to me. Crucial evidence and over 1 hour long phone calls they mysteriously had lost record of...
I raised 2 detailed complaints, explaining how disappointed I was with the whole service, and was completely fobbed off both times.
No sympathy whatsoever or reasonable resolution offered for a GENUINE complaint. Threatened to take me all the way to court for not paying an obscenely large bill, despite not being what was agreed verbally or in the contract and when I checked my pet in.

A horrible scare tactic to be forced under duress to pay full price for a service I was extremely unhappy with. Pay everything or they'll issue a CCJ against you. No middle agreement; they want to rinse you for every single penny they can.

I'm absolutely baffled how they get away with these extortionate prices; I've seen lots of similar reviews now looking into it more.
I paid thousands more with another vet company, and paid every single penny happily, because the service and level of care was incredible! But here, it was a horrific experience. Never again. Obscene profit mark up on services and definitely the most useless and unsympathetic handling of a complaint I've ever experienced.

We was recommended this clinic as we needed urgent attention for my pet Tilly. From the moment I walked in, the staff was welcoming, kind, and professional.

The clinic is clean, well-organized, and clearly focused on providing the best care possible for pets. As soon as we arrived by the looks of the facilities I felt at ease.

Even more so when introduced to Dr. Henrik Durieux he was incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and compassionate, taking the time to explain everything in detail and making sure I felt comfortable with the treatment plan. His dedication and genuine care for animals truly set him apart. His approach was calm and relating this put my anxiety about the situation to rest.

Thanks to the amazing team at Willows, my pet is happy and healthy. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with their care. Highly recommend!

We were referred here by our vet's to this practice. being from a small town on the Welsh border we were overwhelmed by the size of the building. But we were so well looked after we soon felt at easy, they soon started treatment on our pet and the Vet Tom was brilliant and kept us informed all through our dog's treatment .

Thanks you Alba for your kindness and support with jasper to the end really appreciate your understanding and support thank you

Absolutely gutted & upset that our cat was taken here from the Cattery while we were on our Honeymoon.
Unfortunately she was so poorly that the decision was made by the vets to put her to sleep.
This was upsetting enough when we returned home but we were promised her paw print & some fur. We have been chasing this since December & have today been informed they were posted 1st Class by normal delivery over the busy Christmas period & the result is we have not received them so it appears they are lost. We would happily have paid for Recorded Delivery if informed they would be posted out via normal post.
I am absolutely lost for words & disgusted that our last chance of a memento of our dear cat has now gone forever...
I sincerely hope they learn from this & change their posting process in the future so no one else goes through this

Max went in for a dental in early November 2024 and he suffered for 1+ month before he passed away. He had 14 teeth extracted (we weren't notified) and Willows initially gave him painkillers but forgot about the antibiotics. My family took him in for several follow-ups and his meds were changed a few times. We were told that they had never seen this happened before but the vets weren't curious to find out the root cause and just kept changing his meds to "try". Max passed away next to me in the middle of the night. Because of the holidays, Max had to be stored at Willows and I met with Isobell, the vet who performed the dental and she said she might have done something wrong. Later on, when my mom and I visited Max, we considered having a post-mortem and asked a receptionist if there was a vet available to discuss, she was arsey and asked if I had an appointment and said she would put a note on the record (she didn't even bother to check or ask around). In addition, the senior vet asked us to exit from the back door afterwards. Max was a cheerful and loyal dog. Seeing him wither totally broke my heart and I will never forgive Willows for this!!

I have sent Willows an email to file a formal complaint and request a proper investigation.

What can I say…. Our dog Narla was admitted with life threatening complications from sepsis, the team were incredible with her and us the family, and 11 days after she has been able to come home to us. Their exceptional care and support has been exemplary and we can’t thank them all enough. So glad we made the decision to entrust her with you all.

All about money...Don't care about complaints..

To be fair, good treatment of our very poorly dog. A few mistakes, but largely good treatment.

Accounts and Insurance team are dreadful. Rude, constant mistakes and misinformation, no support with insurance issues, no regard whatsoever for the customer. Disgusting service.

Complaints are pointless. I even wrote to the Hospital Director, who immediately sent the complaint back to the team I was complaining about, for them to respond to. So ultimately, no accountability, no learnings from complaints. So much for 5 commitments of their complaints process...

Lovely staff. Very reasonable pricing.

Had a visit yesterday with my boy and I have to say it went great. I requested them to see him in the car park as I get super stressed when surgery is full and he’s a big chunky boy. He needed weighed and I was like no no anyways cutting a long story short amber the vet took him in not a problem weighed him passed all dogs and even three outside tail wagging happy as Larry 😊. (My boys reaction to amber said it all for me very happy fur mam)

I then waited for everything I requested which I got with no hassle reception staff brilliant even saved me a £1 or £2 on my total bill. Received good advice. My boy is happy and so was I.

First time visiting the new boldon surgery nice and big, clean, and reception staff very welcoming. Would highly recommend usually go to South Shields have done for years with no problems but with my boy being a big lad this surgery was so much better for our needs.

Highly recommend amber (vet) Thankyou for helping with my anxiety and being very understanding and patient you really did make my visit a better one 😊

Please, please do not take your beautiful pet here. These people are absolutely disgusting. They will lie they will cover up. They will do anything they can to withhold the truth. My French bulldog Alfie was four years old. He went in for a simple routine slip disc was told guaranteed results costing 7 1/2 thousand pounds. I found the money because he was my boy. I picked him up a week later he was he was covered in poo was not looked after at all got him home cleaned him started rehabilitation he went downhill rapidly wouldn’t eat wouldn’t drink kept being sick talking back several times. They were absolute useless. I asked them if he had an infection they said possibly these people are supposed to be experts honestly they haven’t got a clue so basically yes my boy passed away from sepsis. I didn’t even have him home for a week they try to say he died of a heart attack at four years old. It took long hard searches and a lot of crying and emotional problems to get to the truth and in the end I had to have a meeting with their official executive Chris who was good at first promise the Earth delivered. Nothing took five months to get my money back and they got to a point where they didn’t want to respond. It had to go through their legal team. I’ll say this now. If you have to go there, please record everything. Everything it’s the only chance you have they used to have a good reputation since they got taken over by Miles confectionery like most Vets it’s all about money. I wish I knew then what I know now my boy would’ve still been here but these people are supposed to be experts but what do we know? So I’m putting this out there for you don’t fall into the same trap as I did and struggle with this not having my boy with me I don’t want this to happen to anybody else thank you.

My dog was referred to Willows by my regular vets for IVDDE and I couldn't be happier with the experience. They managed to get me an appointment the next day and the reception staff were really friendly and helpful.
We were seen almost immediately by Rob the neurology specialist vet who was excellent! Rob was both compassionate and comprehensive in assessing and diagonisng my dog. He explained everything to me clearly and answered all of my questions. He provided an honest prognosis and recommended I did not proceed with an MRI scan unless my dogs condition severely detiriated. This was all captured in a very simple and concise write up that was sent to my original vet too.
Rob generally cared about the quality of life for my pooch and it really showed. Thank you.
I'm not sure why this practise gets some negative reviews? My experience today was brilliant and yes the cost for a consultation was sognificant but with a good pet insurance policy it wasn't a scratch on the surface of things.

My German shepherd got very poorly with GDV in September. He had to be transferred by ourselves to willows on the day once he had his operation due to our vets not having over night facilities.
This is the first time I’d ever heard of willows. What a lovely, clean and welcoming vets. He had the best care whilst there. They kept me updated which I really appreciated as he wasn’t out of the woods just yet. He’s a nervous dog with the vets and wasn’t too comfortable being away from home but they took care of this and made sure he was settled throughout the night. From start to finish they were amazing. Lovely lovely place with very understanding and friendly staff. Highly recommended

Fergus is a genius. He went above and beyond to care for our cat… and us!
The team as a whole was around her of 6 surgeons at one point to ensure the stubborn piece of grass would come out of her nose.

They really do put your pets first!

Willows has been nothing but incredible. This is the second referral centre my dog had to visit. Cameron has shows such a great care and dedication to solve Porter’s issue. He went beyond my expectations. Really happy with everything.

Please avoid - they failed my boy and failed me. These people are a disgrace. They avoided complaints, charged for a service never provided and lied to me. They failed to obtain urine sample of my boy and I had to do it but they charged me for taking it. They missed the fact my boy needed certain nutrients and discarded me when I visited a holistic vet who was able to determine what my boy was missing within 5 minutes and cost was 6 times less then Willows. Multiple complaints, constant failure to resolve complaints and in my opinion and experience, they are not fit for purpose. The front house staff are rude, insensitive and lack understanding of what people and pets are going through when they attend this 'hospital'. They failed to inform me my boy needed repeat prescriptions and told me I needed to book in again with them at the end of the first round of treatment then they amended their records that did not match this narrative. In my experience, they are dishonest and got the hump when I took my boy to an holistic vet because they failed to help him and me. They believe they had the right and final say what would happen to my boy and who was 'allowed' to see him.

Edit as of 5th November 2024 in response to their waffle of a reply - Willows are well aware of who I am and have had multiple complaints from me which they refuse to deal with. This is just a game to them and they take no responsibility or accountability for their negligent actions. I have no intention of repeating my complaints to them and they have had long enough and past their time allowed as per their own complaints procedure (they change as they go along and do not adhere to it anyway so it makes it pointless) to deal with a catalogue of complaints. For the sake of your beloved pets and based on my own experience, please avoid.

I was dreading a trip to Willows in all honesty, firstly fearful of the outcome of my dogs illness, and secondly the dreaded bill.

My dog is insured and a more mature dog so already my excess is increased. I asked throughout each stage from telephone triage, to assessment, observation and discharge about the pricing to ensure transparency. I was actually quoted a higher price range than what was charged. I was reassured that a direct claim could be made (albeit at an additional £50) charge but was ok with that.

The facilities were clean and all staff were kind and understanding throughout.

Thank you for reassuring me and being transparent about Poppy’s care at time when my anxiety was high.

Regrettably my experience of Willows is not a positive one. My dog was referred from another Linnaeus Group practice for TPLO surgery. We had already paid almost £1000 to the referring practice just for a diagnosis - no benefit to the dog - and were quoted by Willows a fixed fee of £4750 for the TPLO, significantly more expensive than elsewhere, but we believed we were doing the best for our dog. Although the surgery was successful, without complications, the ‘fixed fee’ proved to be anything but and we were charged several hundred pounds more for a simple follow up lasting 7 minutes. A complaint to Willows was dismissed and an appeal to the mediation service (suggested by Willows) was entirely futile. I escalated my complaint to the Linnaeus Group who have not yet responded, but in the meantime I have received DAILY texts and emails from Willows demanding payment despite them being told that I have escalated the issue. They may be good vets but if you choose to use them I suggest that you record every conversation you have with them and get written quotes for every aspect of your pet’s treatment.

UPDATE Because I was receiving daily demands for payment and threats of escalation at a time when I was due to be away for a few days, I paid the disputed bill under protest, making it clear that this was not an admission of liability. Within hours I received an email from Linnaeus Group saying they had nothing further to add to Willows ‘investigation’.

Total disregard for their clients and impunity in their accounting practices.

Lets start with the good, yes a huge organisation that specialise with different pet needs. We took our pet cat to find what was causing her so much pain n discomfort with her ear. Our insurance had reached limit so being funded by ourselves. Initially as discussed with our vet the fee was incl referrral ct scan etc 3300.00 Ct scan shown the problem and operation in their view was only option so we as stressed pet owners agreed to then find the price went up to 5100. Operation scheduled and carried out.
The bad, we find out after the operation and reading the post op notes that any appointments would be charged in region of 280.00 this included taking any stitches out and then a further 280 to check her eye due to Horners synd a few days after surgery, totalling 560.00. Sorry but why is the post op stitch removal charged at a extorniate 280 when our vet charges zero. This is post op care that should be included in the 5100.00 already so to us this was merely another reason to cash cow their customers, nothing more nothing less. Also since leaving after the op not 1 person or member of the surgical team rang to see how the pet was doing, it was as if they had your money done the job move on nxt cash prize pls. We had rung with concerns over the pets lack of eating n lethargy for a cpl days early am but chased calls until finally evening they decided to call. NO AFTERCARE AT ALL I FIND DISGUSTING TO BE FRANK!
The ugly, this bit truly shocked us as pensioners, our pet literally stopped eating was very lethargic so we called Willows, we called n called, they state they rang us but our phones proved otherwise, we rang our local vet who incidentally rang us daily after the 1st round of calls to say not all well. We managed to get her a app to chk why she not eating or refusing meds and whilst at the vets Willows rang . This is the truly ugly part, b4 we left to go local vet the surgeon mentioned if we came to willows it would be 300.00 plus to see her but she would try to get a fixed price at 280, we stated we maxed out financially how can we afford such a high price , i mentioned we had a app at local and it was whilst at the local willows rang us bk n on loud speaker so all can be heard willows more or less suggested if we took our pet to the local n was seen they would not hold the price at 280 but charge us more as the vet would prob refer her back to willow, ie we being held to ransom for simply going to our local to get the aftercare willows dont provide unless you have endless pockets of cash, They were pushing us to go directly to willows and not attend our app at the local . We did attend local vet app 50.00 and they treated our pet.
I told this to Willows that their only concern was the cash not the cat! so there you see it plain n clear Willows are merely there for the cash not the cat, and no again not since my stressed out call for help have they reached out n rung to chk on the cat not a single call. What a horrid experience that hope never to receive again . would we recommend willows, never, I truly wish we had gone to another referral centre that maybe would give aftercare. The aftercare of the pet is a vital part of a pets journey to recovery and a TRUE VET in the professional for the welfare of animals n not money is where i will be seeking to go in the future. vets4pets have been wonderful n their care in our situation n empathy have well exceeded anything and to have nothing from willows is in their eyes shocking too.
I truly hope people read not the good but the bad reviews and I wish I had researched more.

Update aimed at Willows if you truly show concern then you should ring the owner, your copy paste replies are meaningless!

Brilliant veterinary centre. Lluis sanchez is an amazing vet