Proactive plea issued on vet debt

Veterinary practices have been urged to be more proactive and strengthen their administration to help minimise the impact of client debt on their businesses.

Analysis released earlier this year estimated that bad debts to practices, which are considered unlikely to be repaid, are now worth hundreds of millions of pounds annually.

The debt recovery company behind those figures, DSL, has now highlighted the issue further by urging BVA Live delegates to introduce more robust protocols to their practices and pursue liabilities earlier.

Active calls

The company’s chairman, Mike Brooks, encouraged attendees to actively call clients when invoices are sent out, asking whether any did that already.

When no-one responded, he told them: “Please start. You will see a reduction in your debt value when you do.”

DSL, which launched a new VetDebt Recovery Compass platform in February to help practices prioritise key areas, has calculated that bad debts could account for as much as 10% of total turnover – between £265 million and £530 million a year – across the veterinary sector.

The firm also estimates that every £10,000 of debt owed to a business could wipe more than 10 times that amount off its value.

‘Good brand’

Mr Brooks urged practices to refer cases earlier to maximise the chances of sums being recovered and ensure they have “strong administration” within their own practices, including checking and documenting offered proofs of client identification.

He also encouraged practices to make copies of their terms and conditions available to clients either in practice or in a welcome pack, describing them as the “most important” documents if cases end up going to court.

But he also emphasised concern for practices’ reputation in pursuing debts, saying: “We know it’s taken you a long time to build a good brand and we don’t want to destroy it.”