Blackwatervets Reviews

Our previous cat was with Blackwater

Our previous cat was with Blackwater vets for a few years he always saw the same vet I can t remember her name but she worked with Colchester zoo and was just fantastic she really took her time with Denzel as he had arthritis in all major joints She was lovely and provided Denzel with management care for his pain Unfortunately this vet left the practice and we had to see another vet This is where it all goes wrong Firstly upon arriving for our routine 6 monthly check up she doesn t read any of his notes on the computer so is unaware of his pain Denzel hated coming out of his box so we usually dismantle it she insisted on removing him herself and instead of lifting him gently she drags him out by his two front legs which obviously causes him to cry out Even if he didn t have arthritis this is absolutely not the way to remove a frightened cat from a box I couldn t believe it and it left me near in tears We didn t look back and never return We have been at Colne Valley since and are so thankful for them They have now had Denzel 3 of my bunnies and my current cat Baloo No issues and very professional Can t recommend Colne Valley enough

Bad experience

Bad experience Not the first time My dog was administered an injection for her allergy without informing me about the hideous price of almost 88 and I was told she needs to get it every month No alternative treatment was offered What s worse the injection was given without informing me about the cost first which is a breach of the customer s right After I complained the practice director the same vet who once shouted at me in the past gave me notice and refused to treat my pets There are some great vets and lovely nurses there but the practice is managed by an arrogant disrespectful person who has completely no customer service skills and no ability to deal with problems in a constructive way UPDATE My dog s allergy and skin infection problems were COMPLETELY resolved with a spray for 9 from Pets at Home and never came back

Black water vets are purely about

Black water vets are purely about making money certain staff and the vet do not care for your pets I was signed up to the puppy pet plan for both my dogs paying a monthly fee which included their vaccinations 6 monthly health check worming and flee etc They were supposed to call you in for weight checks when worming and flee treatment is due to ensure correct treatment however they did not do this which resulted in one of my puppies getting worms and becoming very unwell The vet Ola tried to blame us stating it is our responsibility to ensure our dogs are on the right plan How are we supposed to know the correct dose of worming treatment for the weight of our dog we are not vets and that was the vets responsibility What s the point in having the plan The vet was rude and made us feel that we have not cared for our puppy After trying to make numerous appointments to get vaccines like kennel cough each time we went to the appointment the vet insisted they could not vaccinate our dogs and told us they had some sort of infection or skin condition resulting in us paying a hefty bill to be treated as we took the vets word I regret this now as our dogs appeared perfectly fine and their skin is amazing I strongly feel this vet is just trying to find problems to treat for money As a result we have changed vets but they would not release our dogs medical records until we paid a fee which was an error made by Blackwater vets The receptionist was very rude when questioned what this payment was for and told us once we leave we could not come back Gladly Our two dogs are now thankfully in the hands of vets who actually care about them and not just about making money

A brilliant opportunity brilliantly missed

I had been a client and supporter of Blackwater Vets for many years until recently Unfortunately the rudeness and attitude of the vet owner forced us to move our Labrador and cats to a different practice This was not something we wanted to do and was done with a heavy heart My elderly parents who struggle to travel any distance also had to leave this week Their young dog was taken there with what appeared to be a skin rash The vet gave the dog an injection without discussing it with my mother that resulted in a serious adverse reaction Less than an hour after leaving the dog swelled up to twice her size was struggling to breathe and became extremely distressed My mother rang the vets immediately The receptionist told her she would ring the vet for advice as she had left for the day The vet lives 2 minutes away from the practice The receptionist told my mother the vet would not re-attend My mother informed the receptionist that the dog was extremely unwell and was told that if she was that worried about it she d have to take the dog to the emergency vet This is 15 miles away in Colchester I then had to collect the dog and my parents and drive at breakneck speed to Colchester Fortunately the emergency vet gave the dog an injection that reversed her symptoms Oh and it cost several hundred pounds When I collected my parents and the dog I was shocked and not sure the dog would survive She was in a terrible state It took three days for her to recover When my mother attended the vets the next day to inform them she was moving vets they told her they wouldn t transfer the dog s medical notes to the new practice until she paid 17 She was told that if she cancelled her medical plan direct debit she would owe them this even though it was for medication she wouldn t get but she paid it She then received a letter demanding more money or they wouldn t complete the claim form form for the fiasco they d created The vet recommended I take my Labrador for hydrotherapy to help with a shoulder injury When I booked him in for a session at the hydrotherapy centre in Colchester I was told that he needed his vet s consent to undertake treatment and Blackwater had sent a one-line email informing them that the vet did not authorise hydrotherapy treatment even though it was the vet s idea I saw the email response from the vets saying Ola does not recommend hydrotherapy at this time It transpired that the only hydrotherapy centre that Blackwater Vets will consent to you using is one in Ipswich - a 3 hour round trip I subsequently found out it s because one of the vet s friends owns it We had used the one in Colchester a few years ago and the same vet had consented then Since when does a vet have to consent to which hydrotherapy centre you can take your pet to When I rang to complain I was told that it was Ola s decision and there would be no point in me speaking to her about it After some very upsetting and unpleasant experiences with this vet including being told I wasn t looking after my dog properly and was cruel and irresponsible - this was the final straw He had been prescribed pain medication for his shoulder injury which wasn t making any difference and the vet wanted to give him more injections as well and if I didn t consent I d be guilty of animal cruelty and would be expelled as a client - his new vet put him on alternative pain medication that solved the issue immediately We had also previously agreed to let the vet remove several of our young cat s teeth - at huge expense - as we were told this was necessary We were also told that if we got a second opinion it would be viewed as mutiny by the vet and we would be expelled We have since been told it was completely unnecessary by another vet I have since been told that other local cat owners have been told their cats need expensive dental extractions Blackwater Vets used to have a superb reputation and could easily be a centre of veterinary excellence after all it s the only vet on Mersea Island The fact that people travel miles to go to an alternative practice says it all Their business model appears to be to try to get you to part with as much money as they can and if you question their decisions or disagree the vet then threatens to sack you from their practice for animal cruelty Because there is only one vet who is also the owner there is no way to get a second opinion or view It s the owner s way or the highway I hate writing negative reviews and was very upset after all my years of support to be ultimately treated very badly but until the current management change their attitude towards their clients I can t see how it can improve and get their former excellent reputation that was built up by the previous owner over many years re-established

MONEY IS ALL THEY CARE ABOUT

MONEY IS ALL THEY CARE ABOUT I d rate this place 0 if I could Worst vets ever I recently moved to the island and had my wife and i s elderly dog treated at Black Water Vets Unfortunately I was left appalled by the experience she received particularly with the main vet OLA JANKOWSKA My wife had taken our dog there due to hot spots on her back caused by the hot weather and was in need of antibiotics Right from the start OLA s behavior was dramatic even suggesting the possibility of putting our dog to sleep and emphasizing how expensive the bill would be My wife s background in veterinary nursing and small animal hydrotherapy she has encountered vets who tend to exaggerate to inflate costs The initial shock came when she was told that the consultation fee would range from 40 to 60 but ended up being charged 80 for what seemed like a basic consultation When she questioned this Ola s response was You are paying for my time What s frustrating is that she had to wait 25 minutes past her appointment time for a consultation that lasted only 10 minutes It s disheartening for her to pay for someone s time when they can t even respect hers by being punctual When she raised this concern at the reception three receptionists confronted her suggesting that it s entirely up to the vet to decide what to charge They even compared it to a hospital visit which didn t make sense since shes dealing with a paid veterinary practice not a free healthcare system like the NHS She left the clinic feeling ripped off and with a hefty 400 bill including charges for three injections when our dog had only received one as stated on the itemised bill an 80 consultation fee and a prescription for nine tablets a day for minor sores on her back To make matters worse she was called back to pick up more tablets for our dog and when she returned OLA started shouting at her accusing her of being disrespectful and banning her from returning This left my wife utterly bewildered since she had been nothing but polite to the receptionists even though they were trying to argue with her After reading other reviews about OLA exaggerating dogs conditions to inflate costs it s clear that this is an ongoing issue I genuinely sympathize with other pet owners who may find themselves in a similar situation and hope they aren t taken advantage of by this practice It appears that their primary focus is on extracting money from people rather than a genuine love for animals This practice is not run in an ethical way and OLA needs to learn some serious customer service skills

FRAUDULENT SCAMMERS

FRAUDULENT SCAMMERS Recently moved to the island and was excited to try black water vets However I am left disgusted and appalled at their behaviour especially from the main vet Ola I took my elderly dog in to see them as since moving and due to the hot weather she has developed some hot spots on her back which needed antibiotics Her behaviour from the moment I saw her was over the top and dramatic even mentioning putting my dog to sleep and telling me how expensive my bill would be Having a background in veterinary nursing and also hydrotherapy for small animals I am well aware of vets that like to be overly dramatic to get you to pay more than you should be I was told my reception that a consultation fee would be between 40- 60 so you can imagine my shock when I was charged 80 for a basic consultation When questioning why I was charged this her exact response was I am paying for her time I had to wait 25 mins after my appointment time to even be seen and was only in there for 10 mins I m not happy to pay for someone s time when they cannot even respect mine in the first place by being on TIME I tried to query this at reception and I was met with three receptionists ganging up on me saying basically it s the vets discretion what she decides to charge and if I was in a hospital I would have to wait hours to be seen I simply told her you cannot compare a free NHS healthcare system to a veterinarian practice for animals I have to pay for I left feeling like I had been totally ripped off with a 400 bill I was charged for 3 injections when my dog only had one a 80 consultation fee and expected to give my dog 9 tablets a day over some small sores on her back I then left and was phoned to come back in again to pick up some more tablets for my dog As soon as I walked in Ola was shouting at me saying I am disgusting I have abused her staff and I am banned from ever coming back I was utterly confused when I had been nothing but nice to the receptionists even though I had 3 of them trying to argue with me I was simply questioning what they had actually charged me for as it didn t seem right After reading the other reviews of her exaggerating dogs conditions to other owners I can see it is a repetitive cycle and I feel really sorry for any owner who ends up there and gets scammed by these people It is clear they are just trying to get money out of people and not in this profession for their love of animals

VET asked me to leave because I had used another vets

I took my little kitten there today for his jabs All happy and ready to sign the pet plan The vet called me in She is also the only vet there and the owner She asked me about my previous cat I explained he died 5 years ago which was straight after seeing her She asked if I had used another vet after her I said yes She then literally wanted me gone She said anyone who uses another vet is not allowed to go back to her She said it was lack of continuity I explained this a brand new cat She asked me to leave again I was so embarrassed She was so aggressive She frightened me to be honest

awful place

awful place a dog was found and we were called through a friend of a friend to foster the dog with her being signed over after 7 days she was checked over and we were told don t think she has had puppies If she had had puppies that wouldn t have affected us keeping her the next day first thing I went to get her groomed as she was matted and the smell was another level After the groom you could tell she was so much happier she settled here so well and was loved a lot I was concerned she had a water infection so took her in for treatment the next day She wasn t even put on the table to be looked at it was we need a urine sample we were sent away with no pee pot am I supposed to use a cereal bowl I got told to take her back in the next day with a sample whilst there they told me theres been a complaint from another vets we need to take her back First lie I was sat on the floor in tears holding her as in such a short time she was such a big part of the family the vet then took the lead walked her out and I was sat on the floor in tears was told to leave we need this room for the next patient since then they have lied to various charities organisations avoid this place no compassion they could care less and will lie to cover there backs

Unpleasant experience

Our 10yr old black lab hasn t a nasty bone in him never growled or been afraid of anyone until visiting Ola at Blackwater Vets We left without any assessment or treatment when Ola said she was going to put a muzzle on him to examine him The surgery room was so small and she cornered him towering over him with little or no empathy and he whimpered a little In his 10 years he has seen many vets for yearly boosters etc but always with a waggy tail She then charged us 57 00 for Professional Services Never met a vet as awful Certainly not a professional animal lover in our opinion Reception staff were very nice It was a terrible experience for our lovely dog and also for us I hope this will not have a lasting effect on him for the future Will never return to Blackwater Vets