Huge vet bills forcing cash-strapped pet owners to make an impossible choice

Australia Broadcast Center

21-05-2025

Michael Clayton shudders when he recalls the night he came within a whisker of losing his best friend.
It was two days before Christmas and his eight-year-old cat Frankie was in a bad way.
He had been attacked by another cat and needed his eye urgently removed or he would have to be euthanised.
The vet fee was almost $2,000 and Mr Clayton had no way to pay.
"I begged them and begged them to do a payment plan and they said 'no'," he recalled.
"My heart dropped. I did actually cry."
The vet offered him VetPay – a quick-access loan scheme many cash-strapped pet owners turn to when they cannot pay a sudden emergency vet bill.
But, with no income other than his disability pension, the 47-year-old was not eligible.
The thought of losing the companion, who had been one of the few constants in his life since he became disabled by a neurological condition four years earlier, was incomprehensible.
"That would've destroyed me," he said.
With time running out, Mr Clayton's support worker contacted crisis charity Safe Pets, Safe Families (SPSF), who had only recently become a provider of No Interest Loans (NILs) through Good Shepherd Finance.
While the scheme was not normally suitable for emergencies like Frankie's, volunteers worked with Mr Clayton's support worker to get his paperwork rushed through the day before Christmas.
After organising for one of their partner vets to perform the surgery at a discounted rate, a volunteer even travelled to the vet to get the final signatures.
"They were absolutely Godsent," Mr Clayton said.
Mr Clayton and Frankie would have had very few options without the NILs loan.
With no way to pay for the surgery, SPSF founder Jennifer Howard said Mr Clayton would likely have been reported to the RSPCA and Frankie would "have been seized and euthanased anyway".
In the past, the charity would have used its community vet fund to take care of cases like Frankie's, but allocations have been exhausted.
The fund operated on a "circular" model, where eligible clients borrowed money for vet fees and paid it back once they had the financial means to do so.
Since becoming a provider of NILs, SPSF has been able to help not just those on Centrelink, but also low-income earners.
Pet owners can borrow up to $2,000 for vet care through the scheme, with eligibility determined by income.
A single person can earn up to $70,000, while a couple can earn up to $100,000.
Ms Howard said the quick-access loan scheme VetPay which was offered to Mr Clayton could be a good "one off" option for cash-strapped pet owners, but its high fees could plunge others into significant debt.
"For our vulnerable community members who are on low incomes, [a high-interest loan] can put them in some really bad positions where they might not be paying their bills or they might not be eating properly," she said.
Despite being used by more than 1,500 vet clinics in Australia, consumer advocacy groups have voiced concern about VetPay's high fees, transparency and understanding of hardship practices.
According to its website, in addition to its 18.4 per cent interest, it charges an annual fee of $69 and a fortnightly transaction fee of $2.50.
CHOICE had previously labelled VetPay "extortionate" and said it was "profiting from people at a time when they're desperate and need to care for a beloved pet".
According to the Consumer Action Law Centre (CALC), which operates the National Debt Helpline, VetPay customers have been presenting to its frontline services after accruing significant debt and being unable to access hardship support.
CALC chief executive Stephanie Tonkin said VetPay was an "example of a company that is making money out of people's misery".
"VetPay [has] created a product targeted at a market where people are vulnerable — where they're stressed about the welfare of their beloved pet. It's a financial product that describes itself as a payment plan, but in reality, it's … a high-interest credit card with loads of fees," she said.
"It's targeting people through its connection with vets [and] its legitimacy through those connections … but there are better products out there for people to afford their vet bills."
The consumer advocacy group said VetPay marketed itself as an "affordable payment plan" but it was a credit product with "eye-watering fees and charges".
"If you go onto VetPay's website, you can see it uses words like 'empowerment' and 'responsible', it really preys on people's emotions," Ms Tonkin said.
"It looks like a trusted site that will help you in a time of need, but in fact, it's a credit card with high interest and high fees, and it's pretty unclear about what to do when you can't afford to repay."
Ms Tonkin said the regulator needed to take "a close look" at whether VetPay was being "completely open and transparent" with the information provided to customers and potential customers.
VetPay told the ABC it was committed to continuing compliance with its obligation as a licensed credit provider.
"Vetpay's payment plan enables consumers to pay for veterinary services over time," it said in a statement.
"VetPay encourages its customers experiencing financial hardship or distress to contact VetPay and seek assistance. VetPay's staff work directly with its customers to help them navigate hardship and to get back on track."
During the cost-of-living crisis, veterinarian Dr Tegan Hadley said her Adelaide clinic was seeing more and more pet owners being forced to euthanise their animals when they could not pay a vet bill.
But, loan schemes like NILs were "really valuable" in changing the outcome for people and their pets.
"No-one really likes to talk about that, but sometimes when a family is really struggling and then a big bill comes out of nowhere, we don't have any other options for our patients," she said.
"It's an awful feeling. Euthanasia is very necessary in the right circumstances … but when it's because of financial circumstances it's really hard … not just for me but for all of our staff.
Pet insurance has been criticised in the past by consumer advocacy groups for not being good value for money, but in more recent years, as the industry has become more regulated, CHOICE said insurers were making "positive changes" to policies.
However, the Consumer Action Law Centre told the ABC it still did not recognise pet insurance as a "good value product".
Safe Pets, Safe Families' Jennifer Howard said she was in "two minds" about pet insurance but noted it was still evolving.
"I'm definitely not against insurance, that's for sure. But, I guess, it's just out of reach for some people," she said.
Her charity is among those calling for vet care to be subsidised by the government, arguing it would help pet owners as well as the veterinarian industry, which experiences higher rates of poor mental health than many other professions.
The loan for Frankie the cat's surgery will likely take Mr Clayton about two years to pay back on his disability pension, but he will pay no fees or interest of any kind.
When Ms Howard delivered the good news that his NILs application had been accepted, he broke down in tears.
"Just the thought of losing his pet, he was so stressed out," Ms Howard recalled.
Months on from Frankie's brush with death, Mr Clayton said he has mostly adapted to life as a "pirate cat".
"I couldn't tell you what I'd do without him. He just means everything," he said.
"He's still here. He's still part of my life and I just love to have him next to me every night and every day."