Illustrative example. Today: Reception’s call log: [Owner], [time]. [Owner], [time]. [Owner], [time]. A sticky note: “Ring [Owner] re [Pet]?”. After the fix: “[Pet] is admitted and settled.” “[Pet]’s procedure finished at [time]. [Vet] will call you by [time].” “[Pet] can go home from [time]. Please bring [item].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
02 · Keeping customers updated
Customers keep chasing you for updates.
‘Owners ring all afternoon to find out how their pet’s procedure went.’
What It Costs You
Consent conversations and treatment plans are among the most common themes in complaints to the Veterinary Client Mediation Service, which concluded 940 mediations in 2025.
Source: VCMS
Illustrative example. Today: Treatment discussed in the chair. Fee quoted out loud: “About £[x].” Nothing signed. After the fix: “Treatment plan for [Patient]: [treatment], £[x], payable in [n] instalments. Plan and consent signed [date].” “Added: [item], £[x]. Signed [date].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
04 · Agreeing the work and the price
Customers dispute what was agreed and what it cost.
‘Patients say nobody told them what the treatment would cost.’
What It Costs You
A full refund was the most common outcome of private dental complaints in 2024 (584 cases), and complaints about costs rose noticeably.
Source: GDC Dental Complaints Service
Illustrative example. Today: A note at reception: “[Patient] unhappy with [treatment], wants to speak to someone.” Dated [date]. No reply sent. After the fix: “Open complaints: [n]. [Patient], [treatment]: acknowledged [date] by [Name], response due [date], [n] working days left. Draft ready. [Approve]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
05 · Settling complaints early
Small complaints turn into big ones.
‘A patient complains, it gets lost between reception and the dentist, and then it’s a formal case.’
What It Costs You
Private dental complaints led to £670,500 in remedies in 2024, and the Dental Complaints Service steps in when a patient has had no response within 10 working days.
Source: GDC Dental Complaints Service
Illustrative example. Today: A patient rings: “[Problem] again.” Reception books a routine check-up in [n] weeks. After the fix: “Remedial request: [Patient], [treatment] from [date]. Photo received. Booked with [Dentist] on [date].” “Check-in sent [n] weeks after treatment.”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
06 · Callbacks and aftercare
Jobs keep coming back.
‘Patients come back with a problem, and nobody connects it to the original treatment.’
What It Costs You
Perceived treatment failure was behind 82% of private dental complaint types in 2024, and 120 complaints ended in free remedial treatment.
Source: GDC Dental Complaints Service
Illustrative example. Today: The rota on a whiteboard, rebuilt every [day]. [n] calls to cover [shift]. After the fix: “Rota for week of [date] built from availability. Gap: [shift] on [day]. Free: [Name], [Name]. [Offer shift]”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
07 · Taking repeat work off the team
Your team is stretched, and you’re covering the gaps.
‘I spend every week rebuilding the rota and ringing round for cover.’
What It Costs You
What the Task Costs You
An estimate. Before we start, we count your real numbers for a week.
Illustrative example. Today: A call with [Owner] about [Pet]’s options, noted on scrap paper. Not on file. After the fix: “Call with [Owner], [date], [time]. Options discussed: [options]. Estimate £[x]. Owner chose [option]. Added to [Pet]’s record in [practice system].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
08 · Records out of paper and heads
Everything lives on paper, in spreadsheets or in one person’s head.
‘What we told the owner on the phone never makes it onto the record.’
What It Costs You
Record issues are a rising theme in complaints to the Veterinary Client Mediation Service.
Source: VCMS
Illustrative example. Today: “CMA order: need to look at this” on the practice manager’s list since [date]. After the fix: “CMA order duties: price list and service information, [status], due March 2027. Complaints process and mediation, [status], due March 2027. Written estimates and itemised bills, [status], due September 2027. Next review [date].”.
Illustrative. Your business carries your own details.
09 · Never missing a deadline
A missed deadline or registration lands you with a fine.
‘There’s a new set of rules for practices, and I don’t know what’s due when.’
What It Costs You
Vets have new duties under the CMA’s Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order of 22 September 2026, including published price lists.
Source: CMA guidance
Your Problem Isn’t Here?
The problems on this page are the ones we see most often in dental and veterinary clinics. Yours may be different, and that’s fine. Most fixes are found when an owner and someone who builds them sit down and go through how the work actually gets done. Tell us what’s costing you, and we’ll tell you straight whether we can fix it.
Read next
- The vets order: what changes, and whenWhat the Veterinary Services Market Investigation Order 2026 asks of independent practices, with every date for small and large businesses.
- When a complaint reaches the ombudsmanWhat the property, motor and dental complaint schemes decided last year, what they cost a business and the deadlines for answering a complaint.
- What a missed deadline costsThe penalties for late accounts, tax returns, VAT and payroll reports, in one place, with a ladder that shows what a late filing costs day by day.
Pick One Problem
Tell us which one. We’ll tell you whether we can fix it and how long it takes.