Terms & Conditions for The Net Vet, operated by Petcare Innovation LTD
15 Th April 2024
- INTRODUCTION
a. Petcare Innovation Ltd, company number 13145496, registered address is Tower Court,
Oakdale Road, Clifton Moor, York YO30 4XL trading as The Net Vet (“Company”, “we”,
“us” or “our”) operates the website at www.thenetvet.co.uk and other related sites and
mobile applications (“Apps”) (collectively, the “Sites”) and operates The Net Vet service
(the “Service”).
b. Certain Services are free, while other Services require payment.
c. The Service is not an emergency service, it is to be used for general advice only and is
not intended to replace a physical examination by a veterinarian. If you think you need
emergency assistance, you should take your pet to the nearest emergency veterinary
practice.
d. You must not use the Service to seek medical advice for an animal that is unconscious,
not breathing or gasping for air, experiencing an allergic reaction, uncontrollably bleeding,
or showing any symptoms that require urgent veterinary attention. In a life-threatening
emergency, you must take your pet to the nearest emergency veterinary practice
immediately.
e. The information and views provided by the Pet Professionals through the Services are
those of the individual Service Provider that you are obtaining information from and not
necessarily the views of the Company, its Members, Managers, Consultants, other
veterinarians, employees, agents, advertisers or affiliates. All information obtained
directly or indirectly from the Service is provided at your own risk.
f. These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) apply to your use of the Sites and the Services,
and by accessing, registering to use or using any part of the Sites or the Service, or by
downloading the Apps, you are deemed to have accepted and agree to be bound by these
Terms in full.
g. If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms, you must leave the Sites, not register to
use the Service and not download or delete the App (as appropriate) immediately.
h. By agreeing to these Terms, you warrant and represent that you are at least the age of
majority in your country of residence.
i. We may need to revise these Terms, including the Charges in clause 2, at any time. We
will do this by updating this posting. Where you have registered an Account (as defined in
clause 8 below), we will try to notify you by email or when you next log in to your
Account. In any event, you should check the Sites from time to time to review the then
current Terms and Charges, because they are binding on you. If you do not agree to any
changes, you must leave the Sites, delete the App(s), terminate your Account (in
accordance with clause 5 below) and stop using the Service immediately.
- THE SERVICE
a. Through the sites and apps, we operate the Service, which allows you to obtain
information, guidance and/or advice from a range of animal health professionals (“Pet
Professionals”).
b. In certain circumstances the Pet Care Professionals may consider that your pet’s
problems are best addressed other than through the Service and they may suggest that you
should seek advice elsewhere, online or in person.
c. As part of the Service, you will provide us with brief written details of the issue you
would like to discuss (a “Request”), information about your pet including details of any
medical history and the contact details for Your usual vet and hereby give permission for
us to contact them to request Your pet’s medical records. You hereby acknowledge and
accept the limitations and risks of providing information relating to a pet that has not had a
physical examination.
d. You accept that we may only provide the Services in accordance with these Terms if
you provide us with all the information we need. Therefore, you must:
i. provide all information you give to us or a Pet Care Professional is accurate and in
English;
ii. seek further medical advice if you have any concerns about our Service or any
information that we provide;
iii. follow any instructions you are given by us or the Pet Care Professional;
iv. follow any instructions regarding the use of any medicines or products we or the Pet
Care Professionals recommend or prescribe (including in respect of use-by dates);
v. report any adverse or unexpected effects of treatments to us;
vi. keep any medicines we or the Pet Care Professionals give you securely and do not
allow others (especially children) to use them;
vii. tell us if any of our information about you is or becomes inaccurate or incomplete;
and
viii. use our services only for yourself and your pets;
e. We rely on an accurate record of your use of Service in order to do this. You must not
register more than once for our Service.
f. By submitting a Request, you agree to pay the associated Charge for the service
requested and any Additional Charges and confirm that you are the owner of the pet in
question or that you have the authority of the owner or other appropriate authority to use
the Service in relation to that pet and to disclose the details of that pet through the Service.
g. Your Request will be made available to the next available Pet Care Professional, who
will review the Request and confirm a consultation as soon as possible. Most consultations
are instant connections and do not require an appointment. Certain more specialised
services do require you to make an appointment in advance
h. During the consultation, the Pet Care Professional will discuss with you and assess your
pet’s needs and, if possible, provide you with information, guidance and/or advice.
j. You should never disregard medical advice received from your primary veterinarian(s)
or delay seeking advice from a veterinarian(s) because of information provided to You by
a Pet Care Professional or that is otherwise provided to you through the Sites and/or the
Services.
k. You acknowledge that if your pet needs immediate medical attention that you should
and will promptly take your pet to an emergency veterinary facility
l. You agree that no Veterinarian-Client-Patient-Relationship (“VCPR”) is established in
connection with the Site and as such, you acknowledge that it is not possible for our
veterinarians to prescribe prescription-only medicines. You agree that a VCPR can only be
established following an in-person consultation with a qualified and registered
veterinarian as dictated by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Code of Professional
Conduct.
m. You may not record, in whole or in part, any chat conversation or video call with a Pet
Professional.
- PARTNER SCHEMES
a. You may also have access to the Service through a partner organisation of The Net Vet,
such as through your pet insurance policy with your insurer (“Insurance Scheme”), or an
organisation membership benefit scheme with organisations like retailers or pet food
brands (“Membership Scheme”).
b. Where you are receiving the Services through a “Partner Scheme” provided by a
“Partner” of The Net Vet, your right to use the Service shall also be subject to and in
accordance with the rules of the Partner Scheme.
c. In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between these Terms and the rules of the
Partner Scheme these Terms shall take precedence.
- PET PROFESSIONALS
a. We screen all of our Pet Care Professionals to ensure that you get the best possible
information, guidance and advice available in the circumstances but, due to the nature of
the field in which we operate and the services we facilitate, we cannot guarantee that any
of the information, guidance or advice you may receive will achieve any specific results.
b. Our Pet Care Professionals are licensed professionals and/or members of a regulated
profession (such as registered veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses) and are bound by
laws, regulations and codes of conduct that may, in certain circumstances, prevent them
from being able to offer you specific guidance or advice or a formal diagnosis through the
consultation Service. In those circumstances, the Pet Care Professional will let you know
and will advise you on the most appropriate course of action to get the help that you and
your pet need.
c. Any information, guidance or advice provided by our Pet Care Professionals will be
based on the information that you provide to them in your Request and during the
consultation, and their observations during the consultation. Therefore, it is your
responsibility to ensure that all the information that you provide is complete and accurate,
to the best of your knowledge.
d. The information, guidance and/or advice that you receive through the consultation
Services will be based on the specific information that you provide through the
consultation Services (including in your Request). As such, it may not be applicable
generally or in relation to any other animal and you should not apply the information,
guidance or advice you receive to any animal other than the pet in question, without the
explicit confirmation from the relevant Pet Professional.
e. At the end of each consultation, you will be given the opportunity to provide a review of
the Pet Care Professional who conducted the consultation. Your review will be used for
our internal quality control purposes and we may (and you agree that we may) disclose
your review to the relevant Pet Care Professional if we consider it necessary to properly
address any issue you raise. Your review may also be disclosed publicly on our Sites or
any marketing materials and in such circumstances your first name may also be disclosed,
though not your surname.
- CHARGES, CANCELLATION AND REFUNDS
a. Consultations booked via the platform with the Pet Care Professionals will incur a
membership and or subscription charge before any consultation.
b. The fee applicable for each membership type and or subscription duration (the
“Charge”) will be clearly shown before payment is taken. If you have multiple concerns,
multiple pets or if the input of a different Pet Care Professional is advised, you may be
asked to have a separate consultation for these.
c. Payment is to be made by credit or debit card, using the details you provide in your
Account.
d. Your card will be charged when you submit your membership request, and a
consultation will only be offered if we are able to charge the card.
h. You may reschedule a booked consultation at any time before the scheduled time
without charge.
j. If you believe you are entitled to a refund, you must contact us as soon as possible in
writing (by email to membership@thenetvet.co.uk). We will then verify your entitlement
to a refund and, if appropriate, complete the refund as soon as possible. - SUBSCRIPTION
a. You’re the Net Vet subscription will continue Annually or month-to-month, until
terminated. Cancellation will not be possible for the first three (3) months of your
subscription.
b. To use The Net Vet service you must have Internet access and an appropriate device and
provide us with one or more Payment Methods. “Payment Method” means a current,
valid, accepted method of payment, as may be updated from time to time, and which may
include payment through your account with a third party. Unless you cancel your
subscription a minimum of 7 days before your monthly, or annual billing date, you
authorise us to charge your next month’s and or year’s membership fee to your Payment
Method.
c. We may offer promotional plans offered by third parties in conjunction with the
provision of their own products and services. Some membership plans may have differing
conditions and limitations, which will be disclosed at your sign-up or in other
communications made available to you.
d. The subscription fee for the Ther Net Vet membership and or subscription service and
any other charges you may incur in connection with your use of the service, will be
charged on a monthly, or annual basis to your Payment Method on the calendar day
corresponding to the commencement of the paying portion of your subscription. In some
cases, your payment date may change, for example if your Payment Method has not
successfully settled or if your paid membership began on a day not contained in a given
month.
e. To use The Net Vet service you must provide one or more Payment Methods.
f. You may update your Payment Methods by logging in to your account.
g. We may also update your Payment Methods using information provided by the payment
service providers.
h. Following any update, you authorise us to continue to charge the applicable Payment
Method.
i. You authorise us to charge any Payment Method associated to your account in case your
primary Payment Method is declined or no longer available to us for payment of your
subscription fee.
j. You remain responsible for any uncollected amounts.
k. If a payment is not successfully settled, due to expiration, insufficient funds, or
otherwise, and you do not cancel your account, we may suspend your access to the service
until we have successfully charged a valid Payment Method.
l. For some Payment Methods, the issuer may charge you certain fees, such as foreign
transaction fees or other fees relating to the processing of your Payment Method. Local tax
charges may vary depending on the Payment Method used. You must check with your
Payment Method service provider for details.
m. We may change our membership and or subscription service and the price of our
service from time to time; however, any price changes or changes to our subscription
service will apply to you no earlier than 30 days following notice to you.
n. You can cancel your The Net Vet subscription after the first three (3) months has
passed, providing us a minimum of seven (7) days’ notice. On cancellation you will
continue to have access to the service until the end of your chargeable monthly and or
anual billing period.
o. To the extent permitted by the applicable law, payments are non-refundable and we do
not provide refunds or credits for any partial-month subscription periods.
p. If you cancel your subscription, your account will automatically close at the end the
chargeable billing period.
- INSURANCE
a. You are responsible for paying all the Charges due in connection with your use of the
Service.
b. If you have pet insurance in place, you should be aware that your use of the Service and
the associated Charges may or may not be covered (in full or at all) by your pet insurance,
but you will still need to pay the Charges.
c. You must check with your pet insurance provider before using the Services if you intend
to make a claim under your pet insurance policy. - REGISTRATION, USER ACCOUNTS, DATA PROTECTION AND PRIVACY
a. In order to access certain parts of the Sites or use the Service, you must register an
account (“Account”) with us and provide certain details about you and your pet(s) (your
“Account Details”).
b. You must keep your Account Details (including, but not exclusively, your contact and
billing details) up to date and accurate at all times.
c. Each Account is for use by a single user only. You must not share your username and
password with any other person.
d. You may not use false email addresses / social media accounts, claiming to be someone
other than who you are, or attempting to mislead The Net Vet as to the origin of any
comments. You are directly responsible for any comments / reviews published and for the
accuracy of the information published. The Net Vet is not responsible and will not be
liable for any comments posted by you or any third party.
e. You are responsible for ensuring your passwords and login details are kept securely, and
therefore you will be responsible for all activity on your Account including any Charges
that are incurred.
f. You must notify us immediately if you become aware of any unauthorised use of your
password or Account.
g. We recommend that you set the following features when setting passwords:
i. They contain both uppercase and lowercase letters (for example, a-z and A-Z).
ii. Contains numbers and special characters (eg! @ # $% ^ & * () _ + =} : ”?> <)
iii. Contains at least six alphanumeric characters.
iv. There are no words in any language, jargon, dialect, etc.
v. They are not made based on personal information, last name, etc.
h. Any personal information you submit on the Sites or through the Services and all
electronic communications between you and us are governed by our Privacy Policy
i. By registering an Account with us, you agree that you are happy to receive
communications from us by email in relation to your Account or use of the Service.
j. We may communicate with you by telephone or by email (using the details you provide
to us in your Account Details), by posting notices on the Sites, or by sending you a
message through the App(s), and you agree that any such email, notice or message will be
deemed communication “in writing” for legal purposes.
k. You agree that we may pass on your Account Details and the information you provide
in any Request to our Pet Care Professionals.
l. Our Pet Care Professionals may keep notes and copies of the information that you
provide and any information, guidance or advice they give through the Services, and you
agree that they may use that information for any internal professional purposes as may be
required by law or relevant regulation (such as for supervisory purposes).
n. We record consultations conducted through the Online Consultation Service for quality
control and monitoring purposes and may keep records of the communications sent and
received through the Sites in relation to the Service. By using the Service, you agree to us
keeping such records.
o. In certain circumstances, we and/or our Pet Care Professionals may be required by law
or regulation to disclose certain information that you provide. This includes, without
limitation, in the event that there is a suspicion of animal abuse (including neglect) or any
illegal or criminal activity.
p. You hereby consent to the Company obtaining your pet’s medical records from the
person(s) you indicate as your primary veterinarian(s) and the Company providing
information to such primary veterinarian relating to your usage of the services. You
authorise copies or summaries of the medical records and images pertaining to your pets
to be released to the Company by fax, first-class mail or by e-mail. You hereby consent to
the Company’s storage of Your pet’s medical records in the Company’s system so that
they can be reviewed by Pet Care Professional(s) you speak with or distributed to
emergency or specialist referral hospitals at your request in the event that your pet might
need emergency care at a time when your primary veterinarian(s) might not available to
care for your pet.
- TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF ACCOUNTS
a. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your Account and deny you access to the
Sites and/or the Service at any time at our sole discretion and for any reason including,
without limitation, if you are in breach of these Terms.
b. If your Account is suspended or terminated by us for any reason, you must not attempt
to register another account.
c. You may terminate your Account at any time by sending an email to the address in
clause 20 below, and we will process that termination request, and close your Account as
at the end of the applicable billing period, usually within seven (7) days of receipt of your
termination request.
d. Any obligations or liabilities that have arisen or been incurred before the suspension or
termination of your Account (including, but not exclusively, your obligation to pay any
Charges incurred) must survive and remain enforceable despite such suspension or
termination.
e. After termination of your Account, we reserve the right to keep a record of the
information provided in relation to your Account and your use of the Services, in
accordance with our Privacy and Cookie Statement. - DISCLAIMERS
a. While we use reasonable endeavours to ensure that the information on the Sites is
correct, we cannot guarantee the accuracy and completeness of such information.
Therefore, we may make changes to the material on the Sites at any time without notice.
The material on the Sites may be out of date, and we cannot commit to update such
material.
b. Any assurances or guarantees that we provide in relation to the Sites or the Service are
set out in these Terms. Nothing in these Terms will affect your consumer rights. Advice
about your legal rights is available from your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau or Trading
Standards office.
c. Occasionally, information on our Platform may contain typographical errors,
inaccuracies or omissions that may be associated with service descriptions, prices,
promotions, special offers, delivery times and availability. We reserve the right to correct
these errors, inaccuracies, and omissions, as well as to change or update information or
cancel your requests if there are details in the Services or in The Net Vet partner, which
are inaccurate, at any time without prior notice (including after a request has been sent).
- MODIFICATIONS OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS
a. The Net Vet reserves the right to modify, add, terminate these Terms at any time by
posting the amended Terms in the “Terms and Conditions” section of the Platform. Users
have the obligation to permanently check the “Terms and Conditions” section to ensure
that they are aware of the update or modification of the conditions.
b. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the amendment to the Terms is immediately
applicable. If the Platform is still used, the user’s acceptance will be considered as tacitly
manifested. - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
a. The content of the The Net Vet platform: images, texts, web graphics, scripts, software,
design rights, model rights, patents, trademarks are the entire property of the platform
administrator and are protected by the Copyright and Related Rights Act and the laws on
intellectual and industrial property. The use without the consent of the platform
administrator of any of the elements listed above is punished, according to the legislation
in force.
b. The platform administrator may grant the user, by agreement, the right to use in a
described form, a certain content of the site. This agreement applies strictly to the defined
content / contents, for a period established in the agreement and only to the person (s) who
have been allowed to use these contents, without being able to use other contents of the
Platform.
c. The use on the Platform of any trademark name does not constitute an advertisement for
the respective company. The administrator of the Platform does not assume responsibility
and cannot be blamed for damages caused by using the content of the site.
d. It is strictly forbidden to post on the Platform any content, including materials,
comments, images, videos, but not limited to them, which have obscene or vulgar
language, contain illegal, threatening, abusive, indecent, racist, chauvinistic messages or
which could discriminate against any person in any way or which would violate any other
human rights and freedoms in accordance with the law in force.
e. Audio & video recording and screenshots – It is forbidden to record (including in the
form of screen recording) any piece of the The Net Vet Platform, whether it is on the
Appstore / Google Play Store or online.
f. Any breach of the Terms and Conditions will result in the termination of the Services for
you and the financial consequences.
g. Please report any copyright infringement to membership@thenetvet.co.uk
- LIABILITY – PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY
a. If we fail to comply with these Terms, we are responsible for any loss or damage that
you suffer that is a foreseeable result of our breach of the Terms or our negligence, but we
are not responsible for any loss or damage that is not foreseeable.
b. Loss or damage are foreseeable if they are an obvious consequence of our breach or if
they were contemplated by you and us at the time we entered into this contract.
c. We do not exclude or limit in any way our liability for:
i. death or personal injury caused by our negligence or the negligence of our
employees, agents or subcontractors (including our Pet Care Professionals);
ii. fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
iii. any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.
d. We shall not be liable to you for any indirect, special or consequential loss or damage,
including with limitation:
i. loss of profit;
ii. loss of goodwill;
iii. loss of business reputation;
iv. loss of savings;
v. loss of business;
vi. loss of contract.
e. We also exclude, but only as far as legally possible, all terms and warranties or promises
implied by law or by statute.
f. We assume no responsibility and cannot be held responsible:
i. on any damages caused by the improper use of the contracted services through the
The Net Vet Platform;
ii. for malfunction, viruses, damage caused by system errors, due to accessing our page
or application;
iii. for the information entered by Users and Pet Care Professionals in their profiles;
iv. for non-compliance by Users and / or Pet Care Professionals of their obligations in
accordance with these Terms and Conditions or the applicable legal provisions.
g. We will not be responsible for any failure to perform, or delay in performance, of any of
our obligations under these Terms that is caused by you or any act or event beyond our
reasonable control. In the event of any act or event beyond our reasonable control, we will
notify you as soon as possible and the time for our performance of our obligations will be
extended for the duration of the event outside our control. You may cancel your request if
an event outside our control takes place that delays our ability to provide the Services and
you no longer wish to use the Service.
- ACCESS TO THE SITES AND THE SERVICES
a. While use our reasonable endeavours to ensure that the Sites and the Service are
available, we cannot be held responsible if, for any reason, the Sites (or any of them) or
the Service are unavailable at any time or for any period.
b. Access to the Sites and/or the Service may be suspended temporarily and without notice
in the case of system failure, maintenance or repair or for reasons beyond our control.
c. The availability of the Service is dependent on the availability of a Pet Care
Professional. If no Pet Care Professional is available at that time, we will do what we can
to get the next available Pet Care Professional to contact you as soon as possible using the
details you provide, to try to set up a consultation.
- PROHIBITED USE
a. You may not resell or make any commercial use of the Sites or the Service or any
information provided on or through the Sites or the Services without our prior written
consent.
b. You may not use the Service to contact our Pet Care Professionals for any reason other
than to seek information and guidance for your pet in accordance with these Terms.
c. In addition to other prohibitions set out in these Terms, you are prohibited from using
the Sites, the Service or any information or content provided on or through the Sites or the
Service for any or in any way
d. You are not authorised to use the The Net Vet Platform or its content for the following:
i. any illegal action;
ii. to ask other persons to initiate or participate in illegal actions;
iii. violate international, federal, local laws, rules, general laws or other local
ordinances;
iv. violate or disregard our intellectual property rights or those of others;
v. harass, abuse, insult, hurt, defame, slander, denigrate, intimidate or discriminate on
the basis of sex, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, race, age, nationality or
disability;
vi. to publish false information or to intentionally mislead by information;
vii. to publish or transmit computer viruses or any type of malicious code that could
affect the functionalities or operations of the Platform or of the partner sites;
viii. to collect or monitor the personal information of others;
ix. to deceive, to act in a virtual crime using various internationally prohibited
methods;
x. for any obscene or immoral purposes;
xi. to attack the security systems of the Platform or of the partner sites
e. You must comply with our Acceptable Use Policy
- COMPUTER OFFENCES
a. If you do anything which is a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (such
as for example introducing viruses, worms, Trojans and other technologically harmful or
damaging material) your right to use the site will end immediately, we will report you to the
relevant authorities and provide them with details of your identity.
b. You must not try to obtain access to our server or any connected database or make any
‘attack’ on the site. - LICENCES
a. We are the owner or licensee of all intellectual property rights in the site including any
databases that hold relevant information about the site. You may only use any such
material and the documents in line with these Terms and Conditions and this paragraph
specifically. If you do not use the materials in line with these Terms and this paragraph
specifically, you lose your right to use our site, and must destroy or return any copies of
documents you have made of it or any part of it. We reserve all our rights conferred to us
by law to remedy any such breach.
b. Provided that you comply with these Terms, we grant you a limited non-exclusive, non-
transferable license to access the Sites, to use the Service and to download and install a
copy of the App on any compatible device that you own or control and to run such copy of
the App for your own personal use in accordance with these Terms. - THIRD PARTY LINKS
a. Certain content, products and services available on the Sites and through the Service
may include materials from third-parties.
b. Third-party links on the Sites may direct you to third-party websites that are not
affiliated with us. We are not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or
accuracy and we do not warrant and will not have any liability or responsibility for any
third-party materials or websites, or for any other materials, products, or services of third-
parties.
c. We are not liable for any harm or damages related to the purchase or use of goods,
services, resources, content, or any other transactions made in connection with any third-
party websites. Please review carefully the third-party’s policies and practices and make
sure you understand them before you engage in any transaction. You must direct
complaints, claims, concerns, or questions regarding third-party to the third-party.
- OTHER IMPORTANT TERMS
a. Each of the paragraphs of these Terms operates separately. If any court or relevant
authority decides that any of them are unlawful, the remaining paragraphs will remain in
full force and effect.
b. The Terms govern the relationship between you and The Net Vet and are not
enforceable by any other person. The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 will not
apply to these Terms.
c. Neither party’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms will
be deemed a waiver of such right or provision.
d. These Terms (and your use of the Sites and the Service) must be governed and
interpreted in accordance with the law of England and Wales. The parties agree to submit
any disputes arising out of or in connection these Terms and from your use of the Sites and
the Service to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales. - CONTACT
a. If you have any questions or complaints about the Services or about these Terms, please
send us a message by email to membership@thenetvet.co.uk