Major retailer declines to charge £200 RSA fee
RSA created the preferred Veterinary Referral Network in January.
John Lewis has become the first pet insurance provider to say it will not charge customers a fee if they use a vet not in the Royal Sun Alliance (RSA) Preferred Referral Network.
According to campaign group Vets for Choice, while the retailer has adopted the model, it will not impose the £200 ‘fine’.
Welcoming the move, a Vets for Choice spokesperson said: “While we are still opposed to the idea of the network as an unnecessarily restrictive measure in general, John Lewis’ stance is clearly a positive step in restoring customer choice.”
“Those with John Lewis pet insurance who wish to use a vet outside of the RSA model will never be hit with unfair and unexpected penalties at the point of referral.”
RSA created the preferred Veterinary Referral Network in January ‘to enable them to continue with competitively priced products and to deliver a range of benefits to customers'.
Essentially this means that anyone with a pet insurance policy underwritten by RSA will be asked to choose from a list of 'preferred' practices should their pet need a non-emergency referral.
If customers choose a referral practice that is not in the Network, but there is a Network partner in the vicinity that could have carried out the procedure, they may be charged £200 in addition to any policy excesses.
Currently, RSA partners that may charge £200 are MoreThan, Tesco and Argos.
“John Lewis clearly does not agree with springing extra charges on their customers at the point of need and this seems to be in line with their reputation for better customer service,” said Clive Elwood, of Vets for Choice.
“MoreThan, Tesco and Argos customers should rightly ask why they are being treated differently to John Lewis customers.”
Vets for Choice is a group of leading veterinary specialists from across the UK who are calling on the RSA, Tesco, Argos and MoreThan to rethink their pet insurance policies and give full choice back to pet owners and their vets.
So far their petition has received almost 2,000 signatures.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
