
#2 Vet in Downham Market, Norfolk
The Crossings Veterinary Centre has been established for more than fifty years and operates from purpose-built premises opened in 2008. The website describes full medical and surgical facilities, plus digital x-ray and an in-house laboratory, and states there is 24-hour vet and nurse cover. Recent reviews are mixed: several owners describe supportive handling of difficult situations (including euthanasia and an emergency eye procedure for a cat), while a few report dissatisfaction around costs (medication pricing and parasite treatment) and customer service (including being cut off on the phone and refusal to register animals).
Google rating: 4.6 stars from 167 reviews.
Note: Showing the 5 most recent Google reviews out of 167 we track in total. Recent reviews may not be representative of overall sentiment.
2 months ago
We recently had to have our lovely cat put down and I cannot express how kind, caring and supportive all the staff were, from the first phone call to the last interaction they went above and beyond to make everything go as smoothly as possible.
2 months ago
It is with regret that I find it necessary to give a low rating and to air my experience. Our Border Collie had a scratching problem. A very close examination showed no evidence of fleas.At this point I must say that I have experience of running a rescue centre for wildlife along with my father (a well known naturalist of Guildford in Surrey) and dealing with flea ridden Hedgehogs and the like. Over 63 years. Also as an inspector in the RSPCA. We attended the Crossings Centre...the dogs back leg was rubbed and a black dot, supposedly a flea dropping, fell onto a placed white pad, just one. Advice given was to treat the dog with a course of tablets, one extra tablet to kill ticks for a period of time and verbally explaining that thousands of flea eggs would be present in our house....in the carpet, under the skirting boards, on the furniture. This would be correct IF the dog had fleas. Which it didn't. My wife was at panic stations as she will attract a biting insect at a thousand paces. NO bites to my wife's legs before our visit or after. After paying the £147:12 invoice for the 7 minutes consultation, tablets and the flea killing spray ,we drove home and wondered what had just happened?? The normal place to observe fleas is around the ears, neck and armpits. I checked again and no evidence of fleas on the dog or my wife. I'm not a vet but have had years of experience regarding flea bitten animals. Completed the course of medication and the dog is still scratching. After spending £147 I would quite honestly liked to have seen some positive results. Times are hard and us OAP's and others have to be careful with our money. I have phoned today to the centre and with a calm tone started to explain the situation....no shouting, no swearing ( unnecessary) and no rudeness. I was CUT OFF. I have done my homework and found the cause of the scratching dog. I'm not prepared to say what the cause was, but it didn't involve a FLEA.
2 months ago
Always the best pet care.
2 months ago
The Crossings is such an amazing team! Anytime I’ve needed them, they’ve been amazing. I had to take my cat for an emergency procedure on his eye and they were fabulous whilst I was an absolute wreck! Thank you so much!
5 months ago
The Crossings is such an amazing team! Anytime I’ve needed them, they’ve been amazing. I had to take my cat for an emergency procedure on his eye and they were fabulous whilst I was an absolute wreck! Thank you so much!
6 months ago
Always running late staff at desk need to tell clients such. Could have walked my pet rather than sit in waiting room for over 40 minutes. Following other reviews chose not to get Flea and worm treatment due to high prices charged
3 months ago
Always running late staff at desk need to tell clients such. Could have walked my pet rather than sit in waiting room for over 40 minutes. Following other reviews chose not to get Flea and worm treatment due to high prices charged
5 months ago
As mentioned by many other reviewers the Crossings is a very nice practice. Its modern with good facilities easy parking, its perfectly located for us being only 1/2 a mile away. They were particularly good when our beloved Mitzy (Standard Poodle) had to be put to sleep last year following colon cancer, the staff were sympathetic and helped us deal with that very sad occasion. So last week were were in with our latest Standard Poodle Minnie, we were a little concerned about her ears our groomer thought she may have had an infection. Unlike others reporting here we were allowed in for the consultation with Ian. Fortunately he found no particular problem other than a build up of wax which is quite common in poodle ears! So far so good. We left having paid their invoice of £86.97 £47.50 was for the consultation fee - although seeming a bit strong working out to an hourly rate of just under £150ph ! We didn't really have a problem with that, Ian's a good experienced practitioner and when you put your pets life in someones hands you need to be able to trust them. However we were charged £39.47 for ear cleaner Otoact 100ml - this is available on Amazon next day delivery without prescription for £12.98. I thought I would give the crossings the benefit of the doubt and called to see if this was perhaps a mistake. No. They were insisting that this overcharge of £26.49 was accurate. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS - they would probably have had a margin already at £12.98 if they bought from a vetinary wholesaler - and yes I would have expected them to add a little extra - perhaps £18.99 total, but to treble the market price is unacceptable. Too many vets are doing this now - I am not going to take Minnie back there again, and honestly I don't expect they will lose any sleep over that, but I cannot trust anyone who can so blatently rips me off like that. Shame on you guys. Surely the pets welfare has to come before the profit and if you cannot trust a vet to make a fair decision if influenced by profit then you cannot trust him with your pet!! I have just read Ians response to my post ''Our Drug mark ups are completely Fair'' he says!! Really, so everybody out there looking to use this practice just take note and realise that you can expect to pay THREE TIMES or more of the actual cost of a particular medication note this one was £12.98 on Amazon or £39.47 from the Crossings Vets. In what world does he think that is fair and reasonable??? Yes of course he advised us on what he thought was the best medication in the circumstances, but thats what we pay his consultation fee for, is it not? As for his comment that he might have had to pay more for the product than we could buy it from Amazon for - absolute rubbish. I challenge him to produce a copy of his suppliers invoice for the product - I will be pleased to offer a copy of the invoice we recieved for £39.47 and anyone can look up Otoact 100ml on Amazon, where I have to repeat it is available next day delivery for £12.98. I cannot trust anyone who is so blatantly profiteering and who even tries to defend his actions, and brush it off as acceptable. It is the sheer scale of this mark-up that is indefensible, and that they seem to think its FAIR - perhaps they should look up the meaning of the word !
6 months ago
I cannot recommend this practice enough. The most caring and knowledgeable team that deserve the utmost respect . My dogs are my family and I have trusted the whole team implicitly with every visit. I would not go anywhere else
8 months ago
Wouldn't now touch with a barge pole. Incredibly rude, wouldn't take my animals onto their books despite my being a previous customer (I'll leave the finer details out as they relate to veterinary care, this review is simply about their customer dis-service). Looking at the other 1-star reviews now, I tend to think I've dodged a bullet, even if I do have to drive to Ely to get veterinary care now. It looks like this practice has gone seriously downhill since Mr Hodge retired. Such a shame - Stephen was brilliant. I'm sure they'll say they don't recognise this interaction, as they've done with most of the other 1-star reviews, but this happened it's left a festering taste in the mouth, and if this is how they treat their sources of business, it's terrible: not just for the customer, but also the animals that now have to travel further for their care. Strongly considering reporting them to the RCVS.
