Walton Lodge Veterinary Group Reviews 29

One of the Receptionists at the Hoddesdon branch has a seriously bad attitude. Not welcoming AT ALL. She is so rude and abrupt. Never smiles, when greeting paying
Clients, just get abruptly spoken too. No name badge worn, so unable to name, as the owners seriously need to do something about it. Maybe send her on a Customer Service course, they might be able teach her some skills, like how to be more caring, considerate and compassionate when speaking to paying clients, especially in a Vets!!!!! She certainly isn't doing your business any justice with her attitude.
As for the Vet, Holly, very lovely and caring.......shame you have to speak to that certain Receptionist, puts me off calling or going in there being greeted in that manner!!!!!

EDIT 1 - 9/4/26 - Thanks for the reply. Happy to make contact so you can fully investigate, will the Receptionist fully investigate her own wrong doings, considering that's who you've asked me to contact????

EDIT 2 - 12/4/26 - Please can you give Management details, so contact can be made direct to them.

EDIT 3 - 13/4/26- 2nd time of asking but can you give management details, ie, name and email address so I can make direct contact with them rather than going through the Receptionist, who the complaint is about!!!!
As I am sure you are aware, investigations require impartiality as well as confidentiality and you are not providing this.
Please can you therefore provide Management or HR contact details. Thanks

EDIT 4 - Thank you for the quick response - within 2 minutes. I will certainly make contact via reception about the Receptionist

I went to the vets in hoddesdon and the veterinary nurse Holly Dyson took good care of my cat getting him neutralised and chipped. Very happy with the experience she is wonderful.

Wish I could rate the branches separately as it’s only bishops stortford that deserve 5 stars If it wasn’t for Brooke and Zoe and your bishops Stortford branch I would have moved vets long ago. The quality of care my pets receive and the time they take to reassure you and the welcome you get there is amazing. I have attended, Harlow, Hoddeston and ware
branches and was disappointed with the care and attitude of the staff at these branches. I don’t think this branch gets the recognition it deserves as they go above and beyond in making me feel comfortable.
Thank you Zoe and Brooke you are amazing.

It is disappointing that I even have to rate this practice 1 star.

You would think as a vetinary practice that staff would act with kindness and compassion, but instead, they act with corruption.

If you are considering using any Walton Lodge Vets then I would rethink your choice.

The staff are now refusing to release our cats ashes that have been rightfully paid for due to a separate ongoing dispute regarding their apparent made up charges. We are approaching 3 weeks since our difficult decision and until now have received numerous excuses as to why the ashes were not ready. Staff have a real lack of customer service skills in dealing with and investigating this ongoing matter.

The charges and practices employed at this business are disgusting and we have no hesitation in taking out disputes further to stop this happening to many other vulnerable people.

Avoid this practice at all costs.

Avoid this business. They not vets they scams . Who would keep pets ashes ( which was paid for )whilst sorting dispute on emails . My heart hurts that I took my pet there

Honestly couldn't rate the bishops stortford branch any lower then 5*
We have two 1year 6 month old boys and one 6 month old female they have always been the kindest and most honest people we have ever delt with I have always had pets and these vets have been the cheapest iv every been two and there pet plan is amazing. And massively helps with the costs.
Everyone from reception to the vets know our 3 little terrors.
They have all been to vets for multiple issues and general procedures.
The only time iv had issue with walton lodge was at ware branch as they systems went down and I was waiting for a call about one of them that went there for a procedure. And had to call and find out a update (not there fault) as computer system had gone down but they was all very kind and extremely helpful.

All 3 cats often get booked in together for health checks, booster vaccine, and nail clips etc

Our elderly cat became very unwell over the weekend and we took her to the Ware branch of the practice. From phone call to appt time was only 15 minutes. Unfortuanately we expected that the worse was going to happen, and indeed it did, however the kindness and time taken by Omar the vet to explain all to us, and give us options made a very difficult decision much less harrowing. He allowed us time to ask questions, make decisions, gave honest and good advise, with no pressure to make the decisions.He allowed and encouraged us to spend time saying goodbye and waiting until we were ready.
The genuine compassion taken was very much appreciated and made this experience a little less painful.
Thank you.

Avoid these vets , I had to secure funding from dogs trust and they recommended here . The receptionist decided he was. Vet and told the trust my dog was healthy with no lumps and no further visits needed , the vet said try these painkillers killers and book another appointment. Second appointment the receptionist asked me how my dog was and I politely said I don't want to discuss his health with you you give false information, he actually started yelling at me until I told him to rise his voice again. The vet did not listen during the first appointment and on the second appointment tried to tell me I didn't tell him all the symptoms. I ended up yelling at them both for incompetence and the vet gave me an email to send to . Sent the complaint in and not one person bothered to respond .

There is good reason these vets have such a poor rating and if you want your pet to be seen by professionals this is not the place to go

Charged me more than double the price quoted. It was blatant dishonesty but, sadly, everything was verbal and there was nothing I could prove in court. Obviously I wouldn't ever do business with the Walton Lodge Group again and I'd encourage everyone who believes in ethical behaviour to do likewise.

Horrendously expensive.
When I mentioned my dog was insured the bill suddenly went up from £190 to £330! For a 20 minute appointment!

Do these people not realise one does not get ALL the money refunded from the insurance company? Also, my insurance only allows a certain amount of money per ailment per year, Walton Lodge will swallow this up in a couple of visits!
I’m out of pocket by £250 and my monthly premium has gone through the roof!
Walton Lodge also wanted to charge me £190 for tablets for my dog, which could be purchased online for £48.00.

When will the government start to regulate vets? I know of a gentleman who had to have he’s dog put to sleep because he simply couldn’t afford to pay the bills.

The only light at the end of the tunnel at the Ware branch is Omar. He is very caring and his fees are reasonable.

I also attend a vets in Hampshire when I’m there and their fees are a fraction of the cost.

The vets and nurses are brilliant however the receptionist is a most unwelcoming person at the front desk and the desk area isn’t suitable due to being cluttered difficult to reach card machine. All treatment can not be faulted

Just gone to give my dog her flea treatment I picked up . And thought when opening package looked strange
Been given 4 pipettes . On closer inspection I’ve been given someone else medication for a cat

Again a long wait. We walked out after 30 mins not a single member of staff spoke to us or even smiled as they went around the place. Waste of time. Don’t mind paying for good service but not for being messed about.

My cat has diabetes. I have been injecting her with insulin for at least 3 years now. A while ago i had a feeling i was being overcharged with the syringes.
Sol-vet U-40 syringes 0.5ml 29g 1/2 inch markings...
TheVetStore online £16 for a box of 100 syringes which includes VAT and postage. Walton lodge ..£63 for exactly the same box... That is profiteering on a massive scale.

£60 to be told cat "might" have arthritis. £31 for a 0.5ml Metacam. £29 to get a prescription.
Other cat:-
Not sedated as I asked as cat is scared. Flew out of carrier all over the surgery. Nightmare situation.
Steroids and antibiotics not administered properly as vet rushed to inject the cat.
Terrible fraught situation. I don't recommend this particular branch. Used to have good vets but not now.

Walton Vets in Ware are not where you want to take your pets - no compassion - rude and money orientated - if you value your pets go somewhere who doesn't want to turn down an injured, deaf cat in the snow who we think had been run over - nasty people

I'm not sure where to start with this vets. I've been registered there for approx 13 years. My dog has never had a day ill in his life, hes now 15. He had a few seizures in a row within a few days March 22. I was told to euthanise him as told it was a brain tumour and nothing they could do. I didn't listen to their advice and he is still with us 10 months later. Epiphen was prescribed to control the fits which have worked and along with natural supplements. I wasn't told any info about this drug or given any advice. I went month after month for 6 months picking up meds without any clue it could be causing liver damage! Not once did they ask how he was or advise me he needed a check up/blood test, they just happily took £50pm without questions, I had to find out for myself by my own research. Totally irresponsible and negligent in my opinion...and the opinion of my best friend, she's a solicitor. Even after an email to head office (to which I haven't received a response yet!) I have now moved vets and they are the total opposite, very caring towards my dog, cheaper, very knowledgeable, very friendly, lots of advice, even emails of the latest blood test results and advice on what to do now. My dog is now on the mend and i'm hoping he can out live his life more comfortable and in better hands, I will never use or recommend Walton Lodge in my lifetime.
(After moving to a different they deactivated his account in less than 24 hours so the new vet couldn't retrieve any history! Only from head office)
There's so much more to write about this experience, I wish I moved sooner.

Where to begin took dog in as we believed he inhaled something out of hours vet couldn't see anything fair enough vet stated no more charges that's full amount we was like okay cool he gave us a rund down then a week later called up to check insurance (they still haven't received claim) they said we had outstanding balance of 267 couldn't really give reason why got told to call head office they don't answer what a joke

Please please don’t take your pets here I was told my beautiful dog belle had breast cancer and that they could operate she would have a 50/50 chance which I agreed to. I was handed a invoice straight away. The vet told me they would operate within 2 hours. Great I left my beautiful girl there and went home and waited for a call. When it came they hadn’t done the op as he was to busy so come back Monday. On Monday I was told come back Friday when I did different vet who said she’ll need 2 ops now because the lumps were bigger and she’ll only have 20% of survival to which I picked her up and left and took her to a different vet when I asked for my money back it took 4 weeks!! All they want is your money please please please avoid

If I could give 0 stars I would. In March 2021 we took our 11 year old spaniel here due to unexplained bleeding from her back passage. She had her anal glands expressed and we were reassured that she was fine. The next day (Tuesday) we noticed she was breathing heavily and was sucking in her chest. I phoned the vets to ask if she had been given any medication that she may be reacting to and was advised that she had not and to just keep an eye on her. On the Wednesday we made her an appointment due to continued heavy breathing and some fatigue. We were reassured that she was okay and would recover in a couple of days. She did not. On the Friday we took her back as she was wheezing, sucking in her chest, she was very fatigued and not her usual energetic self. She was examined and determined to have a mild stomach bug. We were given antibiotics and pain relief and advised that she would improve over the weekend. Monday morning came around and she was significantly worse so she was taken back to the vet who upon seeing her stated “long time no see”, at this point she was struggling to walk and she was making a gasping noise when trying to breathe. They examined her again and determined that it was possible she had internal bleeding and would need to have blood tests. The tests were taken and we were advised to take her home and wait for a phone call regarding the test results and that there would be a possibility she may need to go to Hoddesdon for an ultrasound. Approximately half an hour later I received one of the worst phone calls I have ever gotten. Her white cell count was extremely high and her red cell count extremely low, this was indicative of internal bleeding. The vet stated “we must have missed something”. I was told to take her to Hoddesdon for an ultrasound and informed that she was very unwell and might not make it. She was taken to Hoddesdon where they confirmed our worst fears. She was riddled with tumours that had burst and she was bleeding internally. We were given two options, let her go peacefully or they could open her up and try to stop the bleeding. We were told the second option would likely lead to her dying on the table. Either way we were going to lose her so we took the more peaceful option. We did not get to say goodbye as a family and she fought leaving us until her last breath.

Following her death I sent an email to the complaints department detailing this story and my belief that she had suffered from negligence at the hands of Walton Lodge Stevenage. If blood tests had been done beforehand she would not have spent days in agony. She would not have suffered the way she did and we would have been able to spend her last minutes with her family surrounding her. My complaint was acknowledged however, it was not taken seriously. I did not expect anything except some recognition that something more could have been done to lessen her suffering. Instead, I was told that we had made the decision to put her to sleep, as if there had been any other option that didn’t involve losing her. As I was not happy with the outcome of my complaint I took this to an independent mediator however Walton Lodge refused to cooperate with this.

Since losing my beautiful girl I have heard multiple stories that are similar, and worse. I will never trust Walton Lodge veterinary surgery or any of their associates ever again and I would advise everyone to stay away from them. We were offered no condolences and were simply sent the outstanding bill.

To end the review I would like to provide a segment of my complaint that I made that explains who she was. A well loved pet, a best friend, a dog who deserved better.
“I understand that you did not know her but there are many people that did, she was a loving dog who thrived on the attention of the people she loved. She was shy and took a while to warm up to people but once she loved you she did it with her entire being.”