Can Perfect Pet insurance refuse to pay a claim after our dog was bitten by an adder at the vets? SALLY SORTS IT

In July, my dog Axel, a two-year-old giant schnauzer, was bitten by a snake while walking in the grounds of our vet’s practice, which is in the countryside.As the venom coursed through his body, he was understandably unable to settle. The vet prescribed sedatives trazodone and gabapentin as part of the treatment to keep him calm and aid recovery following the trauma.Despite this, our insurer Perfect Pet is refusing to pay for these items which came to £92 out of a total claim of £432.It deems that these drugs are for treating behavioural issues, which the policy doesn’t cover, and Axel has zero behavioural issues.G.R., Solihull. Refused: A pet insurer refused to pay the bill after a reader's dog was bitten by an adder, claiming the drugs prescribed by the vet were only for behavioural problemsSally Hamilton replies: When you complained to Perfect Pet about the exclusion of the sedatives from the payout, it stood its ground and would not pay this element.I agreed with you that the decision seemed harsh, since the vet had clearly stated your dog needed sedating following his nasty brush with what was most likely an adder, the only venomous snake in the UK.On my intervention, Perfect Pet looked at your case again and decided it would meet the sedative part of your claim after all, agreeing that the drugs were not prescribed for behavioural issues.It asked you to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which I found odd, since it agreed your claim was valid. This meant you were not free to tell me the details of its decision, though the insurer copied me into the letter it sent you confirming the payment.Separately, M.L., from Kent, contacted me over a Perfect Pet claim that didn’t go to plan for his dog Archie, a 13-year-old retired guide dog that he and his wife adopted in 2023.Archie unfortunately fell ill within 14 days of paying the policy premium. It is normal for most insurers to decline a claim for illness during this period on new policies, with the clause designed to prevent customers from buying a plan only when they notice their pet has taken ill.However, this case was unusual in that the dog had already been covered by Perfect Pet each year since October 2023. On the second renewal in October 2025, when the premium shot up, the couple decided to compare prices online. They found the same Perfect Pet policy at a cheaper price, and contacted the insurer.This call led Perfect Pet to accept Archie at the cheaper rate, and the policy started on October 29, 2025, with no gaps in cover – as far as his owners knew.Sadly, Archie fell ill just a few days later. On November 14, following a visit to the vet, he was started on a course of treatment and medication. But he went downhill and on December 10 had to be put to sleep as he had fast-growing tumours. Let Me Know Have you ever won a £1m, £100,000 or £50,000 prize in the monthly Premium Bonds draw?sally@dailymail.co.uk The total vet bill was £2,621. But the insurer refused to pay out due to the 14-day waiting period for illness claims that applies to new policies.Archie’s owners were upset because they believed the policy was continuous and that the waiting period should not apply. Perfect Pet stuck to its guns, claiming the 14-day period would have been made clear when M.L’s wife called to discuss the premiums. She does not recall this.On my intervention, the insurer agreed to review the claim, promising to offer me a full response as ‘quickly as possible’. But then things went quiet.When I chased for its response several weeks later, it simply said: ‘A response was issued on July 15 2026, which Mrs L. subsequently confirmed she was satisfied with and agreed to the outcome.’When I contacted M.L., I found that he was unable to elaborate due to signing a non-disclosure agreement. Deeply infuriating as this is for me, I can only assume M.L.’s claim has been met, at least in some form.Natwest's iffy Isa advice In early August, I contacted NatWest Bank regarding my two-year fixed rate cash Isa that will mature in November 2027, as I was considering transferring it to another provider.I wanted to know the financial penalty for leaving the fixed deal early. I was told I could not transfer a fixed-rate account before its maturity date and that my only option would be to close the account, pay the penalty and reinvest in another Isa.I said that can’t be right as I’d lose the tax-free Isa status of my funds, but I was told it was a new ruling to stop people always transferring Isas.I looked online at the Government website and saw nothing that said my request was against the rules. Can you help?G.D., Essex.Sally Hamilton replies: I found your email alarming. Being told not just by one, but two, NatWest staff that you needed to cash in your fixed-rate cash Isa to open a new fixed-rate account is misleading as it would have been financially damaging if you had taken their guidance.The first rule of transferring any Isa, whether cash or investment style, is that you never close an old account before switching. This is because the valuable tax advantages of being protected from future income and capital gains tax are immediately lost.In your case, completing a transfer form with a new provider would mean you could transfer the full sum already saved into the new Isa and protect any future interest earned from savings and income tax.This was important for you, with nearly £65,000 of savings already sheltered from tax. Had you closed the incumbent plan, you would only have been able to salt away £20,000 in a new fixed-rate Isa, which is the maximum annual allowance permitted for new deposits into an Isa.Thankfully, you didn’t act on the false information. You asked the bank’s online bot for clarification, which gave sounder advice than the humans, confirming such a seamless transaction was possible, even if early access penalty charges would apply.I contacted NatWest to express my concern about what you’d been told. On investigation it confirmed you had been given duff information. A NatWest spokesman says: ‘We sincerely apologise for the incorrect information that was provided.’To make up for the inconvenience, the bank allowed you to transfer your funds to its easy access cash Isa with no penalties, which saved you a three months’ interest penalty of £639.The bank admitted it hadfallen ‘short of the high standards of service that we set for ourselves and that our customers rightly expect’. Straight to the point In June my cousin and I went on a Tui package holiday, but our easyJet flight back to Southend airport was cancelled due to staff issues. We needed to arrange our own flight home and managed to book a £277.86 flight into Stansted. But Tui has only refunded us £224.94.G.M., via email.TUI says it called you after the flight was cancelled to discuss options. But as you said you had already arranged an alternative return flight with Jet2, it simply refunded you for the cancelled flight.*** My eldest daughter bought my youngest one, who has learning difficulties, a £30 Subway gift card for her birthday. She likes to go out for a lunchtime meal with her carers once a week. But when she tried using the card at three different Subway branches, she found they wouldn’t accept the card. We have discovered that only a percentage of Subways accept gift cards and my daughter cannot get to one that does.R.M., Nottingham.Subway apologises and says it has now refunded the balance to your daughter.*** I bought a Samsung washing machine from Currys in January 2022 with a five-year warranty, but it broke in June 2026. Instead of honouring the warranty, Samsung quoted a repair price of £399.29. That’s the same as a new machine, so I simply bought a new one and got rid of the broken one.But three days later I contacted the chief executive and the warranty was validated. I was only offered a goodwill gesture of £117.80 towards my purchase. Since then, all attempts to contact Samsung have gone unanswered.M.F., Stoke-on-Trent.Samsung apologises and says it has now offered you a refund, but refuses to confirm for how much. Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk ¿ include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given. This is Money podcast