Banfield Pet Hospital review: billing practices 7

Enrolled in Wellness Plan in June of 2015, Banfield called me in Aug of 2015 for my dogs free dental cleaning.
Took her in on Sat morning, 2hrs later Banfield called me and asked if it was OK to transfer my dog to Greer, SC location because they made a mistake that Dr Nifong would be at that location today. I said that fine, just call me a little earlier because I'm about an hour away from Greer. At 5 that afternoon I get the call, and go to get my dog. I get there, and she had been sedated, was not told of that, and had to pay about $90.00 for that. My dog is 12 years old, her teeth were fine, and I told them not to ever do that again. Amy, my dog, could not eat for over a week, lost 20lbs, and began to fall all the time. Took her back to Banfield the first of May of 2016 because of her constantly falling down. I thought she probably had some kind of cancer. Dr Nifong told me her Wellness Plan expired this month, would I like to re-up the plan. I said no, I will pay for blood tests and X-rays out of my pocket, cause if she has cancer, all I can do it keep her comfy until I have to put her to sleep. Dr. Nifong said X-rays are showing arthritis but told me not once, not twice, but three times her blood work looked Great.! She said she went ahead and did her vaccinations cause they were due in a few weeks, and if I re-up Wellness Plan it will save me hundreds of dollars. I said OK after 3 times I was told her blood work was great. 2days later I get a call from Dr Nifong that Amy blood test are showing she has cancer, it upset the hell out of me, I had paid them $144 dollars 2 days before, they took out $40 and change the next day out of my account, and I specifically said I would not enroll if she had cancer! Dr Nifong asked me if I can bring her in the next Saturday and she would do an ultra sound, they are expensive, but with your plan I will do it for $50. I said OK, take her in, 2hrs later Dr Nifong calls and says the new X-rays are showing a mass in her chest area. I said you told me you were gonna do an ultra sound this time, and she said oh no, that would cost you about $500, at that point, I told Dr Nifong not to touch my dog, and I'm coming to get her. I told them, I was suckered into re-upping in the Wellness Plan, which going over the numbers the past year is nothing but a rip off. Banfield gave me the cancellation number, bare in mind, had only been re-upped for 4 days do to Banfield telling me 3 times her blood work was great, then taking out the automatic withdraw out of my checking the next day, then the day after that, calling and telling me she has cancer. Banfield is still taking $40 a month out of my checking, despite the fact that I put a stop payment at my bank, and despite the fact they lied to me about her blood work just to get another year of payments for killing my dog ! This company cares nothing about the wellness of pets, they are money only, and I fully want to be a part of a class action lawsuit. Cliff Egan

Thank you for posting instruction. I was completely defrauded by this company banfield. I cancelled my contract and they auto renewed it and sent me to collections which RUINED my perfect credit. I will pursue with all legal action. I just found about this today. No one should have to go through this. I didnt even use their service...I paid for over one year. I will make sure that I will put banfield and the franchise owner of the local banfield through hell... Banfield needs to be banned. Their own name states that they are a fraud. Ban Banfield for good.

Bansfield is very underhanded. You call and get a price quote, then they tack on all sorts of “extra fees” including “medical disposal.” I took a feral cat in for spaying and the bill with all “services and fees” was over $650. When I called they quoted $350. I feel totally ripped off and now they are even telling me that I will have to pay an additional fee, on top of the $650+ to get the spaying staples removed. Unbelievable. I will never go back to Bansfield and will definitely tell anyone I know with pets not to go.

The only response that I keep getting from Banfield is "all charges were approved before being charged therefore no refund will be given" This makes me really upset, what else can I do. I have filed a BBB complaint and wrote to the CEO of Petsmart as well as Banfield. I am not given up but what else is there to do?

Thank you for this infomation you better belive that I am going to do all of the following that you said above and I have already put in a complaint with the BBB. Thanks so much for the infomation you gave!

THANK YOU FOR THIS. I HAVE A MAJOR COMPLAINT AGAINST BANFIELD AND THIS WEBSITE GAVE ME SPECIFIC STEPS TO TAKE IN ORDER TO TO A FORMAL COMPLAINT. THANK YOU!

As a consumer dispute resolution counselor, here’s what I advise with regard to Banfield if you want to get resolution and possibly compensation for your Banfield billing and animal care experiences:

1. Join in on one of the THREE class action lawsuits that are being considered or in preparation against Banfield Pet Hospitals by going to the law firms’ websites and listing your complaints. Definition of a class action can be found at: http://www.claiminformation.com/classactions.htm The more people that sign-up, the greater the resolution and possibility that you’ll be compensated for your emotional distress down the road. The law firms are as follows:

http://www.schneiderwallace.com/PracticeAreas/ClassActions.htm
Once there clink on "Inquire About Your Potential Case" and fill out the online form giving specific details of your problems regarding Banfield. Please, make sure that you include either your phone number or send them an email on the link within the "Inquire" link.

http://www.price-law.com/CM/FSDP/PracticeCenter/Personal-Injury/Class-Actions.asp
Complete the online form outlining your experiences.

http://www.barronberry.com/CM/Custom/Contact.asp
Complete the online form outlining your experiences.

Please, make sure that you share your experiences regarding billing issues, pet care (or lack therefore of), names of staff, location of hospitals and if you've ever written to the corporate offices and if so, what was the response if any. Remember, the more people that join the class action lawsuits, the greater the chances of resolution and restitution (financial compensation for your losses and emotional distress).

2. Go to www.ftc.gov (Federal Trade Commission) and file a very quick online complaint. Make sure that you give any contract numbers, names of staff, address of the hospital that you used, leave out unnecessary details and get to the point (short and sweet) and name the CEO as the contact person: Dr. Scott Campbell, CEO, Banfield, The Pet Hospital, 8000 NE Tillamook
Portland, OR 97213. [protected] Fax [protected] email: scott.campbell@banfield.net The FTC will issue fines if they receive enough complaints.

3. Google your state’s Governor’s Office or Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Affairs and file a complaint. Most will allow you to do this online. It’s quick and easy just include specific names, addresses, dates, details of problems (short and to the point) contract numbers, if any, and your contact information. Consumer Affairs will issue fines if they receive enough complaints.

4. Contact the American Association of Veterinary State Boards by calling [protected] or http://www.aavsb.org/ContactUs/ContactUs.aspx and ask them for the website, phone number and/or address for the regulatory board for your state, then file a complaint against Banfield’s license in that state.

5. Write directly to the CEO of Banfield (or at least print and copy all of your complaints to all of the agencies above and mail a copy to: Dr. Scott Campbell, CEO, Banfield, The Pet Hospital, 8000 NE Tillamook Portland, OR 97213 Phone [protected] Fax [protected] email: scott.campbell@banfield.net VP of Operations direct line [protected] fax [protected].

6. Post these instructions on every complaint forum and website mentioning Banfield that you can find on Google.

7. Remember there’s strength in numbers. If you’re not going to take the time to file a complaint then don’t take the time to post a complaint. Change only comes through efforts to make change.

8. Contact the CEO of PetSmart and let them know that you’ll NOT shop PetSmart until they kick Banfield to the curb. They are separate companies but who would want to support a store that allows another business to operate using such bad business practices while being inside their stores? Contact: Philip L. Francis, CEO, PetSmart, Inc., 19601 N. 27th Ave, Phoenix AZ 85027, phone [protected].