Banfield Pet Hospital
reviews and complaints

Complaint Description:
My dog was sick, I told the Vet on Monday the 16th of July that my dog was vomiting for 3 days, the vet at Banfield ordered bloodwork and xrays, along with IV's / meds which totalled nearly $1100.00 in regular fee's, then sent me home with meds never telling me to bring Lucy back if the symptoms continue, I was just told to bring her back on Sunday. On Thursday I had to bring her back in as she was severly dehydrated, the vet again ordered more of the same, blood work, and xrays, along with IV's and fluids, I declined the Xrays as I told him we just had an xray done 3 days ago and the professional 3rd party examiner found nothing, my dog hasn't eaten since this time so what is the point of the xray, it was just another $220 in charges toward in fee's for nothing. So on Thursday I had a new bill for $315.00 in regualar fee's for bloodwork, office visits, and meds ad I was still no closer to knowing what was wrong with my dog! I was told to bring her back for more of the same on Friday however my gut instinct told me to start over with a new vet, even though I had the Wellness plan that my wife entered us into for 1 year worth of premiums that offers discounts at Banfield. Once I told the new vet at Aloma Jancy what I had been through and the amount of time that had passed where my dog was vomiting he cleared the scheduele and did an emergency exploratory surgery where he found a complete blockage due to a perforated intestine and lesions growing inside the intestine. Lucy died the next day, she was too weak and had too many days of toxic bacteria exiting her intestines into her cavity. The vet at Aloma Jancy asked why didn't Banfield order "Barium" It would have shown the blockage on the xray. I feel the reason they didn't order Barium is due to profits, if Banfield orders Barium and an xray on Monday, they can't bill me out for multiple days worth of xrays, bloodwork, hospital stays, and other fees/meds for more visits.in order to maxamize their profits from my case they need to keep ordering inhouse xrays and blood work and drag the case out al long as possible, then finish the case with Barium, or a Sonograph and a exploratory. If they ordered the Barium or a sonogram or a endoscopy on Monday the blockage would have shown up and the only thing left to bill for would be a exploratory. I feel Banfields corporate attitude is to make as much as possible from each case and to do that isn't in the pets best interest. When I asked Banfield Oviedo why they didn't order Barium they had no answer. Both Aloma Jancy Animal Hospital and Shaffer Animal hospital said the Barium is always done on the 1st day when a case like mine comes in. I have read Banfields online reviews and I'm not alone in my feelings of their care.

Healthy to Dead this was my best friend I am a disabled person and he was my company. I received a call from your store in New Port Richey FL 6/28/2012 I ask what for the stated that he needed shot and they said he had mucus in his fecal.

They gave him all the test and so on plus I was charged 50.84 said he needed the pills to clear him up and some vitamin pills one a day and I did not start him on the pill until the 29th June 2012 he was great prior to these pills I only gave him one of each and as days past on the 10th he started vomiting and he would be alright but I could see him slowing down big time I said well the Vet must know what they are talking about. I brought him back to the store Banfield pet hospital and I have all the invoices to back myself up and blood test and so on.

I brought a perfect 3-1/3 year old dog to I competent kids who are interested in money not the dogs well being at all. I have put a call into the Corp Office which they said they would get back to me in a few days I am in Pasco county Fl and I will take them to small claims for the full amount that they will let me sue for teach them ti hire people with brains Oh this is in trinity FL store located next to target

We ended up letting our dog be put out of her misery, and believe Banfield did not provide the care that could of helped her, at the very least, not to go through all that she had to. It seems as if money is their primary concern. I tried to deal with them, even through a collection agency and could not do it. Now we face a problem with our credit.
At one time, I was very pleased with Banfield. I even recommended them to others, but things changed. Banfield did not respond to that when I told them. Because of all of this, is why I feel that money, not the care and service, is their main concern.

Took my dob Nate in to have eye suregery and to be fixed @ 0700am. I called around 11am and they had still not worked on him. I explained to him he has had no food or water so please. They said he was soon. I cld around 1:30pm and they said the same thing and that he was next in line. So I called around 4:30pm and he still had not had surgery. I was irate, they did not feed or give him any water all day. They finally took him in for surgery around 5pm they say. When I got there to pick him up he was still in surgery. I had to wait until almost 9pm before I could leave with him. They kept pushing me aside and the office staff was beyond rude. I just wanted my dog to be ok. I took him home and was up all night he was in so much pain. my concern was rushing through eye surgery.
Sure enough the next day his stiches shifted they had to remove them and told me to bring him back in a few weeks to do the surgery again. Thank God there was scar tissue which has kept his cherry eyes in place no surgery. Needless to say I am waiting for my money back which has now offifically been a month since they agreed to refund. The Dr I have is great but the Dr who operated (suppose to be the chief of staff was the worst) I will be cancelling my wellness program as soon as I am refunded for the surgery.

I have my pet on atopica, a strong treatment for allergies. I had stopped my auto ship on petpharmacy.com to try to ween my dog off the medication, since the side effects were starting to show. I had recently reordered a shipment on 5/28 from the website. No one had contacted to me let me know there was a problem with the order address and name matching to our wellness plan. Almost 2 weeks, 9 phone calls (2 returned), and 3 people later, they said they have faxed the script to the pharmacy. The pharmacy cannot verify this information because they are already closed. If this had been dealt with 10 days ago when the order came in, I wouldn't be in this situation. I understand they are over worked and have little to no training, but as the consumer that is not my problem. Although all the girls were nice I spoke with, only one of them semi followed through with contacting me and the vet. They had misinformation and a problem with their computer system, which again, is not my problem. If they had called to clarify the information in the first place, I would not be without my dog's medication for this long. This is not our first issue with Banfield, but it will be our last. Every time we go in, they have different ideas of what is wrong or not wrong with one of our dogs. I have been mislead and they have tried to sell me many tests they admitted my dogs did not need. I also understand this is a business, but there is a difference between good care and being sleezy about it.

If you love your pet and want the ashes back, do not do it at Banfield. I was suppose to get mine back after 4 to 5 days. We called after the first week passed. The second week my husband went there and they actually gave him the number of Fond Memories to call while our Cookie was still there at Banfield. The third week Fond memories said that they had been called 2 weeks AFTER we had her put to sleep and had already returned her. She had been back at Banfiled for 4 days and they still had not called us to even pick her up. We had to track all of this. If you love your pet, take her some where that gives a #! This tripled the pain.

I took my dog to banfield pet hospital. in weatherford, texaas. My dog was said to have flees which we
found one. They gave him a steriod shot and a pill and 3 days latter my dog was dead. I would never, never take a dog to the banfield clinic, these are the ones that they have in Pet Smart and shame on
pet smart for allowing a clinic to run that can't even give the right information. OH AND THEY CAN'T GIVE YOU YOUR MONEY BACK BECASUE A SERVICE WAS PREFORMED. My dog was a service dog.l we were here from out of town, which is why we ended up there. I just want to give you all a heads
up and want your dog to livel. The vet didn't even have the balls to call he had some assistance do it.
I hope they had a great dinner on my now dead dog.

On May 8th, I took my cat in for a dental and since he was going to be sedated I requested a bath and his backend to be shaved cause he is a long-haired cat. I often shave his backend myself cause after 14 years he is quite used to it. I am pissed because I was not informed by the receptionist that banfield pet hospital would consider the two grooming procedures separate charges. I was charged $43.00 for my cat's butt hair to be trimmed. I suppose in all honesty it is somewhat my fault:. Afterall, during his last yearly visit I asked if one of the Tech's could shave his butt and she ran the clipper straight over his anal cutting him. I contacted Banfield's corporate office on May 10th to discuss the $43.00 charge and was told the issue would be resolved in 5 days. As of today's date, May 22, 2012 the issue has not been resolved!. This butt hair clipping left my cat's butt red and inflamed for days and he was also having severe runny bowel movements. How can I cut my cat's butt hair for thirteen years and not once have I ever cut him, nor has he ever had an infection because of it? In my opinion, I should not have been charged an additional $43.00 (which they stated on my bill as a medical procedure) and all monies should be returned rightfully back to me.

Took my 6 year old dog, Rocky, in for what I diagnosed myself from online information as "Mange". Called prior to going in to see what office visit and testing for Mange would cost. Was told 40.00 for visit and 38.00 for scraping. Found out in the end that there is another 38.00 charge to LOOK at the scrapings! Vet comes back to tell me that sure enough, Rocky has Mange and that he will need an RX for it. By the time she has given me all the information on what he needs, my estimate was between $600-900.00! Told me that before they could give the RX he needed to have his liver tested to see if he would handle the RX. Also said that some breeds can go into a coma from the RX so he needs a DNA testing that takes 3 weeks to run. In the meantime, they can do a dip with a special shampoo twice a week until it is found out if he can take the RX. The vet gave a paper saying that Collies are the most affected by the RX. My dog is a german shepard/lab mix...not a collie! Said this is way above the price I was expecting. Vet goes on to tell me that basically by not allowing her to run these DNA tests would I do the same to my parents if they were in the hospital? Basically I am having them not sign a DNR by me not doing the tests! By the time we were done, she knew I wasn't falling for anything she was saying. I asked if she would fax her information to my regular vet and I would take it up with them on a 2nd opinion. She informed me that she has "regular" appointments there and would would now have to work until 10 pm to do mine. Said my information would be faxed over that night. Called my vet at 9 AM the following day...nothing faxed over. Told my vet about everything that took place and the charges they were trying to charge me. Told me to bring my dog in...walked out 10 minutes later with an RX for 87.00. No testing, no nothing. I paid almost $140.00 the night before just to be told he had mange! Called and filed a formal complaint today. Was told somebody will call me back within 3-5 days. Will never take my animals there again. After reading the complaints, I see many other people have had this same issue. They aren't there for the animals...they are there to get more $$$$ to pay their rent!

My best friend has has a wellness plan with banfield for years. When he had to take his cat (Charlie) in for a medical emergency (We found out he had an grossly enlarged heart) an had no chance for survival he was "put to sleep" (The dr. By the way was awesome!) when we left the facility we were presented with no paperwork what so ever, and then called 3 days later and told the the bill was $282.00. When we went back to the facility we were told the we had a week to pay at lest 1/2 the bill or it was going to be sent to collections. We have yet to see an itemized bill or any copy of the paperwork that was signed for charlie's emergency care.

This is the letter I am sending in to Banfield today, after getting the correct dates/info.in the missing spots. Reading all of the other negative reviews makes me so angry... Please everyone, if you have had a negative experience with Banfield take the extra step in writing them a letter of dispute or contacting a lawyer to bring them to court. That is the only way this disgusting business will be shut down, and stop hurting our animals and our bank accounts.
_
Banfield Pet Hospital Corporate Office:
I am writing this letter to dispute charges I have been billed for services to my dog Mickey on _. My boyfriend and I have been repeatedly let down by your company since beginning Mickey’s puppy Wellness Plan in _. We signed up for the Wellness Plan initially so that her puppy shots and spaying would be cheaper, as we are both public educators and figured we could not afford a regular veterinarian. We were very mistaken; and would never have gone to your company had we known what was in store for us, or had looked at some of the thousands of negative reviews of Banfield Pet Hospital on the internet.
Right away we noticed a lack of personal care being given to either us or our puppy. The nurses were unfriendly and blunt with us. Mickey was repeatedly called a “boy, ” or “he, ” when she is obviously a female dog, which tells us how unprofessional and uncaring the staff at Banfield is. Upon our second visit, we were told by Dr. Gene Pavlovsky that Mickey would need six or seven teeth pulled, which would cost us over $100.00 per tooth. When we debated the necessity of the procedure, astonished that any knowledgeable veterinarian would suggest that sort of operation on a puppy younger than 6 months, Dr. Pavlovsky made us feel like we would be neglecting our puppy if we refused the procedure. We stood our ground, and even asked around at multiple vets if that was needed for Mickey. The response was the same across the board: most vets laughed and said it was completely ridiculous to even suggest she have her teeth pulled out at such a young age, and that the prices were incredibly inflated to a laughable degree. They also warned us about business such as yours, how these corporate businesses are mostly out to make more money off of us. We should have taken heed then and there.
The “Wellness” Plan we were offered and unfortunately accepted was a huge hoax. Each appointment we brought Mickey to we were greeted by an unenthusiastic nurse followed by an impersonal doctor who would rattle off the day’s procedure, take our dog to the back room, and bring her out terrified and shaking and then charge us up to $150.00 for whatever it was they just did to our dog. Your Wellness Plan is a money-making sham, flat and simple, and has disappointed thousands of your customers according the many reviews I have read thoroughly online, and will soon be adding my story to.
Our worst experience happened during the last visit we had to Banfield, on _. We knew we were nearing the end of Mickey’s puppy plan, and wanted to cancel it as soon as possible to avoid being automatically upgraded and charged for the next month. Never did it occur to us that instead of being charged an extra month, it was a “convenient 12-month bundle” that we would be responsible for instead. We had initially had her last appointment made for before her puppy plan ended, so that we could cancel it then and there, on the spot. On the day our appointment was scheduled, Banfield called to reschedule her for a couple weeks later — conveniently scheduled after her initial puppy Wellness Plan had ended, and was automatically upgraded to the Adult Plan we had clearly, and multiple times, expressed we did not want.
When we showed up for the appointment, I made sure to ask the woman behind the desk about cancelling our Plan. Apparently, each branch is incapable of handling their Plan cancellations themselves, so your business actually needs a “Cancellation Crew, ” reachable by an 800 number. She informed us of this, gave us the number, and we continued with the appointment, keeping in mind to call the number as soon as we got home.
Since both my boyfriend and I worked that day, we were told Mickey’s _vaccines_ would take a couple hours, and that if we dropped her off before work in the morning, she would be ready to pick up around lunch time. When we called on our lunch break, we were informed Mickey wouldn’t be ready until the afternoon. After work we called again, and were told she was still not ready and we could come by later to see. Around 6pm that evening, we went to Banfield and waited for Mickey. We waited for nearly an hour there in the lobby. We were told it took so long because the doctor had other procedures to work on. That is a ridiculous excuse that only tells us that our baby was sitting in a crate, being undeniably neglected for almost 11 hours straight, so that the doctor could give her a couple of shots.
When she was finally brought out, she was shaking and terrified. Mickey is a big, strong, lovable dog, and we have never seen her more distraught and torn down than we did that evening. When we brought her home, she ran straight to her dog bowl and gobbled down all of her food, which she has never done before. This is a clear sign to us that she was neglected during her stay with Banfield. Looking through others reviews, I see this is not an uncommon occurrence. This is incredibly bad business for Banfield Pet Hospital, and I am astonished and disgusted that you have managed to stay in business as long as you have.
The next day we were sure to call the “Client Advocate Team” right away. My boyfriend was on hold for 45 minutes before an incompetent young woman finally answered his call. At this point, after hearing through your recording for forty-five minutes how much “Banfield cares for you and your pet” and “a member of the Banfield Client Advocate Team will be with us right away, ” we were pretty fired up. The girl on the other line could do absolutely nothing for us except tell us that she “was sorry” and “she understands.” My boyfriend explained to her all the issues we had and that we needed to cancel our plan right away. She informed us that she was only a “liason” and that a representative of Banfield would call us within 3-5 business days to let us know if our plan would be cancelled or not. This entire call took a total of an hour and a half.
Dr. Pavlovsky called us later that day to try to clear up some of the disappointments that he and his coworkers have caused for us time after time. He tried to justify his actions and apologize for being impersonal to us and our dog. We were far from impressed, and felt he was simply trying to smooth things over for himself and his office. He told us that he could not personally cancel our Plan, but it would be up to the corporate office. Within a few days, I did get a call from a representative telling me that our Plan was cancelled. I breathed a sigh of relief, and we moved on with our lives.
We left town for a week to go on vacation, and upon our return there were multiple letters in the mail telling us we owed _$_ for Mickey’s Wellness Plan. We immediately called the incredibly inconvenient Client Advocate Team again, and were pained to have to deal with the same incompetent young woman yet again, after 30 minutes of being on hold. She couldn’t explain a single thing to us, and we were eventually transferred to the Cancellation Team, which still baffles me that Banfield needs to have a team to deal with cancellations in the first place. That’s not a good sign. After being on hold for another 30 minutes, we spoke with a young man who could actually string together an entire sentence. He looked up our information and informed me that our Plan was “cancelled, ” but that since we accepted services on _, (the last unpleasant and unacceptable appointment we took Mickey to, that was rescheduled for a later date by Banfield, not us.) what they had cancelled, apparently, was not going into action for another 11 months. We are now required to pay for another entire year. We will not be paying this money.
In conclusion, time and time again we have been let down by Banfield Pet Hospital since we first went on _. The last thing we are going to do is pay for another year of this abhorrent service with your dispassionate and cold-blooded employees. We will not give up, like some of your hundreds of unsatisfied customers may have. We are more than prepared to fight this in court with a lawyer if it comes to that. Your days of scamming unaware customers who simply adore their pets and would do anything for them must come to an end. This is a shameful practice and I will be sure everyone I know hears our story from Banfield Pet Hospital so that it will not happen to them, too.

All of the things listed above are true 100%. I worked for Banfield for 4 1/2 years and was recently let go for non-compliance of protocols. When I asked which protocol's they could not describe to me the issues. Being that I am in a at will state they can fire me for any reason and I cannot file a claim for wrongful termination. I remember prior to Banfield being bought by Mars the candy company it was all about the quality of pets and helping an owner... that has since long gone away. Banfield prides themselves with the wellness plans... well I hate to break it to you guys but your not saving anything... actually you are paying near to the same amount as any other person would pay and here is why... Banfield knows that almost 60% of animal presented at year 1 will bring between 300-500 cost of diagnostics due to patients being ill. Most of the time the diagnostics are so out of control that owners have to decided to eat or save their animal. Recently we began holding business reviews where the office managers and Director Of Petnursing's would need to make higher and higher goals... every six months they increased. Each year you are presented with a revenue goal to make and last year it was increased 35%... which means more and more pressure. They put so much pressure on people I watched good people clock out and continue to work for fear of overtime. Constant reminders of APC (Average pet charge) and Wellness plan revenue was all you heard. There is no good job for saving 98 animals this week... it's what can you do to get more clients through the door. Karen Johnson the RVP of Banfield is right... when she started it was all about the highest quality of care but this has changed drastically. For example I was forced to transfer from the a Texas location because I brought light to a serious situation with one of the partner doctors who was verbally, emotionally and every once in awhile physically abusive toward his employee's. This wasn't the first time someone had addressed his verbal degrading comments and throwing things at the ceiling or on the floor but you know what they did... hmmm guess?

They told him not to do it again and reprimanded me saying I elaborated on the story even though I had 13 written statements from all the employee's listing in detail everything he did. We even brought to their attention that this doctor was performing 5 minute dental prophylaxis which I am not sure if you are familiar with this but it is a dental cleaning. We charge an owner 189.95 for a dental that is done by a pet nurse who has NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE DOING. I was lucky to have a doctor who refused to let me perform one until I took continued education. I watched so many innocent dogs suffer and felt so trapped because I didn't know where else to go. Recently I started to complain about the product FirstShield and how numerous patients are having reactions or worse. I was told that it was user error... lies lies lies! They constantly stress the importance of more more more money, less para hours and less cost of goods.

Another serious thing you should always be concerned about it medical documentation. I cannot tell you how many incompetent pet nurses are working on your pets everyday and in-accurately document medical findings because some doctors are too lazy to do their medical notes. While others deliberately lie on medical notes to avoid the obvious truth that they were soley responsible for a pets death. I am so glad a doctor finally stood up for what is right... Corporate is corrupt and has been for quite sometime. Innocent mistakes are taken way out of hand with the para-professional's because they know they can find someone else to do your job 5.00 cheaper than before. The continually lie to the associates causing poor morale which directly is put on your pet. I once watched a pet nurse who was being yelled at for an unjust reason throw a small Yorkshire Terrier in the kennel and run into the back treatment room to cry...

HELLO OWNERS WAKE UP... YOU SHOULD REPORT ALL OF THESE DOCTORS TO THE STATE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS ASAP. I spoke out and is cost me my career, however it is very true that not all Banfield doctors are bad but are sucked into Banfield.

For example the most amazing doctor's I have ever met sit miserable to this day in that West Plano location because they are in so much debt from school they have no choice but to take it. This is how Banfield seals them in... they even send the Field Director's every year to select schools to try and convince them prior to them searching elsewhere. Doctors are forced... and god I mean FORCED to do what is call diagnostic protocols which are sometimes not needed... and you know what happens if you decline even one thing as an owner... they tell you to go somewhere else... what ever happened to a heart... sometimes people need help. I remember a doctor once saying to me if they don't do it all then they don't do anything. The owner came back the next week after scrapping for the money for the 356.00 of testing only to find that the pet had a normal parasite called roundworms. Yes maybe a complete blood cell count and a intestinal parasite examination was call for but a full super/chem/cbc/parvo/giardia/fecal? Why can't the owner take it in steps... test for the most deadly... i.e. parvo/giardia and go from there... sometimes it is a simple fix.

* Although I am a hurt, over-worked, underpaid, and abused ex-team member of Banfield please also understand that sometimes it is very difficult to find a diagnosis with a simple cbc. Sometimes it will take all those diagnostics to get to the bottom of a potentially serious disease or illness. And again, some Banfield doctors are AMAZING... you just have to find them - you should always request a meet and greet with the doctor before doing ANYTHING! Also if you want to make sure you are hearing the right thing... seek a second opinion. Banfield doctors do not advertise this but if you are in anyway unsatisfied with that doctors opinion you have the right... YES THE RIGHT... to seek a second opinion for FREE... Ask a associate for patient rights brochure asap.

Yes please vaccinate your animal and that means Distemper/Parvo/Bordetella and rabies (lepto in known areas), have dental prophylaxis's performed as soon as you see signs of periodontal disease and for goodness sakes please keep your pets on flea and heartworm prevention. Remember heartworm prevention isn't 100% so have your pet tested once a year... ALWAYS.

I regret to agree with the above but it is in fact the truth, Banfield The Pet Hospital cares about your money and even more money.

Also if you aren't sure about the wellness plan's they offer you should know they are a year contract where by no means you are allowed out of it unless you cancel within the 4 business day's allowed and even then you are charged out of pocket for what you used off of them.

Be careful and always make sure you know who you are taking your beloved animal too... I in my time with Banfield have unfortunately watched 6 animal die due to the neglect of a doctor which of only 1 was terminated, and even then she had to slit the throat of the second pet prior to them addressing her serious lack of knowledge.

I hope this information helps... At least now I can focus on getting my D. V. M degree and make sure that non of my clients ever deal with the crap I have watched my wonderful clients go through. Anyone reading this in Texas please avoid many of the Dallas East Hospitals... very corrupt

Continued from the last banfield post I posted earlier this week... well, since the vet kimberly franklin refused to give me the cheaper alternative drug for my dog.. well lets back up, went to the vet banfield on crossville road met w dr. franklin, told her I needed an affordable drug for my dog because I was out of work and could not afford an expensive one... she tries to stick me w a 300 dollar bill for an ear infection, had her cut it down to 150.00 she tries to stiff me with an 88 dollar antibiotic after I told her she was not listening to me "out of work" cant afford it... I tell her are you sure this is the most affordable drug for my dogs case she says yes. I go to kroger pharmacy, pharmasit that is a good friend of mine says this is not cheap and she knows it... there are other alternatives... Mind you this is MY banfield the one I have been going to for 10 years with my cat that died, bird that died, dog that died, and now two more dogs... this doctor I have never seen... any way phamasist calls her tells her the other alternatives she still refuses to change the med.. Now this is the new stuff I go on line find the expensive med at 2.50 a pill at national pet meds fill out the request.. I get an email back from national pet meds that she refused to give them my RX... I went there called the cops on her and I want to know if someone out there would like to take this case because I want to sue her for malpractice and pain and suffering for my dog that still has not been treated because we are waiting for the meds to come in after she finally gave national pet meds the rx... anyone no a laywer because I want to sue her and banfield!

Im not sure if there aer any good vets in Orlando, Florida.. Most vets i've been to have been really bad... Just taking your money and doing nothing. Some were 'ok' but recently took a pet to banfield. Ive learned what I always knew about this crappy place-they really do nothing to help your pet. A pet had an issue with something and not only did these idiots not know what she even had — they couldn't enter any information in the computer, and in the end.. The lazy stupid doctor didn't write the prescription but had a tech write it and the tech came to ask my friend the dosage? Err why is a tech asking my friend the dosage of the medication? Crazy... They also did nothing to help the pet... And she was worse off weeks after... Because they didn't even diagnose her right. Also getting in touch with the doctor or any to ask a question is impossible, so if you even want to ask for advice you won't be able to... Don't take your pet to this place... Its really bad and they do nothing to help it and just want to take your money and that's it. I get that businesses want to make money but this is the health of pets... They should care first and foremost about animals health not trying to rip pet owners off with unnecessary stupid charges. They dont care about the health of anything. My pet was worse off once she visited banfield and it was an unnecessary waste of time and trip that cost a lot. This is a really bad place.. I stopped going for years but decided to try them out again. Now I remember why I stopped going in the first place — dont trust your pets to this really bad place..

took my shepherd in for a checkup only to find he had cancer and had to be put to sleep. Banfield Pet Hospital disallowed the Optimum wellness plan because my wife tried to upgrade it to the best. wen the dog was put to sleep, they disallowed the plan he had currently been on even though the premiums had been paid to date. I was charged for services that were covered under any plan they have, to the tune of 220 dollars.

Banfield in Watchung NJ acted negligently in the care of my dog. The Doctor and staff departed from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances. They misdiagnosed, mistreated, and mishandled my pet. Sending me away with over a hundred dollars in charges (above and beyond my wellness plan coverage) without treating my pet at all. I carried a sick animal, bleeding profusely all over himself and me out of Banfield and out of Petsmart without anyone seeming to notice. I took him to a private vet and found that with an infection, two open sores and a fever of over 105º he was near death.in fact the private vet wondered how he was still with us. Recently, after many calls to Banfield's customer advocacy team [protected] I was contacted by the NEW manager of the Watchung location. She was very pleasant and like everyone else I talked to she seemed sympathetic. She told me that there were so many problems/complaints about that location that corporate stepped in a took it over. I suppose they could see the negligence lawsuits coming and were trying to head them off.

Silly me, I thought I would give it one more try and went back to the original Banfield I had been with in Bridgewater NJ. I went after the infection/sores had healed and that was no longer a problem. My visit was a simple question of whether or not my dog had an eye infection. The Doctor who I liked up until this point was very brisk. She told me this had to be fast because she needed to pick her kid up from school. I asked about the eye and WITHOUT examining my dog or doing any tests she said ok its infected and told the tech to give me some drops. He came in and handed me a small container of drops and said that was going to cost over $40. I asked if that took into account my wellness discount. He confirmed it did. He then told me that it was the same medicine used by humans with pink eye and I could go to my neighborhood pharmacy to get it with a prescription from the Doctor. I called from the exam room and my pharmacist told me the drops would be $11. I asked if Banfield would match that price or at least lower their price some. No, we don't do that was the answer. I asked for the prescription so I could take it to the pharmacy. The tech said it would be no problem but the Doctor had already left and he would have it ready and waiting tomorrow morning. I didn't want to wait but since the Doctor didn't seem concerned about my dogs eye I figured a few hours wouldn't make a difference. I went to pick up the prescription and was told there would be a $15 fee for the Doctor to write one. I asked the woman at the front desk about the charge and she said very plainly that they make a lot of profit off the meds and if they can't sell me something they stock they loose money so charging for prescriptions is how they make up the difference. I had never heard of this and thought it very unfair. I told her to forget it and took my dog back to the private vet that very day.

The private vet did a few tests, looked at his eyes closely and then prescribed a completely different eye drop. She explained what was going on with his eyes and why she chose that particular medicine. I asked at that point if the medicine that the Banfield Doctor wanted to give me would have been effective. She said that in her professional opinion it was not the appropriate medicine for the problem. I prepared myself for another expensive eye drop but found to my delight that her price was very fair. How did I know that? I sat right there in the exam room and googled it on my smart phone. She was in line with most online pharmacies. She saw me looking up the prescription cost and asked if I would rather have a written prescription to take to my pharmacy. I said no I would take the drops from her. I did ask how much she charged for the service of getting a written prescription and she looked at me like I had two heads. She said she doesn't charge anything and she had never heard of a doctor that did charge.

It was at that moment that I realized I couldn't trust my pet to any of the Banfield pet hospitals and would switch to this private vet. I called the customer service center and asked to end my Wellness coverage. I was told that would be fine and I owed over $400, how would I like to pay. What? I have to pay to cancel? They explained that even though I had originally signed up for the plan in July (2004?) I had been switched to a higher cost plan in December so my dogs blood work would be covered. And since they had done hundreds of dollars of work on my pet since then I would have to pay the difference. I said I never saw the blood-work and more importantly the charges that they were asking me to pay were for negligent treatment of my pet. I explained in detail what had transpired and I establish that the failure of the Banfield Pet Hospital and its Doctors to act as reasonable medical professionals, not only didn't help my dog but actually caused him injury.

I graciously requested that I would like to cancel my wellness plan without penalty and in return I would not pursue reimbursement for all the private vet costs that I incurred correcting the mistakes that were made by Banfield. I received no response except that the request would be addressed and if nothing happens in three days it would be moved up to a higher level person. So ever week or so I'd call and they would say "Oh no one called? We'll move the complaint up to the next level." Now it's been over a month and I called today only to be told that my case had been closed due to non-response on my part. I told them that I had been waiting for them to get back to me with their "higher level person". They reinstated the case and now I'm back to waiting.in the meantime I am getting Banfield Wellness Plan bills and I'm sure the next thing will be collections. I am very frustrated and the next step will have to be getting some legal advice.
The photos are after a couple days of healing

I took my dog Kuki to Banfield pet hospital to get one of her teeth cleaned. I dropped her off at 8am and expected to bring her back in a couple of hours. Around 11am I received a call saying that Kuki had gone into cardiac arrest for 10 minutes after receiving an anesthetic shot and then went into a coma. They said they didn't know what caused her to go into a coma and Kuki was transferred to a larger, better organized, pet hospital.

She was in a coma for about one day and passed away on 1/19/2012. After Kuki passed away my family and I received a message from them saying that she had a heart disease and gave an under-dose of an anesthetic. Before she was murdered, Banfield said that she perfectly healthy. Also, they refused to pay the $1500+ hospital fee that they caused. Kuki was only 3.5 years old when she was murdered and could have lived much longer had Banfield of been more careful and cautious in there procedures.

TO ALL READERS, DON'T GO TO BANFIELD! THEY WILL COERCE YOU INTO BELIEVING THEY ARE THE BEST AND CARE ABOUT YOUR PET. THEY DON'T! THEY ONLY WANT TO EARN MONEY AND THEY DO NOT CARE WHETHER YOUR PET LIVES OR DIES UNDER THEIR CARE!
Additional information: The doctor that Kuki was treated by is Dr. Waters. On Rochester Rd.in Rochester, Michigan.