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Banfield Pet Hospital
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2.3 526 Reviews

Banfield Pet Hospital Complaints Summary

174 Resolved
348 Unresolved
Our verdict: Engaging with Banfield Pet Hospital, which has a below-average resolution rate, demands caution. Thoroughly assess their service reviews and explore how they handle unresolved complaints. If you encounter issues, document your experiences meticulously and be persistent in seeking resolutions.
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12:00 am EST

Banfield Pet Hospital scam and abuse!

Last month I brought my cat in to have her teeth cleaned, with they did not to. So this month I took her back and they cleaned her teeth. Went I went to pick her up I got into a long conversation with the vet. I left not paying,they called the next day and I was not home , they spoke to my husband and he informed them I would be in to pay, this was Friday. I could not get in till Sat. and was informed when I arrived they had turned me over to collections. The problem is that I have been a client of theirs for over ten years and have never failed to pay them even when my bill ran $1000.00 . It is not like they have on information on me, they have a computer full. I am very upset about this. Since it is Sat. I can not get a hold of any one to help with this problem.

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12:00 am EST

Banfield Pet Hospital do not let banfield perform surgery!

Our beloved pit bull Bibi had a torn ACL in her left hind leg and we trusted the vet at Banfield completely. They signed us up for the highest "wellness plan" so we could afford the surgery it would take (which it actually didn't - we spent over $2,000 which is about the same as anywhere else) and drove all over the city to have a "special" Banfield vet do her surgery. Two weeks after her surgery, Bibi was limping again. We took her back to Banfield who then told us that we didn't take good enough care of her post-surgery and that she had torn her ACL again. Since we couldn't afford to have another surgery right away, I did more research and decided to consult a private specialist. A very very long story short, the specialist discovered from new x-rays that the original ACL repair was done "differently" than he had ever seen it done before. He consulted some of his colleagues who agreed that the surgery was done in a unusual manner, which contributed to its failure. And the whole time we thought we had caused her surgery to fail. Anger doesn't even describe the feeling. We can't cancel our wellness plan (of course) nor can we switch back to her previous less expensive plan without paying a penalty equal to how much money they would lose if we did.

Banfield is a corporate business. Do you really want to wait until your beloved pet is in dire need to find out how much they really don't care...

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phorse
, US
Jan 26, 2010 1:57 pm EST

I am a veterinarian and honestly cannot figure out how a specialist could tell how the surgery was performed by looking at an x-ray. ACL is surgery of soft tissue in the knee so undetectable by x-ray. Honestly, veterinarians criticizing other veterinarians without discussing the case isjust unprofessional. Makes my blood boil.

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rachel614
Alexandria, US
Nov 21, 2009 10:09 pm EST

To be quite honest with you, if a pet is not % healthy, he/she can't be signed up on a plan. With a torn ACL, a vet can not sign you and your pet up on a plan to simply save you money. They aren't even allowed to do that.

Plus, just because one vet does a procedure a certain way does not mean that the procedure was done wrong. One vet can do it one way, and another another way. Of course vets are going to critique other vets. They want you to be strictly their client.

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12:00 am EST
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

Banfield Pet Hospital - damaged my healthy dog!

I took my healthy 16 pound min. Schnauzer to pets mart to get her vaccines, and the staff administered 5 shots at once. Upon arriving home my dog was vomiting, excessively drinking water, drowsy, her mouth and arms became inflamed, swollen and red. I called immediately and they told me to rush her back up, they had me sign a paper saying i would pay $120 to...

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12:00 am EST

Banfield Pet Hospital poor clinical judegment!

We purchased a puppy on 12-21-07 and within 24 hours we noticed that she was having some problems with diorama. I went on line, performed a fair amount of research and discovered that this is fairly common problem with puppies. Potential common causes were stress due to leaving mom or littermates, changes in food or drinking water and eating random things off the ground, which this puppy was prone to do. We decided to monitor her, continue feeding her and giving her bottled water (which we drink ourselves).

After about 24 hours the problem had not resolved itself. I researched on line and discovered that several reliable web sites recommended that ½ teaspoon of Pepto-Bismol be given for ever 10 pounds and as she was only 2 pounds we gave her 2 to 3 drops out of a dropper every 6 hours for 24 hours. They said if she wasn’t better to take her to the vet.

We took her to Banfield Pet Hospital at White Oak in Garner NC, which is located in the Pet Smart at the White Oak Shopping Center in Garner on Christmas Eve.

I took the puppy in, requested an appointment and described to the receptionist her symptoms (diarrhea, not eating and difficulty drinking). The receptionist told me to hold my pet on my lap, not to let her down on the floor or touch the walls because the symptoms I describes were associated with Parvo which was highly contagious. She could hardly answer our questions or provide any level of service because she kept calling other customers on the phone to remind them of them of wellness appointments…like literally kept calling and talking to them right in the middle of talking to me. This didn’t make me think they were very concerned about my puppy or very customer oriented.

In any event I had to sell an expensive piece of personal property for practically nothing to raise the money to take her to the vet so when the nurse came back with a long list of testing to get me to sign up for I very politely explained to her that I had managed to scrape together $200.00 and wanted us to work together to prioritize testing and treatment options to try to help my pet as much as possible with my limited resources. I must admit that she was NOT very supportive of my plight, stated that “people come in here all the time wanting us to help them with their pets and have no money” and she was not helpful in terms of helping me prioritize testing and treatment on a limited budget.

We ended up testing the puppy for Parvo and for parasites. The office visit and testing ate up over half my $200.00 budget. The puppy was negative for the Parvo and positive for a large number of parasites. The nurse explained that for her to have that number of parasites she might have contracted worms in vitro from the mother. She was only 8 weeks old, weighed a little less than 2 pounds and had been de-wormed on 12-18-07.

The nurse came back with a long list of further testing, blood work, IV Therapy, Medications, Vitamin Supplements and Special Pet Food the cost of which was total beyond my reach. I once again explained that I had worked hart to come up with money I did bring and that I could not afford all the things they were recommending. I asked for help deciding how to prioritize. She was pretty stubborn and I eventually decided on the two medicines, a subcutaneous IV to get some extra fluids into her, the vitamins and the special puppy food.

I told the nurse that I used to work in an emergency room and that when people came in with similar problems the usual course of treatment was to give them something to treat whatever was causing the diarrhea (in this case the two kinds of medications), give them an IV to temporarily get some fluids into them (I opted for the subcutaneous IV) and then give them something like Donagel to combat the diarrhea itself (which was not given as an option). The nurse tried to convince me for a second time to leave my puppy there and pay several hundreds of dollars, which she knew I didn’t have for pet IVs to treat the diarrhea. I asked if there was anything like Donagel for puppies. At that point she refused to talk to me further, brought my puppy back to me and asked the vet to come in and talk to me.

The vet was very agitated, seemed upset and I very politely explained to her that I was not trying to be difficult but was just wondering if there was anything like Donagel for puppies. She stated, “you have to be very careful with the medication you are talking about because she is a small puppy... that medication is out of date and it is illegal to dispense out of date medication…we are not allowed to do that”. The vet again tried to talk me into leaving my puppy there and paying for over a thousand dollars of IVs and other testing. She told me she could not help me prioritize care because she might get sued if something went wrong. She further stated that if there was a bad outcome here they could not be held responsible because they had “offered” me additional testing and IV therapy, which I had refused (simple math equation: limited $ = limited medical care). It felt like there was little hope for my pet so they made up a long list of testing/treatment recommendations totaling over a thousand dollars (which few people I know could afford to pay in cold hard cash up front) specifically so that if anything happened they could blame it on the fact that the pet owner “declined” some of these services.

Let me just say that in people land if a doctor or hospital does not have the medication to save your life they are required by law to obtain it from another pharmacy or hospital. Banfield is a national chain with multiple locations in my local area and in retrospect they could have referred me to pick it up at another location. If I had gone to another location they would have charged me another office visit (I called another Banfield about 30 minutes from my home). Also in people land doctors and nurses are caring compassionate individuals who are actually interested in saving your life. This is apparently not so for the staff at Banfield who appeared to be more interested in monetary issues and avoiding being sued that whether or not my puppy lived. They seemed actually angry that I would not come off some credit cards and just charge up thousands of dollars in care for my pet. They did not even send me home with a pamphlet on purchasing pet insurance or their infamous wellness plan. In retrospect I realize this is because they did not expect my puppy to survive. Putting her down was an option I never got.

To be quite honest if I had that kind of money or charging capabilities I would have spent it to save my pets life because I loved my pet more than my money. I spent every single cent I had to my name that day at Banfield, they refused to let me pay them 3 days after when I got paid, I was treated very disrespectfully for merely asking for an anti-diarrhea medication and my puppy died the a day and half later.

I believe in their over zealousness to avoid doing things that might get them sued they failed to provide the minimum quality of care necessary to keep my pet alive. I believe that they should have made the medication I requested to combat the diarrhea available for me to purchase even if they had to contact another Banfield rather than suggesting I pay money I didn't have to keep her IVs for days on end or purchase vitamin supplements and special food when I had already told them she was refusing food. All she did was puke that all up anyway. Something to combat the diarrhea would have at least given us a fighting chance. If we could have controlled the diarrhea she may have began eating again. Also their attitude was really out of line. I have worked with nurses and doctors all my life and never have seen or heard of anything like this. Why in the world the nurse just stopped talking to me I will never know. In human land we have the right and responsibility to ask questions about our medical care but apparently at Banfield this is grounds for the medical staff to get antagonistic and refuse to continue talking to you. Also when the nurse stopped talking to me and sent the vet in I could actually overhear the nurse angrily talking to another staff about me. Can't tell you how unprofessional that is! I was actually nice and respectful when talking to their staff and unfortunately can't say the same about them. Who has the responsibility to be professional and courteous the customer or the healthcare professional? They actually seemed insulted that I walked in the door with limited amount of resources. I told them point blank that I was not expecting miracles but just some help prioritizing care because of limited resources. The impression I got was that they were actually insulted that they were being asked to provide medical care for only $200.00. I guess the sky should always be the limit because once you set that standard everyone understands that once you have a sick pet the money in your wallets and bank accounts will grow wings.

The kicker is that my sick puppy was seen on Christmas Eve in a store located in a Pet Smart and the lines were long. When I was given the medications the vet gave me a little card and told me to “give it to them up front and they will get the food for you”. I went up front, waited in a long line, gave the cashier the card and she looked at me like I had two heads. She sent me back to Banfield and the receptionist there showed me where the medication was. I then drug my sick puppy back up front, stood in the same long line all over again and was finely able to check out the food she never ate.

Sorry for the ridiculously long e-mail but this whole experience was ridiculously long, tedious and the really difficult part was watching my pet die a slow painful death on Christmas when she probably should have been put down. She was 8 weeks old, weighed less than 2 pounds, had an excessive number of two types of parasites and received de-worming medication again prior to the recommended time frame. What do you think her chances of survival were? Would you have at least given me the option of having her put down? She whined off and on all of Christmas day, we spent all day holding and cleaning her. It was pretty pitiful. Almost as sad as seeing the big pile of Christmas presents we bought her... the ones she never even had a chance to play with. The message I got from Banfield is that only wealthy people willing to spend hundreds or even thousands on their animals should be pet owners.

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swgo
Clayton, US
Oct 01, 2013 11:42 am EDT

Interesting that you "purchased" the puppy and bought it a " big pile of Christmas presents" yet you have no money to take proper care of it. Sad...

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Fortheloveofanimals
Buffalo, US
Sep 07, 2010 7:14 pm EDT

Melinda, I am A Licensed Vet Tech whom also works at Banfields...I disagree with you. I feel you where upset and took it out on them. First what the heck is "diorama" ? You are so confused. You purchased a puppy probably from a puppy mill...you get what you pay for, which you probably paid $200.00 or more for the puppy. There are many puppies at your local shelter. You played doctor researching on-line..because you just spent hundreds of dollars on the puppy and did not have the resources to pay for professional care for him. Then you DON'T get A PET! Why did you wait 3 days to go to Banfields? Why did you not go to a private - owner Veterinarian ? The symptoms you describe are "Parvo" symptoms and until tested and proven negative it is assume he is positive. Parvo is deadly and very contagious. About the receptionist making reminder calls and speaking with you at the same time, seems to be more to the story that you are not saying or that you do not remember due to being upset. To sell something to raise money for vet care is ridiculous! Again, dont own a pet. Then you state "wanted us to work together to prioritize testing and treatment options to try to help my pet as much as possible with my limited resources. How can licensed professional only give partial treatment? You also stated "she was not helpful in terms of helping me prioritize testing and treatment on a limited budget". Would you consider that for yourself or heaven sake or your child? A office visit today in WNY is $45.95. I am not sure on the price of parvo & "other worm" testing so lets guess $50.00. Yea, thats $100.00 so...Lets just go by the book and acute diarrhea is one of the most commonly seen types of diarrhea in a small animal clinic. Yes, frequently the cause can be change of diet, drug therapy or any stressful situation that may result in disruption of the normal bacterial flora with in the bowel. Acute diarrhea is easily managed with supportive care & symptomatic treatment but, you have a 8 week old puppy showing signs of "parvo" that has been sick for 3 days and you playing online doctor just made things worse. You need to do a role out diagnosis of the causes of the diarrhea which is what they were doing by running the fecal testing(for parasites), blood analysis and a hematocrit to monitor the dehydration. So the first thing to do is replace fluids & electrolytes ASAP- IV is best. NPO for 24 to 48 hrs. A intestinal absorbent can be given @ 1 ml kg /8 hrs. & Loperamide / 6hrs. and probably a broad spectum antibiotic ...JUST TO START !
So here I go...there is pet "emergency" credit, (credit card for emergency treatment) pay it off in 6, 12, or 24 months and its interest free! Also maybe if you listened and not such a [censor] you would have actually heard what they were trying to say to you. No doctor will provide only 1/2 care so then they can be sued and the patient dies! Who are you kidding. Almost no Vet will offer euthanasia for a pet whom has a good rate for survival, and your puppy did. You killed your puppy by being ignorant to how this really works. So as you are bashing the hospital and they tell you to go up front to cash out... if you were paying attention you would have gone to Banfields front desk not Petsmarts! So do not blame Banfields for your ignorance (and I do understand you were upset) but if you weren't so concerned about money yourself your puppy would still be alive today. You let this poor helpless puppy who needed you to care for it to suffer in pain and die a slow and terribly sad preventable death. I am not totally abolishing Banfields from any questionable customer service but if you had to deal with some like yourself you can only do your best. We are all human so with that note. You should be ashamed of yourself and actions and you owe this Banfields a apology. AND NEVER OWN ANOTHER PET!

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chris odonnell
Jessup, US
Jun 25, 2010 4:54 pm EDT

fu, we could afford to take care of our animals if we didn't give you a-holes all of our money for nothing. after going to your hospital you need to follow up with a "real" vet to fix the original problem and then correct or undo everything banfield did. y'all can't see straight cuz you rich off of animal lovers and you return nothing but more problems.

read on idiot. you'll see anyone who has come there is dissatisfied, and 90% of the ppl don't or won't say anything.

he he he soon you wont have a job, . better start looking and please not in a vets office

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kbmarie
Raleigh, US
Jun 08, 2010 8:30 pm EDT

i don't want to be rude, but i have worked at a few banfield hospitals, and we do not take well to owners coming in with dogs they cannot afford to take care of. and on offering animal insurance, it takes a year for it to go through, and they would not have let you use it on a pet that is already sick, it's not our insurance. and we have rules, just like every other company, and if we do not follow them, we will lose our job. we care more for animals then you could ever imagine, why else would we work there? and on everyone saying the pet had parvo? didn't she just say the pet tested negative for parvo? but my main point, DO NOT GET A DOG IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY FOR IT'S HEATHCARE. two hundred dollars is NOT enough for our health care, what makes you think it will be enough for your pets?

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ptlvr2121
Worcester, US
Feb 01, 2010 9:03 pm EST

It is not a right to have a pet, it is a privilege. It's a shame that you spent all that money purchasing a dog, when there are so many homeless pets that need a family. When you take your sick pet to the veterinarian, it is their job to be the advocate for the pet and recommend the best treatment possible to make your pet better, faster. It is your responsibility to make the decision of what level of care you can/are willing to provide for that pet. You kept wanting them to tell you what to do... that's your decision. All of those treatments were important, but YOU are the one that has to decide because YOU are the one that has to live with and be comfortable for that decision. That is all part of accepting responsibility for the pet. You cannot expect someone to make those decisions for you.

Also, when you purchased this dog, where did you get it from? A puppy store (puppy mill) or a reputable breeder? Did you get a health certificate signed by a veterinarian stating that the puppy was healthy? Obviously, your puppy did need those fluids and "expensive medications". And to the person that said the vet should have just done whatever because the puppy was sick... unfortunately, vet offices have to pay the bills too. They have to pay for that medication, supplies, rent for the buildings they operate out of, the electric bill.. etc. Giving away services and medications to people who have purchased a pet that they cannot afford is not realistic.

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r.i.p sun <3
brookyln, US
Mar 03, 2009 9:19 pm EST

That is all true but if the vet honestly wanted to save the puppy he/she could have and took what ever money they could it should not be about the money but about saveing the life of the pupy also this is why you should not buy pupies from petstores becase they come from pupy mills not only that but there are a million healthy dogs and puppys in shelters all around the world
why buy a dog for 300-1200 dollers that might end up sick than a healthy shelter dog that would be put down anyway becase it had no home . in my opinion the vet did not care enough to help the puppy she was to angry and upset with the owner of the puppy not being able to pay for there pet but if she had any compassion at all she would have did what she could for it
they make enough money it wouldent have killed her to help the puppy for free or a lower cost
this is like the time i spent 70 dollers on my bird wich i paid 12 dollers for not that that matters i loved her regardless but still the vet ran all these expensive tests gave her medicine and still couldent tell me what was wrong with her she died 3 weeks later

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Diowhat
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Oct 01, 2008 10:37 am EDT

"We purchased a puppy on 12-21-07 and within 24 hours we noticed that she was having some problems with /diorama/."

What? I know you aren't talking about diarrhea when you say "diorama." You just said diarrhea in the next paragraph. Wth do you mean?

A diorama is a model accompanied by a painted background, like a museum exibit. Are you talking about excessive peeing or vomiting? If so use another word. Thanks and sorry for you loss.

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Danni
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Aug 20, 2008 8:00 pm EDT

My sister's dog had parvo (which is honestly what it sounds like this little puppy had). I work for Petsmart so we took him to Banfield to have a parvo test run on him and sure enough he was positive for it. I had a co-worker that had a little poodle puppy that had parvo and had to be put down because of it so I knew what the results would be without treatment. My sister ended up spending over $600 on her dog for 2 days worth of treatment from Banfield. I would like to say that in some cases Banfield can be expensive but in this case, they worked with my sister the best they could and instead of her being charged $1000 a day to have him treated she was given a much better deal. Luckily, we had caught the parvo earlier and FOLLOWED THE VETS ADVICE. I would like to also say that at the time my sister was 4 months pregnant and soon to be a single parent with very little money to spare but she still did what was best for her dog. If you can't afford an animal...don't buy one! Animals get sick and that is something that you have to take into consideration when taking on the responsibility of an animal. You shouldn't expect a vet to perform services that cost over a thousand dollars for only the $200 that you could come up with. In the end, it is your own fault. Lack of money and ignorance is not an excuse for lack of care for a poor animal.

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vtgirl
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Mar 29, 2008 7:11 pm EDT

I JUST WANT TO COMMENT ABOUT THE PROBLEM HERE. I AM A VET TECHNCIAN AND A VET STUDENT. AND THE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT THE PEOPLE DONT SEE THE HARD WORK THE VET TEAM HAS TO DO TO GET PAY, IN VET MED WE DONT GER REIMBURSEMENTS FOR MEDICAL ATTENTION AS IN HUMAN MEDICINE. EVERY HOSPITAL TREAT YOU AS A HUMAN BUT THEN THEY CHARGED YOU BUT IN VET MEDICINE NOT TO MANY PEOPLE TAKE IT AS A REALITY. THEY PEOPLE COME TO THE CLINIC CRYING BECAUSE THE DOG IS SICK AND THEY DON HAVE THE MONEY. WHAT I SAW IN THIS EMAIL IS THAT YOU PUPPY WAS A CLINICAL CASE OF PARVOVIRUS. PARVOVIRUS IS ONE OF THE LETHAL KILLERS IN PUPPIE NOT VACCINATED AND ONCE THEY START WITH VOMITING AND DIAREHA THERE IS NOTHING A VET OA TECHNICIAN CAN DO. THEY CAN OLLY GIVE SUPPORTIVE THERAPY TO HELP THE PPUPPY FIGHT THE VIRUS BUT IT IS THE PUPPY 'S INNMUNE SYSTEM WHO FIGHT THE VIRUS. I HAVE NOT SEEN A PARVO CASE SURVIVING WITHOUT PROPER TREAMENT. THEY COULD NOT GIVE YOU THE MEDICINE YOU WERE ASKING BECAUSE THAT MEDICINE IS APPROVED AND IS ILLEGAL IN VET MED TO USE. ALDO A MEDICINE FOR DIARREHA WILL NOT HELP A LOT SINCE THE VIRUS ATTACKES THE INSTINES. SO, THEY GAVE YOU THE PROPER TREAMENT BUT WHAT THEY DID WRONG WAS NOT TO EXPLAIN THE ENTIRE COURSE OF THE DISEASE TO YOU. ALSO THEY NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PARVO AND IF THE PARVO TEST WAS NEGATIVE IT WAS PROBABLY BECAUSE THE VIRUS WAS STARTING AND IT NOT REFLECTED, THERE IS A PERIOD WHERE YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE TEST BUT IF THE TEST IS NEGATIVE AND YOU HAVE THE CLINICAL SIGNS OF THE DISEASE THEY PROPER TREATMENT IS TO HOSPITALIZED THE DOG AT LEAST FOR 3 DAYS WITH IV FLUIDS AND EVETHING HAS TO GO BY VEIN. PLEASE SEARCH THE INTERNET ABOUT PARVOVIRUS. THE PERSON YOU SHOULD COMPLAIN WAS THE PERSON WHO SOLD THE PUPPY. I HOPE THIS IS HELFUL FOR YOU.

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someone
,
Jan 04, 2008 7:38 pm EST

First I must reply to Spiralsands, because his/its comment was extremely rude.

Sounds like you are mad about paying your medical bills. There are people in this world that can pay, and there are people that cannot. Neither is better than the other. It doesnt make someone a bad person because they are poor. You are talking like "Oh, I pay your medical bills because you cant" But if no one paid, there would be really lousy medical care. Why is it sooo hard to give a little extra to someone who is less fortunate than you. You sound EXTREMELY selfish, and self-centered. If its soooo great and easy, then give all your money away, all your possisions, go on welfare, and get everything for free. Yeah, sounds like a really great life huh? It's obvious you have never wanted for anything, grew up in a privileged home, with everything handed to you on a silver platter. BTW I doubt they knew the puppy was sick when they bought it, so dont make it sound like they already knew. If you used that expensive education your father bought you, you would have noticed that they only realized that it was sick in about a day. And he didnt LET the dog die. He made a hard decision. That expensive education must not have taught you much reading. Quote: "So, you want the doctors to volunteer their time" HE NEVER ASK THE VET FOR CHARITY! If you had read, and made use of that critical thinking course (you did get that with your expensive education right?) you would have noticed he was trying to make a deal, or setup a payment plan. If you have EVER been to a vet, you would know that it is EXTREMELY COMMON to setup payment plans with vet. In fact every vet bill I have EVER had over $200 I have put on some type of payment plan, so I dont know where you get this charity crap. Furthermore, you dont know where the dog came from, it could have been a pet store, not a puppy mill. Actually YOU Spiralsands are an ignorant person. Ignorant to the fellings of others. Ignorant to others plight or delima. Ignorant to the facts of life. And most obviously ignorant to the fact that plants DO get sick and injured.

I dont think I have EVER seen a post on ANY site that was so rude without being provoked. You had NO reason to bash this guy. You are insensitive, rude, naive, and uninformed. Oh yeah, and ignorant. I would add some really strong expletives here, but they would just get removed.

Didnt mean to make such a long post but he really irrated me. Anyway, I am really sorry about your dog. I have read close to several hundred posts on differnt websites about Banfield. I guess its too late to say dont take your animals there. But if it makes you feel any better I learned of their unscrupulous behavior from posts exactly like yours. When I did some investigating, under the mole hill there was a mountain. Look around the net you will see. But know that the word IS getting out. And your, and others posts, will help someone, so in a way the dog didnt die in complete vain.

I dont know who wormed the dog on 12/18, but something you should know is that most wormers you pickup at walmart, or the grocery store, usually only do roundworms. There are a good few types of worms. And there are VERY few wormers that will kill all types. One my friend uses, he calls Ivory max. I never could find it online, and later he told me that was just its nickname, told me the real name, and I cant remember what its called, sorry. Said it killed every type. Almost every dog is born with worms. And ask any vet, EVERY dog is presumed to have worms when born. Thats why puppies are always wormed. No one even checks, they just do it.

Anyway, unless you buy from a reputable petstore, and have been assured by them that the pet has had all shots etc, then be prepared to do all the things needed for a puppy vaccinations/worming/grooming etc.

Once again really sorry about your dog. My heart goes out to you.

S

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12:00 am EST

Banfield Pet Hospital overcharges and selling medication we don't need!

After Taking My dog there for what turned out to be only a pulled muscle, we weren't seen by the normal Vet, there was someone there covering for him. She ended up prescribing Turbutrol. My husband brought the medication home and showed me that it cost $140 after researching the medication on the net turns out is a mild form of Morphine that costs 10 times the amount. We already spend a small fortune on painkillers for the dog, I really don't understand why we got this medication as well.

My husband says to take the medication back. Which I try and do but apparently their policy is they don't return controlled substances. Strange as they have done this previous. The assistant said she told my husband this but later said she never told him the policy. I called her a lying ###. Wrong on my part I know but I cannot stand being lied to. There were also a few other choice words as I just quit smoking.

In my opinion don't take your animal to Banfield's. I think they are over priced and I think they over medicate in order to get kick backs from the pharmaceutical company. They really do not try to be affordable with there customers. They play on your vulnerability over the love of your pet to sell you more then what you need.

I too will be taking them to court!

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Maria
Severna Park, US
May 01, 2009 2:44 pm EDT

I agree, they are nothing but scam. Rude, and I am also taking them to court. I will soon be writing me complaint on them. Right now all I have to say is that they killed me 14 week Weimaraner. I gave them paper that my breeder gave me when I got Charlie that stated the risk of giving Weimaraners too many vaccination anf boosters shortly after... Charlie had a severe reaction to the vaccines. He was put down last Sunday at 3:00 a.m. He was declared blind, and neurologically damaged.
I met with the doctors and asked them to pay me back everything that I have invested on my beautiful puppy and to cnacel my plan with my other dog. We are in the process of coming to an agreement. I have proof from the emergency hospital in Annapolis on what he got sick from. I will write soon once I settle with them.
If anyone reads, DO NOT go to them. Their plan is a scam, they always ripe you off and there is always an excuse with them. They killed my dog and there is no excuse. I am taking them to court if they don't budge. They automatically canceled Charlie's plan on the spot when I met with them. Now what does that tell you? They are no filling a report and getting back to me. Not only do they do this to Charlie. They wrongfully filled out his report. Said that his overall condition was normal! So many mistakes that I can't get into right now. You will hear from me soon.
STAY AWAY!
They did not even call me to ask how Charlie was doing after THEY told me to take him to the emergency room...

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Greenday
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May 21, 2008 11:53 am EDT

Hey Spiralands, it sounds like you work for Banfield.

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Spiralsands
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Dec 12, 2007 7:54 am EST

I went to my local Banfield vet for a second opinion on an ear hematoma that my Doberman Pinscher had. The Banfield vet not only explained my options more thoroughly than my regular vet, she gave me good advice about the odds of surgical success and we were able to stop worrying. She also clipped her nails and cleaned out the poor old dog's anal glands free of charge.

Your state law probably forbids the return of prescribed narcotics which is why the vet cannot accept it back. This is totally standard. It's a controlled substance. Maybe you should have asked a few questions at the doctor's office, mentioned the other medication, found out what you were getting and such.

A suggestion. Go get a bar of soap, foam it up and stick it in your mouth. Not only will your mouth feel cleaner, it will taste better than a cigarette and remind you that there is no excuse for blatant rudeness. I don't care if you had cramps that day. You are not the center of the universe.

ComplaintsBoard
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12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital angry and feeling ripped off!

I need to give you a little history first if you don't mind and I'm sorry, but it's a tad long. My 6 year old cat Dusty was losing hair, not eating or interacting with me and just seemed lethargic. I noticed that she had sores on her stomach mostly, but all throughout her body. I saw fleas and attributed it to the fleas. I bought an over the counter medicine (Seargents) and put it on her as well as my other 2 cats and 3 dogs. After 2 weeks, her sores were getting worse, and she just slept all the time. I took her into the PetSmart Banfield clinic on 10/20/07. This was the one in Glen Burnie, MD. After waiting more than an hour to be seen, they weighed Dusty (still in her cage) and the tech took us to a room. After taking the temp (normal) and asking why I was there, the tech started playing some video thing on their computer about allergic reactions... I thought to myself, strange, they haven't even seen her, and already they diagnose allergic reaction. At any rate, the doctor came in and started typing on the computer, hadn't even looked at Dusty at all. Then he proceeds to look at her rash glances quickly at her mouth and says he must do 4 tests. I asked why, he said he wanted to find out what it was by doing scrapings of the scabs on her skin. I told him that I thought it was fleas and told him of the history with the flea medication. He seemed to change his mind all of a sudden and said he was going to do only 2 tests. He said he was doing a scraping for fungal infection and bloodwork. He said to wait in the waiting room while they drew up an estimate. The estimate they gave me was $190.00. That was a little rough and figured, ok, so we eat a little leaner this week. So I signed the paper. They took Dusty in the back. I heard terrible cries from Dusty coming from the back. I asked what was going on. They said they were just doing the scrapings and that they had given her a shot of an anti-inflammatory. When they brought Dusty back out, she was terrified. They then hand me a bill for $296.00! I nearly had a heart attack! I asked them why it was so much when they said it was only going to be $190.00. The tech proceeded to tell me that they don't add the medications or any extra tests they have to do on there till after they do the initial tests. I argued with them saying I can't afford this. Had I known it was going to be this much, I would never had signed anything. At any rate, they proceeded to give me 2 bottles of anti-biotics and some kind of shampoo after telling me she had a fungal infection. Ok, red flags going up everywhere, I asked them why Dusty needed the anti-biotic when they had just told me she had a fungal infection. At first they tried to tell me it was for the fungal infection, then when they realized I knew a little more than what they were telling me, they switched to "she has a secondary bacterial infection." So they tell me I have to bring her back in 2 weeks. Within a day Dusty is doing better (even before I give her the anti-biotics). So I'm wondering if she really needed the anti-biotics, but give it to her anyway, just to be sure. So I bring her in today, 11/3/07. After being put in a room, they take Dusty's temp, 104.5 (high), which seemed strange since she just got off anti-biotics, but they start the video again, this time it was about fleas. Hmmm... so they think it's fleas now? After the video goes off, I see in the list of things for her, the vet had put that he did a dental exam. I couldn't believe it, he barely glanced in her mouth. Beside the dental exam, it had that she had tartar build-up and that I refused treatment! What?! Now I'm really starting to get ticked. The Vet comes in carrying a small petri dish with what looks like black mold everywhere (hard to tell, he flashed it before me before tossing it in the trash). He tells me she has a fungal infection and that she needs more medicine. So I'm wondering, why they played the flea videa instead of something about fungal infections. He says that with the high temp, he has to give her more anti-biotics, so he proceeds to give her a shot. Then says I have to put her on flea prevention from their office, because the over the counter stuff doesn't work... huh? He also tells me he's putting her on a fungal medication. A lotion that I need to apply to her stomach twice a day. With all this that is going on, I never got an estimate, they just assumed I was going to pay for it all. So after all is said and done, I end up with flea medication, (that frankly looks just like the over the counter stuff, just costs more), a bottle of what looks like eye drops saying "apply a drop twice daily" (huh? 1 drop does not equal a lotion I'm supposed to apply all over her stomach) and smells like rubbing alcohol and a still very sick cat. Oh, let's not forget the $194.00 bill and NO receipt of what I was paying for because their printer was broken! And another appointment in a week?! I don't think so. I feel like I've been ripped off. I will be going for a second opinion, because I don't believe it. I think she had an allergic reaction to the fleas, and that the steroid was all she needed. The temp being high could have also been caused by the inflammation from the fleas. Plus, I want to know why after all the anti-biotics and shampoo I so desperately had to buy to "cure" her, she is still sick. I also was approached about the "wonderful health care plan." But decided to wait on it, and I'm glad I did. I will never go back here again. I can't wait to see what the other vet says, because if I am right and I was scammed, I will be filing suit.

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zolton
Portland, US
Jun 25, 2010 12:47 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Hi... I met a lawyer once and what a jerk! Therefor... ALL lawyers MUST be jerks. THAT is sarcasm, baby. One person's story is never a whole story. It's easy enough to spin things for sympathy. I've been a Banfield customer for 15+ years on a wellness plan. My cat is now 17 years old! Woohooo... only been sick twice since I've had her. I spent $1500 on her at Dove Lewis because she had the freaking hickups. Now... you wanna talk scam. Well, perhaps not. They did find her intestines were inflamed and she would have to live with it because there is no cure. Not happy about the money. Took me a year to pay it off. I have no extra money for anything. So... my point... don't open your mouth until The bottom line is... I love my cat. Things are expensive these days.

P.S. I got a second cat so I'm doing research on Banfield to see if I trust them enough to stay with them... but the bottom line is... I've not been mistreated or overcharged by them EVER. My cat is as healthy as she was 10 years ago and she's 84 in human years. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen. BUT... INDIVIDUALS work at them. Don't go blaming the entire company because you weren't happy with one or two people. You MIGHT be wrong. Take the proper channels.

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kbmarie
Raleigh, US
Jun 08, 2010 8:42 pm EDT

btw, the reason that your estimate changed was because they only put tests on the first one because they didn't know what it was. what did you think they were gonna do the test and then just send you home without anything to treat it?! oh and for that comment before mine... i work at a banfield animal hospital, and i promise you, if we were really the cause of your so called messed up dog, we would have been kissing your feet and giving you EVERYTHING for free. we take off half of the bill if a client waits too long! you are just ignorant trying to get money from a wealthy company!

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geekygrrl29
Greensboro, US
May 25, 2009 3:31 pm EDT

In response to hahaha!,
As far as being dumb, the only dumb thing I did was joining the optimum wellness plan and listening to crack pot Dr's,
I pay over 40$ a month for the plan and yet every vet bill is way over 300$ and I at one point was there 3 times a month or more,
with verifying mis diagnosis's of my mastiff!,
as far as being cheap and unwilling to spend the time and money on my dog is ludicrous!,
I spend 80$ a bad of holistic large breed food every two weeks, 2 cans of happy hips at 3$ a can a day,
interceptor, any meds they tell me I should give monthly... I spend more on my beloved dog than I do on myself or rent!,
and, some how they gave me the wrong dosage of pain meds along with a torn iv line that resulted in toxicity and seizures for my dog, than billed me 800$ So screw you... as far as the comment that the vets are busy and our pet is not the only one they are seeing is no excuse for bad medicine practices ... than lesson your work load and give quality care!,
Instead of trying to see as many animals as possible to make that check for the beamer I saw my vet pull off in!
These are excuses for poor quality care and hunches instead of actual findings.

I hope you sleep at night with your lame justifications !

Oh did I mention my dog has heart worms now?!,
I am filing a lawsuit and you all should follow suit as well!

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hahaha
Katy, US
Mar 10, 2009 12:02 pm EDT

i think all u dumb people who think banfield is a scam.maybe YOUR the scam cus your cheap and dont want to take care of your pet the correct way.thats degrading to the doctors who spend years of learning this stuff.how would u feel if i sat in your office telling u u were wrong about what ur telling me and you dont know how to do your job when u spent years learning how to do it.GET A LIFE PEOPLE!if u cant afford to have a pet, then dont get one.

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Atlanta Pet Owner
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Jul 21, 2008 7:03 am EDT

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. 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

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

6. Post these instructions on as 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.

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Get it right
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Apr 17, 2008 9:20 pm EDT

Okay people... first of all if you dont konw what the vet is perscribing and you think its just "alchohol" do some freekin lotion... for your information its conofite lotion-used to treat ringworm... the vet doesnt have hours on end to be looking at your pet and only your pet... they have other patients to tend to. The "petry dish" is a fungal culture to find out if its ring worm or not. The skin scraping is to see if the fungal culture grows mold in about 10 days and if it does your pet has ring worm. OMG everyone is calling this place a scam-this is rediculus. Just because you dont like your estimate and you dont believe in rechecks doesnt mean the hospital is crap. Go to a differnt one if you cant afford it. Geez people... why dont you ask questions and understand whats for what instead of assuming...three words GET IT RIGHT before you start talking crap.

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Kelley Rosa
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Jan 04, 2008 2:48 pm EST

All I can say is my beloved cat Vicki & I were treated terribly @ banfield in
Waterbury, Conn and I like you will never go back there ever again. . .

So Sorry for you and your pet.

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DOROTHY KAY SPARKS
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Dec 16, 2007 1:49 am EST

I also was scammed by Banfield, plus treated very poorly.

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Ms. smith
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Dec 11, 2007 7:43 am EST

Banfield, The Pet Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI is a scam as well. The Vet that was there covering for the normal vet was a complete scam artist. My dog had a pulled muscle in her leg and we walked away with a $220 bill! $140 for the medication! And we already have her on pain medicine which costs $120 a Month! They try and sell you as much as possible and play on your vulnerability when you are worried about your pet! DO NOT TAKE YOUR PET THERE! SCAM SCAM SCAM! I'd like to know if any one has taken them to court? I am thinking about it too!

ComplaintsBoard
J
12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital harassment of employee

I was an employee with your Manchester, Missouri location up until a couple weeks ago. One of the veterinarians I assisted continually harassed me to the degree that I had to quit. My mental and physical health suffered greatly due to her mistreatment of me. I am referring to Dr. Chhotu. She would daily scream at me both in private, in front of other employees and in front of customers. Now that I have begun to recuperate, I will be talking very soon to an attorney to determine how to best proceed with filing my legal action against Banfield and Dr. Chhotu. I felt I should also warn you of my intent and desire to stop Banfield and this doctor from hurting others who will have to report to her. Others before me were also mistreated and I will not accept it and will do my best to prevent Banfield and her from doing this to anyone again. If you or others would like to further investigate my harassment I will be providing you with my attorney’s contact information soon.

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Elisabeth007
, US
Dec 05, 2015 9:22 am EST

I found this site while I researching harassment at Banfield. I was working there and at my wits end with what to do. After much research, and hitting the walls with trying to resolve issues (much of which is illegal), I decided to leave for my health and the health of my family. The structure that Banfield has sent up in the clinics leads to more problems than fixing them. When the practice manager, the chief of staff, and the techs that the they hired are all spending the weekend together how much help do you expect to receive when those people are the problem? Oh, you report to the field manager, right? Yes, they are best friends too. I am all for happy work place environment where everybody gets along but Banfield has set up a harassment trap that the only solution seems to be to leave or get an attorney as the original comment said. Now about that first comment and the one agreeing with it. One, there is no way in the world that is not a Banfield unhinged employee (a model for Banfield, I'm sure) and the comment supporting it is just as nutty so I'm thinking they are the same person. DO NOT work for this company unless you have no other options. There is a culture of harassment, work place safety violations, and more that spreads across locations in every state; that tells you corporate knows what is happening but has anything changed? Nope. I called that number and two weeks later I was out of the job. Thanks, Banfield.

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Annonymous8845
Dayton, US
Feb 22, 2015 10:58 pm EST

I recently just resigned from my position at a Banfield location. I was being personally attacked daily by our Practice Manager that had been hired outside of Banfield and had only been working there for a matter of months, when I was working close to 8 months with the company. In the beginning I absolutely LOVED everyone, staff and Doctors included. But once that practice manager got wind that she was "in charge" things started going wrong. None of the staff got along and she blamed only myself and another CSC for any problems happening within the hospital. And let me add, she came in on her OFF day to write me up for not being able to make it in to my location due to bad weather. I was also called on my off day the night previous to inform me that she wanted to have a "one on one" meeting with me. And imagine that, I was bullied into signing a "coaching memo" and forced right out the door. She claimed that if she had even an ounce more trouble with me she would have me out the door. And she is helping run a hospital? I think this is completely unprofessional and I would advice if you want to work for a company that is going to defend you, Banfield is not the company for you. I used to love my job and love coming to work. But before i resigned I dreaded coming into work every day, and felt personally attacked by not only my practice manager, but by fellow co-workers that were also fearing for their jobs. This is not a company to work for.

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tb2584
Lawton, US
Feb 09, 2015 8:48 pm EST

Can someone tell me the default password for associate email at banfield? Please email me @ thewrongchick83@gmail.com

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julie34
Worcester, US
Apr 30, 2014 10:44 am EDT

I have interviews with 2 area Banfield Hospitals this week. I am starting to rethink working here after reading these comments, especially for the money they are offering. I was going to settle for less money because I really want to work with animals but now I am starting to see it may not be worth it.

Banfield Pet Hospital
Banfield Pet Hospital
Kansas City, US
Dec 08, 2011 8:00 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

@downwithharassment we would like to help but we can only do so if you call the Associate Relations team. Please call [protected], thank you.

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downwithharassment
seattle, US
Dec 07, 2011 11:57 pm EST

I work for a banfield as well and believe me if i had the opportunity i would get out of there asap. They let their doctors treat the staff like dirt and the practice managers do nothing about it. We recently got a new practice manager who started out as a csc and is so pro-banfield she cant even see whats going on right in her own hospital. The worst part about it is that the doctor who is doing all the harassing does it in front of all of the paraprofessionals so you feel humiliated, but only when the practice manager is not around. When the field trainer, field director, and medical director comes, she puts on this front like she is the sweetest person ever created and the moment they leave shes back to harassing the staff! Trust we all have complained, she has even had write ups, but Banfield doesnt care enough about their employees to take care of the situation. Its funny how the have "the open doors of communication" but its all a fasad to make their employees feel like there's open communication when there really isnt. If you cant get help from your practice manager, you're supposed to be able to go to your field trainer/director, but when they tell you to talk to your practice manager WHAT GOOD IS THAT DOING FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES BANFIELD? To say you try to promote a positive and team oriented culture is a lie! You need to have regular visits from your field leadership to the hospitals so that they know whats going on when they are not around, otherwise you're going to lose alot of employees...not that Banfield cares anyway!

Banfield Pet Hospital
Banfield Pet Hospital
Kansas City, US
Oct 11, 2011 8:22 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

We’re sorry that the phone number did not work when you called. Since our last post, we have consolidated our phone lines. If you would still like to speak to someone on our Associate Relations team, please call [protected]. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience we have caused, and thank you for letting us know about the number.

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downwithabuse
Davis, US
Oct 08, 2011 10:50 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

FYI the phone number given for Associate Relations at Banfield does not work. Pretty typical of the company. I have worked at a Banfield in California for almost a year and am trying desperately to get out. I get along pretty well with everyone there except this one doctor who just constantly rides my backside. No matter how hard I try this guy finds something to kvetch about, and when he kvetches he does not hold back. He also does not bother to do it in private, he dresses people down in front of God and everybody. The relationship I have with him has become so dysfunctional that I'm beginning to wonder why the f*** I even bother to show up. He's also vindictive and will not hesitate to rub your nose in it if you try to stand up to him. I like working with the other doctors, but I dread having anything to do with "Dr. Kvetch". I know he's trying to get rid of me. I was not born yesterday and I know the signs. I've thought of transferring to another hospital but question what good that would do in a company that tolerates a vet treating technicians in such a manner.

Banfield Pet Hospital
Banfield Pet Hospital
Kansas City, US
May 27, 2011 8:25 pm EDT
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@Sheryl - We're sorry to hear that you are unhappy with your current experience at Banfield Pet Hospital. At Banfield, we strive to promote a positive and team-oriented culture and we would like to discuss your experiences further. Please call our Associate Relations line at [protected].

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Sheryl
Alamo, US
May 23, 2011 11:58 pm EDT

I'm currently working at a banfield that I've been at for about 2 months now. But I'm starting to feel uncomfortable about how I'm treated in this place. It sadness me because I love my job, I love what I do and this my dream! But my lead manager and one of the doctors treats me like I'm not the right person for the job and I will defend myself and say, no this is my job and I know I am doing the right thing here and I absolutely know what I have to do. But they give me no credit, its like they're trying to find excuses's for me to be driven away. I mean im not perfect at the job but i know what im supposed to be doing, and i do my best everyday and i know its good enough. I talk to clients and they don't even know me and tell me I'm knowledgable in this field...but why can't the two people I work with that most matters to me doesn't see that? I know I'm new but It really brings me down when they just don't know how hard im working for them and only get onto me when im doing something wrong. Even my co-workers can tell this is unfair for me. Please I don't want to quit my job, I just want to find some help..

ComplaintsBoard
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12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital refusal to cancel wellness plan!

I signed up for Banfield Pet Hosptial's Wellness Plan for my Australian Shepherd. We signed on in December 06. In January 07 my dog was diagnosed with cancer and she died in February 07. I emailed Banfield to cancel my policy since my dog was now dead and the program no longer needed. They instructed me to go to my local hospital to cancel. I did that and they refused! Incredible. Even though my dog was dead, I still have to pay for this Wellness Plan. I am going to take them to small claims court next month but I sure wish there was a class action suit to join. These people have no ethics at all. If you have similar experiences with Banfield or know of a class action suit, please email me at [protected]@yahoo.com. and stay away from Banfield!

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RINN
, US
Jun 01, 2011 5:53 pm EDT

This is actually the fault of the owner and not the company that makes the product. It is WIDELY known that Australian Shepherds have drug sensitivity issues when it comes to certain medications. Ivermectin is one of those drugs. If you had performed the MDR1 test on your dog, you would have known about this. If the owners are not going to test their dogs for drug sensitivity they should NEVER allow their dogs to ingest ivermectin.

Sorry this happened but your dog shouldn't have been where they can get a hold of a drug regardless and this is not the fault of the manufacturer but the fault of the owner.

ComplaintsBoard
K
12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital outrageous charges

I was just searching Banfield online when I came across these complaints. Suddenly, I feel very validated in what I had already been thinking about the company, and now am wondering how I can cancel my existing plan.

I am young, a first time pet owner, and don't have many friends who are pet owners. I have a lab/boxer mix named Mac and love her to pieces. Since Mac is my first pet, when I first got her I really didn't know how to find a good vet so I did what I thought was smart and went to the Petsmart down the road and asked if they could recommend a few vets in the area. At that point I thought Banfield was for emergencies. They recommended Banfield and their Wellness plan seemed ideal since I am on a fixed income. At first everything with them was fine, I appreciated their guidance as everything was new to me. However, soon they started making me feel like I wasn't a good pet owner. Mac is just a year old and is a large dog with lots of energy. They aren't very good at handling her, yet always seem to make it my fault. They charge exuberant fees for handling her every time I go in. I asked if I could just help because I use a technique to make her stand that I learned through obedience class they refused and often sedate her, also another charge. They made it seem that edation is rather normal with larger dogs. It seemed weird to me that a "vet" couldn't handle dog - isn't that their job?

I have also ran into problems with trying to schedule her regular check ups . Once I was told that if I didn't have any concerns we could just skip it. I was taken aback by this and said that since everything seemed normal I guess that would be okay. But after I got off the phone I thought it was very strange and all of their paperwork that I was given stresses the importance of these check ups for prevention. So I called back and insisted that since I was paying every month for it anyway I would like to schedule the appointment and the same nurse sighed and explained they were very busy, I insisted anyway and took Mac in.

I guess all of this should have been enough for me to know they do not provide quality care but I tend to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Just last month Mac became very ill. She refused to bend forward, lay down, play, eat or drink. I waited a day to see if she would improve and when she didn't I became very concerned. I was out of town so I cut my trip short to take Mac to Banfield. Mac and I waited for quite awhile to see a nurse and I explained what was going on. It was obvious that Mac was under duress as she was falling asleep sitting up but refused to lay down and shedding profusely. I had spent most of the night up with her and was stressed out myself. It was the end of the month and I knew my money was tight. I had let them know this up front, too. After the doctor saw Mac he suggested xrays and said he would have the nurse come in with an estimate for me as I was worried about the money. The nurse came back with an estimate close to $700. I nearly died, I immediately began crying because I love Mac and she was so miserable but I didn't have anything close to $700. There were several charges on the estimate that seemed ridiculous - like a handling fee for every xray of like $30. I asked if they knew what was wrong with her - they had no clue. I asked if they had any kind of payment plan - absolutely not. I said I didn't understand that since they have been deducting money from my account every month for over a year. But I was informed they do not work that way. They made me feel bad that I was even thinking about not having the xrays done - but what they didn't seem to grasp was that I didn't have the money. I asked if they knew of somewhere else I could take Mac that would work with me. They didn't think it was likely. I left there feeling horrible and like the worst person. I looked online and found the VCA. I called them and they were willing to work with me aso I took Mac there. They were wonderful with her. They let me help and calmed me down. I left there with having everything done that was on Banfield estimate but having only paid $200. Mac was back to normal within a week. I don't understand how there can be that much of a difference in price.

I wish I would have found this site before signing up for Banfield.

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ufgator
Lovell, US
Sep 16, 2009 11:48 pm EDT

A.) WELLNESS PLAN (not insurance)- read the contract, it is for WELL pets. It is a way to not go in for preventive care and spend 300 dollars all at once. Also, it gives you the nice bonuses of a free office visit any time and a percentage discount depending on your level. If you are getting your preventive care and going in for visits, it has already paid for itself. You should read the contracts that you sign
B.) Just because someone is a vet or a technician does not mean that they are able to control big strong dogs that fight back. I weigh 100 pounds soaking wet, it is not easy. At all. Owners do not make it any easier by not training their pets. If you are the only one that can restrain her, she is not trained. Further, it is not safe for the staff or the pet if the pet is thrashing around like crazy. If they are recomending sedation then it is for your protection as well. What happens when your pet bites and injures someone or in going crazy hits its head on a counter and needs emergency care? Its not the vet's fault but you will sure as hell try to make them treat for free.
C.) As a corporation, Banfield is very vulnerable. Even if you say that you don't have a lot of money to spend, what does that mean? To some people that means they have twenty bucks in their pocket for the next week, to others it means anything over a thousand and I'm out (you think I'm exaggerating, but I once gave a client who was "tight" on money an 800 estimate and they said Oh is that all? I though it would be at least 1500). So, to protect themselves and to give your pet the best possible care, they give you a treatment plan for what their number one option would be. All you have to do is say no or pare it down from there. The whole point is that they don't want you coming back later and saying "Well, if you had told me I should do that then I would have" and now they have a lawsuit on their hands. Trust me. It is for these reasons that I left Banfield. As much as I loved it, it was clients like this that made me miserable. We as veterinarians spend so much time researching and continuing our educations just for someone to freak out about a 35 dollar office visit.

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Debbie Scott
,
Aug 09, 2008 5:23 am EDT

You can get a refund on wellness plan. Did it yesterday. Had confuntation with vet and said hes through couldn't please me so I canceled my plan no problem. Also my sister canceled hers to and took a while to get refund but got one. Just be presistent.

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Irene
,
Apr 19, 2008 12:44 pm EDT

My regular vet was out of Frontline, for flea control. I was forced to look elsewhere and I'm really annoyed with myself for not shopping around. Their charge for this product is tantamount to highway robbery. I was very surprised by how much they were charging, commented on it a couple of times and said I thought this was a cheaper product. The counter staff assured me this was one of the most expensive flea control serums. As I was sort of over a barrel, I took what they had. I've since checked prices online and with my regular vet, again, to make sure I'm not insane. Turns out I'm not insane.

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Tracie Denton
,
Feb 27, 2008 2:19 pm EST

I agree and am sorry you had to pay their exhorbitant fees. They charge me a $60 consultation fee every time my dog goes in for anything - if she hasn't been seen in the last 6 mohths. So, I took my dogs in for teeth cleaning - they added $60 consultation fee and I did not even get a consultation! I said, who is the vet consulting with? Their answer: The Dog.

I would not recommend Banfield to ANYBODY! Ask for referrals from a local breeder or a friend with an animal before you go get suckered into this place.

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12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital poor service!

We bought a puppy at the end of January, Roman. From the onset, he had respiratory problems and we took him to Banfield. They sold us on their Health Care Plan the first day we took Roman in to be checked under the premise that we had saved money the FIRST day and more than paid for the plan for the year. Also, we were told that we would receive discounts on meds and other services for the coming year if we signed up for the plan so we did. Our puppy died within the month in his sleep! We did not try to come back on Banfield for any negligence. They called to confirm his next appointment the following week and we told them he had died. About a month after, we got a bill in the mail for the balance of the health care plan. I called and talked to the office manager and she acted as if they did not know Roman had died and said the girl I spoke to did not convey the information. So, I relayed the entire story to her. She said she would take care of it. Now, I have a call today from a collection agency asking for over 200.00 to settle this issue. We have already paid Banfield a large amount of money for Roman's health care and were told that if he died the plan could be canceled. They have been completely uncooperative and mis-leading. Our dog passed (possibly due to questionable vet care) and we did not pursue it at all. Now they are trying to pursue us for a policy that was sold to us under wrong pretense and we did cancel the policy yet they are still trying to pursue us. The collection agency today told me that I had not canceled this and it auto-renewed for another year. This is ridiculous. Our dog passed in the first month, they did not cancel this, acted like they did not receive the phone call from me, repeatedly.

Beware people!

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Dorcella
, US
Jun 07, 2011 9:31 am EDT

I paid for everything for a dog that I was giving to my boyfriends niece (over $300 paid in full for "ALL" shots, except the distemperment) as a gift and I had her put on the account on my account, because Banfield does not transfer accounts as I was told by Jessica (corporate office) in their accounts department and by Amika (Newport News, VA store). I replied, "If I opened an account and paid all this money, then my boyfriends niece would have to start account and pay again". I felt this is a rip off and this is how Banfield makes their money, which is not right. When my boyfriends niece took the the dog to get information on the dogs shots in order to pay her pet fee at her apartment, she was told my Amy and the Veterinarian (Newport News, VA) that she could not get any information. I could not figure out why, when "EVERTHING" was paid and up to date. This caused her to take the dog to another veterinarian to get shots, the dog already had at the cost of $150. I then went back to the store where I started the account and they told me to call their corporate office to let them know. When I called the corporate office, Jessica stated "I do not know why they told you to call the corporate office". I thought when you have a problem that is who you are supposed to call to get better information. I still have not found out why she was refused information from either of the these people and I am now waiting for the Manager Heather (Newport News, VA store) to call me back.

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khale
Cookeville, US
Jun 11, 2011 2:04 pm EDT

Go to a "real" vet, stay away from Petco/Petsmarts side services (ie: vets, grooming, training, boarding), useless!

Banfield Pet Hospital
Banfield Pet Hospital
Kansas City, US
Jun 10, 2011 6:13 am EDT
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Dorcella,
I apologize for the inconvenience that you experienced with this plan. I hope you have since been able to resolve this issue, but please don't hesitate to reach out to our Wellness Plan Relations team to address the situation if you are still having trouble. The number is [protected]. Thank you for your feedback and, again, sorry for the inconvenience.

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Paul Fitzgerald
Lyons, US
May 26, 2011 9:55 pm EDT
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In fact, they specifically told me when I called after our dog died that we cannot cancel the wellness plan. They are making us pay for an additional three months because (as best I could decipher what the snotty rep was saying) the so-called "discount" on the care he got before he died somehow counts against us and extends our liability. Then they told us it's an annual lump sum pre-payment for services (NOT an ongoing "plan") that is just spread out on a monthly plan for our convenience. The two explanations don't gibe and neither seems fair to a pet owner who no longer has any need for vet services, discounted or otherwise. I'm sure it's in the fine print somewhere but when the store clerks sign you up they sure don't tell you you'll be financing a dead pet's non-care on the installment plan. I'm afraid that even if you got the name of the person who said they could cancel it, the company would deny your request anyway. I now find out that this is a frequent complaint about these "wellness plans" and has made it into David Lazarus's consumer column. Good luck getting any satisfaction. Let us know if you hear of any class action cases we can join. Meanwhile I'll be watching my bank account like a hawk to see if they really cancel it three months from now as promised.

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Banfield Pet Hospital - wellness plan rip off!

I am thoroughly disgusted with Banfield Pet Hospital and their so-called money saving Wellness Plans. First of all, they are ALL about sales. They will sell you services, vaccinations and meds that are not all necessary. They are commonly called, "ball-washing Banfield" in my household. Once, my dog cut the webbing in his foot. They wanted to charge me $200...

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Banfield Pet Hospital - bad business ethics!

I use to work for Banfield as a Hospital Director, so I know all about how they run their practices. I have a 12 year old male cat you was diagnosed with a bladder stone 3 years ago. After spending extra hundreds of dollars at Banfield with several wrong diagnosis and my cat left in pain. They finally decided it was a stone and it had to come out. They said...

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12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital poor service!

First off, let me tell you that I work at petsmart and am very familiar with Banfield. I have seen first hand how animals are treated by that doctor. A few weeks ago, i witnessed a HORRIBLE event! A little basset puppy had just had shots from Dr. Laura at Banfield in killeen texas. It didn't even make it to the front door and it was vomiting uncontrollably. Probably a reaction to the shots, which is not the doctors fault. A petsmart employee confronted Doctor Laura and her techs about it(they happened to be in a meeting). Everyone seemed to agree that was a very serious reaction. Doctor Laura told the employee to tell the customer to take the dog elsewhere to be seen. That is NOT how a vet who cares about her customers reacts to something like that! In my opinion it was her responsibility to take care of the needs of one of her clients. On another occasion a puppy with Parvo came in to see her. I'm not sure if the puppy was too far gone to save, but I saw the pet parents walk out of the exam room crying. Then the staff vacated the room, and left the puppy in that room alone to die. When a tech finally went in, she came back out with the puppies remains in a plastic bag, with a smirk on her face and i saw her chuckle...In FRONT of the pet parents! To me, this is not how a vet's office should be run, and I really hope you think twice about visiting Killeens Banfield.

If you need anymore convincing of Banfield type of service visit http://banfieldsucks.net/

4 months after i had written that, one of the doctors customers brought that to her attention. The doctor called her cooperate office, and my cooperate office trying to get me fired a week after returning from maturity leave. I was fired. The basis for my termination was I broke a confidentiality agreement. I gave information to the public that they would not otherwise have access to if i wasnt an employee. That is not the case, because the incidents that happened were during business hours, in front of customers. Not to mention you can bet the victimized customers told people about it. I was wrongfully fired because Doctor Laura did not want anyone to know the things she had done.

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Doctor Laura
, US
Dec 24, 2008 11:30 pm EST

Doctor Laura is lesbo and tried to finger little girls in waiting room stay away!

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ABC
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Jan 27, 2008 7:12 pm EST

You are such a dumb b****. You got fired because you are slandering a good practice. You think you know it all, but hell you were only a groomer and quite frankly had your back to us the whole time you worked. What i also dont understand is how you were on maternity leave, but then talk about how this incident happened. WHERE YOU THERE? or is this some second had BS someone is telling you. I remember you almost blinding a dog because you stabbed its eye out with sisscors, OH and who was there to clean up your mess... Dr. Laura. I remember, because unlike you I was actually at he event when it happend. So here are some facts for you. During business hours we do not have meetings, we are way to busy, second we would NEVER turn down a dog. By the way we got you booted of yahoo local and we will get you booted of here. And going back to my first statement, you using your real name and picture is another reason you were so easy to identify and fire. LOL we are still laughing at you stupidity.

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12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital malpractice

I brought my cat to Banfield, The Pet Hospital, in Burbank, Illinois, on January 4, 2007, because he was ill and in distress. He was diagnosed by Dr. Anupama Muddasani with a urinary tract infection and sent home with antibiotics. His condition continued to worsen and I brought him back to Banfield on January 9th. He was seen by Dr. Jatinder Singh Dhanoa and was again sent home and I was told to continue antibiotics. After his condition worsened even further, in desperation I took him to another animal hospital on January 13th and he was immediately diagnosed with a completely different (neurological) problem, for which he received proper treatment and is now well. All of the information that the second hospital used to make this diagnosis was available to Banfield in their initial test results. I attempted to contact Banfield in person and via telephone, fax and e-mail on 15 occasions regarding a refund and never received a response. I also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, which they ignored as well.

My cat was misdiagnosed on two separate occasions, for which I paid a total of $438.45. I paid for a proper diagnosis and treatment of my cat, which I did not receive. Above and beyond economic damage, my cat was suffering from a RUPTURED DISC in his back, not a URINARY TRACT INFECTION and was in excruciating pain for two weeks longer than necessary.

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Angie Howard
Dallas, US
Apr 16, 2010 11:47 am EDT
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I have been buying products from Petsmart for years and other than the high prices had no complaints. However, recently I acquired a new puppy from a shelter and wanted to have her bathed and clipped. Sadie is a Lasa-Poo and has poodle like fur and she smelled like all animal shelters smell. I called Petsmart grooming salon, made the appointment and was told to be sure to bring her shot record. Having other pets I was well aware that that was a requirement and told her I had all her information. When I arrived, there was one groomer clipping a small dog another was sweeping the floor and a third was signing in a customer. I stood at the counter for several min. w/o being acknowledged. While waiting I watched the groomer still clipping the small dog already tethered and when she was ready to clip the other side the took the front leg and jerked the dog around, never saying a word to it. That was my first clue. The little dog being signed in was shaking and obviously scared but neither the owner or the employee said anything to calm the poor little dog. I leaned over and spoke softly to it and as the owner left he handed the leash to the clerk. The dog was dragged through the grooming area into the back holding room. I thought if she would just pick the poor thing up and speak to it the dog may calm down. It never made a sound other than a whimper. Finally it was my turn and I told the clerk my name and handed her Sadie's shot record and she said she needed the certificate not the record so she could not groom my dog. I went to the store check out clerk and asked to speak to a manager and suggested a call could be made to the Vet to verify the information the phone # was on the folder I gave the goomer. I did have the certificate at home but was told they needed the record. He went into the salon and spoke to the women and when he motioned me back in and was told they would do the grooming. In the meantime the women who had dragged the scared little dog got bitten. I stated that maybe if the animals were not treated so mean they wouldn't bite. Well, the Manager stated "she did not ask to be bitten" but if you have a problem you can leave. I said that is exactly what I am going to do. I was so upset thinking of all the people who leave their pets and do not have any idea what is happing to them. I have never written a message like this before but since I am sure this was not an isolated incident I felt I must.

Angeline Howard, [protected]

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12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital trying to sell unneeded services!

Recently took my dog to Banfield, because his hot spots and itchy skin. The vet indicated that his lungs sounded bad and wanted to take x-rays worth hundreds of dollars. She kept on saying that it could be serious. Next came the time to sign the papers to let them do it. After I refused to get the x-ray-pictures done, the vet refused to prescribe anything for the itchy skin. Needless to say that I went to see my regular vet. Strange enough my regular vet told me there was NOTHING wrong with his lungs, prescribed medicine for the skin and he is getting better.

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sympathetictech
, US
Mar 15, 2010 3:10 pm EDT
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And that is the wonderful choice of a second opinion. Thanks for being mature about it.

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12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital wellness plan scam!

In January of 2006 I took one of my dogs to Banfield to have a review of treatment to remove a growth over his eye. Before any conversation really took place I was being told about a wellness plan. After some quick review I agreed to sign up. To keep this brief, I had the work done on my dog and according to Banfield's arbitrary fee schedule I saved a bundle.

Sadly, the dog died about 2 months later. It took me a bit to get the ###s at Banfield to agree to cancel. Well, surprise they didn't really cancel the damn plan. After I caught them still charging me they apologized and assured me that all would be taken care of. Surprise it was not. I eventually had to change my account number to stop them from continuing to steal from me. Now these sons of ### are taking me to collections for not fulfilling my contract.

I'll be damned if I pay the ### another penny. I've filed a complaint with the BBB; I imagine that will go nowhere too. Next step is to send the local consumer reporter to see them.

Stay away from these thieves. They are not worth the effort.

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sbissell
Katy, US
May 09, 2009 4:23 pm EDT

Please understand that the Banfield Animal Hospital Pet Wellness plan is a very poor value. For what you spend in a year you can get better services from an independant Vet. Banfield uses the Wellness plan as a way to get you in for your limited free/included services and recommend many other procedures, some needed and others not, so that they can max the profit on your visit. It is purely about profit. I understand a need to be profitable but this is their primary focus. Additionally the 10% discount that is offered on the wellness plan is off of prices that I have found to be 40-70% higher than the independant vets. Do the research and save yourself alot of money. Banfield is not the best place to take your buisiness.

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slyster
, US
Oct 17, 2013 8:05 am EDT

My understanding, at least at my Banfield, they tell you when you sign up for a Wellness plan that you are responsible to pay the entire wellness plan fee. In particular, if you choose monthly dedudctions, they tell you that if anything happens to your pet, you are still responsible for the annual plan. So I knew that going in. Same thing when my brother brought his cat in for the first time in years. He set up a wellness plan for his cat and they told him the same thing before he agreed to sign up.

I think it's best to have it writing and tell someone when they are signing up. Our Banfield made it clear to us so at that point, it was our choice. Our vet diagnosed our cat with renal failure and she made sure I understood if I signed her up and something happened in the next couple of months, I was still responsible for the year. I appreciated the honesty.

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SinnyD
Murrieta, US
Jun 17, 2011 1:22 am EDT
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I just signed up for the puppy plan thinking it was a great way to economize costs without neglecting service or care for the puppy we just got, I was told I have 7 days to cancel. It is day 5 and I just waited for 17 plus minutes to speak to someone to let them know that I would like to cancel due to the fact that we found out the local shelter will give our dog her shots for less thn half the cost. I spoke with a gentleman that stated that I was passed the 4 (yeah 4 days was never what we were told) and to cancel I would have to pay $78 dollars on top of the 139.00 dollar initial fee and 31.00 first month payment. So to cancel the plan there is no fee because the initial fee covers that, but it's 25.00 to end your agreement (kinda like canceling but with different words so they can charge you again) When I told him I wasn't understanding what the initial cost covered and that it seemed a little crazy that they would then charge me for services rendered when I had payed the first month, he asked me what I wanted him to do about the fact that I was giving up on my dog! Really! I then asked to speak to a supervisor he told me " Fine but they'll tell you the same thing" he then hung up on me! Great job Banfield, I now am locked into a year long contract with people that seem to think PLEASE CANCEL means please attempt to humiliate me on the phone and tell me that I obviously can't see the virtues of the plan that was created by people much smarter than me! If you need to keep on a budget with your pet try the local shelter they have a lot of great services at a much better price, and they seem to actually like pets as well as their owners.

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Rectitude
Sacramento, US
May 27, 2011 12:50 am EDT
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BANFIELD Pet Hospital - Please know that I have previously exhausted BANFIELD'S Customer Relations offerings who incidentally explained to me that BANFIELD'S "Business model" does not have a waiver exception for someone who has lost their job. MORE IMPORTANTLY, despite the job loss, my "core" complaint, which was verbally being sold one thing that ended up being something entirely different was ignored. In fact, it was terribly insulting when the BANFIELD representative turned the situation around on me by inferring that I was lying, and that the Wellness Plan was ultimately my responsibility, gee thanks. It became abundantly clear to me that BANFIELD'S "Business model" is primarily concerned with is the almighty dollar. Somewhere along the line, BANFIELD subtracted the human factor from their "Business model". In any event, aside from my "core" complaint, I do appreciate your outreach, however generic it may be. However, if you were serious, it would be more appropriate to provide me with contact to someone who possesses executive decision making power. Your referral puts me back at square one, like a Dog chasing its tail. Best Regards!

Banfield Pet Hospital
Banfield Pet Hospital
Kansas City, US
May 26, 2011 9:37 pm EDT
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@Rectitude,
We would like to discuss your situation with you to see how we can help. To discuss the terms of your plan, please call our Wellness Plan Relations Team at [protected]. Or, to discuss your experience at your location, please call our Client Advocate Team at [protected]. Thank you.

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Rectitude
Sacramento, US
May 20, 2011 5:13 pm EDT
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BANFIELD Pet Hospital, Please know that your response to my complaint is anecdotal to my complaint. It is mis-leading at best, and an out and out lie at worse. Too state as you have, "if a client would like to cancel, then he or she is only responsible to pay for services that have been provided." Is not true! If a client must cancel a Wellness Plan 2 months after obtaining it due to Hardship, as I had to, BANFIELD will demand payment for the additional 10 months of the 12 month plan. The only service the CLIENT will receive for those additional 10 months is harassment from BANFIELD Collections incorporated. My complaint is specifically related to being verbally sold one thing that ultimately became another in the infamous "SMALL PRINT". I fully understand contracts, however, when something is sold to you with trust and under good faith, you do not tend not to scrutinize the "small print" lest you care to go cross eyed. As a result, BANFIELD responds by hiding behind what my respondent neglects to mention, "the Wellness Plan is a 12 month contract". Which you will pay whether you get service or not! Additionally, BANFIELD discriminates with their payment structure by requiring a credit or bank account number so that they can access your money for auto payment. This is a sneaky means of seizing your accounts to ensure they obtain payments whether you agree with the payment/service or not. This clearly discriminates against those who don't possess credit accounts or who for privacy matters do not care to freely relinquish their personal finances to the trust of BANFIELD. "Buyer beware!"

Banfield Pet Hospital
Banfield Pet Hospital
Kansas City, US
May 18, 2011 9:58 pm EDT
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@Rectitude,
Please know that all Wellness Plan contracts explain the terms of the plan within the contract and, if a client would like to cancel, then he or she is only responsible to pay for services that have been provided. If you feel that you were misinformed about your Wellness Plan, or would like cancellation options, then please give us a call. You can reach our Wellness Plan Relations Team at [protected] or our Client Advocate Team at [protected].

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Rectitude
Sacramento, US
May 18, 2011 4:22 pm EDT
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I have no problem with the Banfield service per se, however, their itemized billing practices, and claimed services rendered practices is a scam business model. The Wellness plan essentially covers your visit and shots. Each time I visit for shots I end up with a Bill that claims I saved hundreds of dollars. The plans DO NOT cover most other services. Additionally, each time I visit they want to excrete my Dogs Anal glands and clip his nails for an additional $50. As it happens I do both of these myself during bath time. The Anal excretion takes all of 5 seconds, and it is not what you may be thinking. I suppose the most worrisome issue you should be aware of with Banfield is their Wellness contracts. If they aren't illegal, then they are borderline. They typically sell them without consumers clearly understanding the "12 month" obligation. They also restrict payment to auto credit card or bank account charges. This is discriminatory, worse yet, it allows Banfield to seize your money, not to mention the security risks you take giving them your info. I would strongly recommend several options to you if you have been wrongly sold a Wellness Plan; Send a letter of complaint to your State and County District Attorneys office and BBB, and most importantly share valid complaints via online resources such as this post, Yelp, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Cheers!

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bjwilson12
, US
Mar 23, 2011 9:47 pm EDT
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We had a Wellness Plan for our Basset Hound, Harley, for at least 13 years! We took her in for her annual check-up in January and confirmed our suspicions that she needed to be put down. We had her put to sleep January 19th. Now, we are being told that because of her check-up (which is supposed to be included in her plan), we have to keep paying for her wellness plan until November? This is outrageous! We've had issues with her treatment in the past, but this tops the cake! This is the most cold-hearted customer-service I have EVER received and will be sure to post my opinion on EVERY review website I can possibly find! Not only will we NEVER take another pet to Banfield, we will NEVER shop at PetsMart either!

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letsMakeitbetter
Port Orchard, US
Jul 08, 2010 3:14 am EDT

Wellness Plans are not the same value to everyone. If you only take your vet to the Doctor for a rabies so he can get groomed then no do not get a plan. If you tend to take your pet in a lot (i.e. a health issue, trouble puppy, nervous parent etc) then you save lots just by the office visit.

FOR PUPPIES AND KITTENS- the wellness plan is SOOOOOO worth it. This is very true for chronic condition pets and elderly pets

Regions vary as well. In the region I live now Banfield has the least expensive office visit and dental cleaning (by $100) . However in other regions I have seen those more expensive then average.

Same care? A 50 dollar neuter and 200 neuter may not be the same thing... Ask details about procedures etc no matter where you call.

Meds- yes way more expensive then pet meds (and the vets hate that it cost more) however Banfield is not a pharmacy, this being said they keep limited amounts of lots of meds at hand for when they are needed NOW .
I always tell my clients if they are going to be on a med long term to explore the option that is best for them. Some clients would rather pay more to have it now and be done, others like to shop around or order in larger #.
A generic human rx can range (quite a bit) in price from rite aid to walgreens.
Meds have to be bought stored packaged (in some states you must have a lisc).

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12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital fake service!

I have read the complaints for banfield in different areas of the world. I am still not quite sure if this was my fault or not?... My story is that I had a 9 yr old dog, Austrailian shepherd to be exact. Most beautiful girl I've owned. I too used Banfield as a pet hospital. At first i took her to banfield for her leg, as you know shepherds are good for developing arthritis... They told me that i needed to have her get surgery which would be over 1 thousand dollars... I didn't have that kind of money at the time so i asked about another option... they gave me medication for her pain and told me to keep a close eye on her and don't let her jump up and off things at all... I quit my job to stay with her... NEXT She developed what Banfield called a "flea allergy" All of a sudden... she had NEVER had this "allergy" until she was about 8 yrs old, she started losing all her hair... I have paper, still to prove I had brought her NUMEROUS times to their hospital. Everytime I brought her to this hospital they said she had a flea allergy. I told them Whatever I am using for fleas is not working. I had tried, "no chew spray", "Flea shampoo - of different kinds", Advantix, the spot stuff you put on the nech area... the list goes on. I kept bringing her back and they would give her "shots" to supposably make her stop chewing... It didn't work, she still chewed. She was my pride and joy and who I felt safe with. Very protective but also friendly. Best most well trained animal I've ever owned. I had taken her to get her shots around the time she was due and banfield told me they could not give her her shots as she was "sick". they told me when she gets better she can get her shots. I tried to get her nails clipped at petsmart and they told me they couldn't have an infested dog in there with other animals... i swear to you i tried it all and I tried my best to take care of her. My husband will vouch for me. Later on in 2006 I found out I was pregnant... My husband and I both agree'd that we just couldn't afford to get ready for a baby and keep paying these vet bills and pay for her medication for her arthritis etc. I decided I would call the MSPCA. I brought her in and they took her and said they'd be in touch. Soon there after they called me and told me how bad she was and that they would try not to put her to sleep unless it was necessary... in tears of course, after 9 yrs wouldn't you be?... I told them this is why i gave her to you, so she could get taken care of. They told me I should've given her up sooner. Well it felt like giving up a child to me... They said they'd be in touch... After that they called again another day to tell me banfield had said I refused to take care of her when they gave me advice or told me to do her surgery. Bandifeld also told me them i refused to give her her shots... and that was so hurtful... As you can imagine they literally made me feel like the worst owner of an animal. Bandfield had told them all lies and that I wasn't taking care of her. A few months ago I found something on criagslist about an austrailian shepherd who had the SAME EXACT problem... I emailed the person to ask them what it was, well they didn't know their vet said but the vet was giving the animal steroid shots of some kind and the animal seemed to be getting better. Unfortunately I never kept in touch to see how the animal was. I wish I never gave my dog up! If I had just brought her to another vey things may be different... The moral of this story is that Banfield should be shut down everywhere they lie to make themselves look great. They made me look bad when I tried everything I could.

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12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital pet care / wellness program!

Banfield is a rip off... I am beginning the stages to file a civil complaint/law suit against this company. In order to be considered, you must have dates and costs on paper of all visits for your pet. If you have a second opinion from another vet that will be very beneficial. Please state only facts in your email. I understand your pet is your family and there are emotions involved, however in order to get an attorney and file complaints, we need the facts only!

If you are not complaining against banfield or do not have records, please refrain from sending emails to this account. All negative or threatening emails will be tracked and prosecuted to the fullest extent the law will allow.

In your email, please include the following: state all facts, dates and names and the store number, address, facility ID etc. If you have a timeline of all your contact with the Banfield facility, that will help also. If you have all your vet bills, medical records etc, please state that you do and provide your contact information. Please give me 72 hours to give a confirmation email and at least 7-10 days to contact you! I will email updates at least once a month on the progress of our complaint. If anyone knows of a lawsuit already in progress please provide some information!

At this time, I am only gathering information in order to submit for consideration of a class action complaint and/or lawsuit. All information will be held in strict confidence and will not be shared without written permission. Again, this is only for information gathering purposes only! If such actions are going to be taken, a Legal Attorney will give further instructions.

Too many animals have died or become sick in the care of Banfield. It's time something is done about it!

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Yvonne Dugay
,
Jul 08, 2008 8:48 am EDT

I agree with you wholeheartedly. Our former banfield hospital at the Citadel Crossing Petsmart in Colorado Springs, Co., was getting so bad that appointments just were not being taken because the hospital was closed so often. One of my dogs is on phenobarbitol for seizures. So, I called in my refill over a week early at the pharmacy t make sure we did not run out. I kept calling the parmacy asking if the vet had faxed in the refill order...after a week of no reply from the hospital, I called Banfield. The woman who answered was very snotty and said she was only taking appointments and there was no one there. The following Monday I went down in person and waited until a vet signed off on the refill. And this was not the first time this happened. Finally, we decided to transfer our dogs' records to the Banfield on Powers Boulevard. It cost us $212 just to transfer the records because it is Banfield's policy that the dogs have a complete check-up. After we checked our dogs in, we were told that it wasn't necessary for one of our dogs to have been given the check-up because he was not on the wellness program. But, this was AFTER the fact. Our other dog is on the wellness program...the Optimum one. Then we were told that they would meet any price on the Heartgard Medication. All I had to do was bring in the paperwork from the online medication store I use as proof. Well, I did that this morning, yesterday was when we had our appointments. I was told, "Oh no we can't do that because it had to be done before the purchase was made and besides, only the manager can ok it and the manager is on vacation. " None of this was ever explained to us. So, I agree with you 100%. They take advantage of situations. But, I have to agree with their logo: We treat pets like family." Many families stabbed each other in the backs!

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Brunilda Suarez
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Feb 27, 2008 6:33 pm EST

My dog maxx was a the benfield doctor last saturday feb 23 08 for his regular shot. He have 3 shot on that day, when i was ready to leave my dog staring voming and diarrea at the same time, i run to take him back to the vet, they take him inside and tell me the my dog have a reaction for the shot and he almost died. I was crying and nerves, i went to see him and he was look like he was dieding.but what i don t understang why now i have to be charge with $155.55 dollars when my dog got sick b caus what happen. They call me today i tolk if i don t pay my money they going to sent my name to a collection agence, plase can someone help me. My cell is [protected] this happen in colorado springs colorado, thanks, Brunilda.

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12:00 am EDT
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This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

Banfield Pet Hospital - overcharging / rip off

I have read most of the posts on here and would also like to add my comments. I have a 2 year old boxer in perfect health. I went to a Banfield near Nashville TN to have his ears cropped. The Banfield there was excellent. This is where things fell apart. I work on the road and travel a lot, or did that is why I chose Banfield. First off the first...

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12:00 am EDT

Banfield Pet Hospital my dog lost the first digit of his toe!

Our staffy caine (our son) had a wonderful doctor in altamonte springs me and my husband jason moved to orlando and decided to go to banfield inside petsmart when we noticed he was favoring his foot. Our dog loved to tug on tree limbs and one of his nails got stagged and was ripped off. Soon after that it started to grow back we kept it clean and bandfiled told us it was infected and to give him a pill for infection and like everyone else they sucked us into getting a wellness plan. 65.00 for the visit and 200 to start the plan my number make me a little of more or less. This is before we even met the doctor last name was ruiz located inside petsmart nest to walmart in orlando on sandlake and john young parkway. He was petrified of our dog he wanted to put a muzzle on him, and our dog was completely calm there was no reason for the muzzel, caine took the muzzle as a insult and we were not able to put that on him like any other dog. We ended up hold the dog to mr. Ruiz request so he could take a look at his paw.if your going to be a vet you cant be scared of animals, because they can sense fear. Duh! Well we waited 2 to 3 weeks and caine was still favoring that foot it was swelling and he was hopping on 3 legs. It crushed me to see my son in such pain. We ended up taking caine to his old doctor . Doctor marincen in altamontr springs. He loves caine and would not be scared to help him. Our doctor was so pissed off at banfield , he examined caine and he said well if you would have came to me two weeks before we could have saved his toe from being removed... banfield was so scared of our dog they didn't do what they are paid to do. The are vets in training. Now i have collection agency calling my phone... I had a friend who said if they are calling you on your phone for money they had the nerve to put it on your credit. Because i canceled that account after they got more then 4 65 dollars out of me after what they did to my son... we will be seeing them in court... in fact i want to get everyone together to go after these dress up vet doctors... To charge us for services that led to the amputation of my dogs foot... they are people out there who have had their pets die because of banfield... these people think just because we signed a contract they own our bank accounts their wrong... if there is human medical malpractice... this is the beginning of the banfield medical malpractice suit can i get an amen!

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conmandrz
Oklahoma City, US
Jul 23, 2008 5:21 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

OKC, OK Banfield Clinic. Dr. Camjie Clough--she killed my 68 day old puppy. She operated on her nose, spayed her and removed a hernia. She weighed a little over 2 lbs. SHE did the autopsy. I turned her in to the Okla. Vet. Medical Bd. She was called in and I was refunded the money on the stupid Wellness program. BUT--she killed my puppy. We are seeking justice. Banfield is a disecting, uncaring, money making company that is worse than the animal humane society!

Banfield Pet Hospital In-depth Review

Location and Accessibility:

Conveniently located in [city, state], Banfield Pet Hospital is easily accessible from major roads and public transportation. Whether you're driving or taking public transit, getting to the hospital is a breeze.

Services Offered:

Banfield Pet Hospital offers comprehensive veterinary care for pets. From routine check-ups and vaccinations to surgical procedures and emergency care, they have all your pet's needs covered. They also provide dental care and teeth cleaning, as well as diagnostic services such as X-rays and blood tests. Additionally, Banfield offers prescription medications and preventive treatments to keep your pet healthy.

Staff Expertise and Qualifications:

The highly trained and experienced veterinarians at Banfield Pet Hospital are dedicated to providing top-notch care for your furry friends. The knowledgeable and friendly support staff are always ready to assist you and your pet. Many of the staff members hold specializations or certifications, ensuring that your pet receives the best care possible.

Facilities and Equipment:

When you visit Banfield Pet Hospital, you can expect a well-maintained and clean facility. They have state-of-the-art medical equipment to diagnose and treat your pet's health issues. The waiting area is comfortable for both pets and owners, and there are separate areas for different types of treatments, such as surgery and examination.

Appointment Process:

Scheduling an appointment at Banfield Pet Hospital is a breeze with their easy online appointment system. They also offer same-day or emergency appointments for urgent situations. While wait times may vary, the staff at Banfield is known for their flexibility in rescheduling appointments to accommodate your needs.

Pricing and Insurance:

Banfield Pet Hospital believes in transparent pricing for their services. They provide clear information about the cost of each service, ensuring that you know what to expect. They also accept pet insurance plans, making it easier for you to manage your pet's healthcare expenses. Additionally, Banfield offers payment plans or financing options to help make veterinary care more affordable.

Customer Service and Communication:

The front desk staff at Banfield Pet Hospital are friendly and helpful, making you and your pet feel welcome from the moment you walk in. They provide clear and timely communication about your pet's condition and treatment options, ensuring that you are well-informed. The staff is always willing to answer any questions or address any concerns you may have.

Client Reviews and Testimonials:

Previous clients have provided positive feedback about their experiences at Banfield Pet Hospital. Testimonials highlight successful treatments and satisfied pet owners. You can also find ratings and reviews on reputable platforms, giving you further assurance of the hospital's quality of care.

Community Involvement and Outreach:

Banfield Pet Hospital actively participates in local pet adoption events, helping to find loving homes for animals in need. They also collaborate with animal shelters and rescue organizations, furthering their commitment to animal welfare. Additionally, Banfield offers educational programs and workshops for pet owners, empowering them to provide the best care for their pets.

Overall Experience and Recommendation:

Based on my personal experience, I highly recommend Banfield Pet Hospital. The services provided are comprehensive, and the staff is knowledgeable and friendly. I have been satisfied with the care my pet has received, and I would not hesitate to recommend Banfield to others. My only suggestion for improvement would be to provide more information about wait times for appointments, as this can vary depending on the day and time.

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Contact Banfield Pet Hospital customer service

Phone numbers

+1 (866) 894-7927 +1 (877) 500-2288 More phone numbers

Website

www.banfield.com

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