Comments on: Avoid Banfield Pet Hospitals and the Wellness Plans. Read our story [UPDATE 2]

By: John K

John K — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:13:06 +0000

Janee - When they took Winston’s temperature he was extremely uncomfortable, and cried. However, I have never once had the same issue with the new place we go to. Not once.

I am sure that some banfields are better than others, but due to our experience and the puppy getting so sick, I am never willing to chance it again.

By: Janee

Janee — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:06:46 +0000

Yesterday I took my 3 month old kitten to them for an exam. The vet techs held him down to take his temperature and started screaming. 2 hours after we got home he went to the bathroom and I saw blood dripping out of his butt. I took pictures of it. I called today and told them how horrified I am. I’m bringing him there later today so they can examine him. I can’t believe what they did to him.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 19:15:18 +0000

I’m sorry this happened to you, but I’ve had absolutely no problems with Banfield Pet Hospitals or the puppy wellness plan. I know for sure it has saved me money based on all the visits we’ve made and how much the spaying would’ve cost us. I like knowing I can take our dog in anytime because I don’t have to worry that we won’t have the money up front to pay for the visit.

I think all situations are different and I wouldn’t say the plan sucks for everyone

By: janet

janet — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:15:58 +0000

I just had a problem with Banfield. My dog ultimately needed ear surgery due to their failure to properly handle her medical needs.

I had a meeting with them which was a waste of time.

Did anyone pursue Banfield yet through the Court system in New Jersey?

By: Al

Al — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:15:51 +0000

We recently took ownership of a pet from a family member. The dog has been a patient of Banfield for over four years and has a current wellness program with them. We wanted to be sure that Lucy was a good fit so we waited a month before attempting to transfer her into our name and assume the policy. When we went to the Moorestown, NJ location to have her transferred we were shocked when we were told that we would have to sign her up as a new patient and pay a new patient membership fee of $69.95 while she was currently covered in an account in good standing. They went on to explain that was the only way they could update the information, take the previous owner off the account and name us Lucy’s owner. What they failed to explain is the crime of a predatory nature. We paid a total of $166.21 on 06/26/2110 to affect this change and purchased heartworm and tick prevention medication. I received a call last night from the same family member that we adopted the dog from and was informed that Banfield debited her account for $23.95, the same amount we are paying. Thinking this was a clerical error; I called the local Banfield clinic and was told that the previous owner was responsible for cancelling the old premium which they failed to disclose to us when we opened our account. When she called Banfield corporate today she was informed that her agreement was binding and she was responsible to pay the monthly fee until the contract expires in November. I called corporate to explain that we were now paying the premium for the SAME patient and I was told that their policy is to collect for the full contract amount regardless of duplicate premiums. Now, I have to refund my relative the same amount I’m paying for the dog’s coverage. When I asked if my dog was receiving twice the coverage they said no. When I asked if the transfer which I was charged $69.00 for had increased Banfield’s operating expense they said no. Finally, when I asked the corporate representative if they were in my shoes how would they feel; The reply was, a cold, I can’t answer that question because it’s not my pet. This is an absolute crime. They did not lose a client but now they are trying to collect twice for the same coverage on a single animal. I’m out of room or I’d explain my sales issue. Bottom line is that this company has either lost focus on customer service and doing the sensible right thing but more likely is a sales organization that is driven by greed and revenue with a corporate policy that screws their clients with no regard to ethics, moral or decorum. Their tactics of disclosure are at best invisible as they defer to small print in their terms and conditions and even twist those words to a point of distortion that is unrecognizable to the consumer eye. This organization is dirty, underhanded and feeds off fear and love of pets to upsell unsuspecting customers who assume that they are legitimate because they are partnered with a large national chain like Pet Smart. The aforementioned company should change its name to Pet DUMB because there is no long term strategy of survival when you sleep with a predator like Banfield. If you are smarter than me and performing your due diligence, do yourself a favor and check their rating history with the Better Business Bureau @ http://www.bbb.org/oregon/business-reviews/animal-hospitals/banfield-the-pet-hospital-in-portland-or-78000503 . They are not an accredited member and can’t be because they fall well below the BBB’s minimal standard requirements because of their history and practice. I’m not an attorney but if I were, I would rally to create a class action complaint against this entity that, in my opinion, is at par with Michael Vick.

By: Banfield Pet Nurse

Banfield Pet Nurse — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:39:03 +0000

I have worked for a Banfield Hospital for over 10 years and the experience you have all just heard is not normal for the private practice. I am a nurse who loves and adores every patient who enters the hospital. I always wash my hands before and after working with each patient including anywhere they may have licked such as arm, fingers, face etc… I do that because I value keeping them healthy. Banfield has very strict standards of quality medicine and sanitary conditions. We do not have carpet or plastic surfaces which can hold bacteria, we sanitize each exam room, kennel, treatment table etc… before and after each patient. I am suprised to hear that Winston’s owner say nurses being licked from one pet and then immediately going to have Winston lick them. I highly doubt that acually happened. It is unusual for a Doctor to not be aware of the vaccine history before deciding to vaccinate a patient. With that I would say the problem wasn’t Banfield but that individual doctor. After 10 years working with Banfield doctors I can confidently tell you that I have never witnessed this type of experience that Winston’s owner is talking about. I am very sad to hear about her experience and I know that it could have been handled differently. One important comment I would like to make is about when Winston became sick. I highly doubt it had anything to do with his examination. The puppy had just taken an airplane flight of which length she didn’t mention. So after flying on a plane with either other pets in cargo or under a seat surrounded by passengers who may or may not have been sick… it makes me wonder if he had already been exposed to his illness before his Banfield visit. Most infections don’t show symptoms immediately and he was seen immediately after they got their new puppy Winston.

As far as the wellness plans go I do love the plans becasue it DOES save people money. Regardless of Banfield being a large company, that is how they can afford to offer these wellness plan packages. The plans offer unlimited free office visits- can your current vet do that? They include every vaccination including boosters that your pet will need. It can include the spay/neuter option if you want that. I also includes a yearly heartworm test as well as several fecal testings and dewormings. The plans are only a list of pre-paid services. When Winston’s owner signed up on the plan she did sign a wellness plan agreement that listed all the services included. It also explains that anything not listed is not included. It also explains that anything else not listed in the wellness plan will be discounted by 10%. So although not everything that could happen to your pet is included in the plan- that isn’t the point of the plans. The plans are designed to cover the basic stuff you plan to do anyways but at a discounted price that has the cost split up over the course of 12 months rather than all at once. For thousands of families this is a huge help with budgeting for a furry family member! Then to help reduce cost of unexpected accidents/illness etc they offer a discount on all other services offered which includes diagnostic testing and medications. As far as canceling the plans there is another option that was not mentioned in the comments listed above by Winston’s owner. The plan can be canceled by means of two ways. Either the client pays for the cost of services recieved or they pay out the remaining years payments. So it sounds to me as though it would have been really inexpensive for them to just pay for services that they recieved aka just the office visit and medications given rather then canceling the remaining 11 monthly payments. Because they signed the agreement and signed him up they woudn’t get the membership fee back which is what it sounds like she wanted. As a whole I feel that there were many gaps in the above comments that didn’t add up.

As a whole I feel that Winston’s owners did not recieve a typical Banfield experience. It is possible that they signed up on a plan and signed the agreement without fully understanding it. There is always two sides to every story, although I am biased I still do feel that Banfield is a fabulous practice and I would never trust my pets to anyone else. I would strongly encourage everyone to find a local Banfield and just take a tour of the Hospital and decide for yourself before disregarding them based off of one person’s experience.

By: Lol

Lol — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:08:40 +0000

You’re dediculous. I’ve been a client with banfield for many years and much enjoy their wellness plans. When I signed my contract their reception staff did a good job in making sure i understood that this is not an insurance.Pets can get sick anywhere, perhaps the flight the pet was on, maybe you took if for a walk and caught it from some other pet. you cant blame you pet getting sick on a dr. that takes an oath to do whats best for your pet.you seem paranoid and too high strung.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:52:39 +0000

I agree with @K.B.

Typical corporate bullshit. They care about money, not you and not your puppy. You figure the manager would have been more sympathetic.

Thanks for sharing.

P.S. Stick with private veterinary hospitals where they really do care.

By: Joe D

Joe D — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:44:12 +0000

Thanks for the info. Was just doing some research on banfield because my wife wanted to use the wellness plan.

Will avoid them and go somewhere else.

Hope Winston is feeling better, please update and let us know!

By: K.B.

K.B. — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:53:34 +0000

I worked for Banfield briefly as a collections rep at the corporate office in Portland, Oregon. The Wellness Plans are made for one reason only, TO MAKE THE COMPANY MONEY! All day long I talked to people who were told by the hospital that the plan could be canceled at any time. I Know for a fact that the corporate office is aware of this misinformation and deliberately does not advise there hospitals to correct this. The actual production cost of the services provided by the wellness plans is often less than $100, but the “Retail Value” of the services can be in excess of $1000.00. I understand that a company obviously needs to make money, but the markup on these services is outrageous on top of the unethical lack of information given to the clients by the hospital staff (generally speaking) about their options for canceling the wellness plan. In addition to this the billing for the company is all “paperless”. You have to give a credit card to be automatically billed every month. If something happens and the payments aren’t automatically processed for several months the wellness plan is canceled to collections. At this point, even if the “Retail Value” of the services used is LESS than the cost of the plan they are going to send you to IC Systems (a collection agency) for the whole year’s cost of the wellness plan plus collection fees, if said fees are allowed in your state. This means that if you took your pet in to the hospital all you had done were 2 shots and some kind of fecal exam, and later on the payments are defaulted on (sometimes the “automatic billing system” randomly just stopped taking payments for, SERIOUSLY, no reason!) you are going to be sent to collections for up to $400.00. Granted, it is ultimately the client’s responsibility to make sure their bills are being paid, but how easy could it be to miss that 21.95 wasn’t deducted from your account? SOMETIMES the clients will be mailed a letter saying the payments are not being made and SOMETIMES a phone call is generated in the system, but by no means does this happen with every client. I would say it happens maybe 30% of the time. I know, this is all I did all day long for two months while in the Wellness Plan collections department. I have never in my life worked for a company where all day long I had to listed to people threatening legal action. I really believe that it can’t be legal that they cancel the wellness plans to collections for more then the retail value of the services that were used, and I also think this is in direct contradiction with what the actual contracts say. This is one of the worst jobs with the worst company I’ve ever had in my life. Unfortunately as far as the company is concerned there really is NO WAY that they are going to give you your money back. I’ve been researching their business practices online and I believe there are many people trying to form a class action lawsuit against them. I would highly suggest that you look into joining one of these lawsuits. Something like that is the only effective thing that is going to send a message to the public.