You have probably heard of the Banfield Pet Hospital as it is one of the larges chains of pet hospitals in the world. Covering most of North America Banfield has placed itself in a very unique position as a leader in the market. By leader I don’t mean by being the best but rather by being the largest of its kind.
Pet Hospitals
Because of this I find that it would be in place to conduct a review of Banfield Pet Hospital. So many animals are treated in one of their hospitals every single year and as a pet owner you want to feel secure that not only the quality of treatment is high but also that you’re not being ripped off when you see the hospital bill.
Now as you might have guessed it is not easy to do an objective pet hospital review as you can only base it on testimonials from clients that have already used the service they provide. Since there are more than 500 hospitals all over the country you will also find that quality and service can very greatly as with any other large corporation.
Reviews Of Pet Hospitals And Pet Care
A client can have been unfortunate to run into a stressed doctor or nurse while others might have encountered hospital staff in their best possible moods. Should the Banfield pet hospital reviews be based on such subjective and incidental situations? I don’t think that would be fair to neither the hospital nor to you as a pet owner.
So how do you then do a review? I’ve searched all over the Internet for testimonials on how people find the services of the Banfield hospital and even though I found a lot of pet owners that had spoken their mind I weren’t able to come to a clear conclusion. Some of them were really happy with the treatment that their pets had gotten while others were not. So the only thing that I can say with certainty is that these Banfield Pet Hospital Reviews are really had to be objective about.
We’ve been clients of Banfield since 1996. We’ve always had 2 or 3 large dogs, shepherds (5 over the years) and an afghan hound. We also have 3 cats on the wellness plan. We were clients of Banfield in Winston-Salem, NC for 4 years, and have now been with them in St. Pete, FL for 10 years. Dr. Rodriguez and his staff have always been terrific to our “zoo”. Sorry to all who have had troubles and difficulties.
He is terrible! He doesn’t care about your dogs, he wants your money. For your dog’s health and your wallets health go to a local small vets. He refused to see my dog because he would be leaving in 2 hours, it was an emergency my dog was seizing 5 times in one day. If he loved your pets so much he would have stayed. The place we went didn’t take 2 hours to tell us it was best to just put her down, he just didn’t wanna deal with it. Recently they estimated a surgery for us at $1500 we went to a smaller vet and it was $400. I go to the same place as you in st.pete. We were with them for a good 20 years before we realized how ridiculous they were.
I’m VERY UPSET & ANGRY. BANFIELD in OLATHE, KS is THE WORST. Banfield upsold me on extra vaccinations for my 14yr old Miniature Schnauzer, ‘Misty’. The Lepto vaccine caused a severe reaction and she could barely breath that night. I finally figured out that children’s benadryl would solve the SEVERE ALLERGIC REACTION. Thanks to Google – and NO THANKS to BANFIELD.
I believe it is a game to them. To see how much they can:
1) Screw you over,
ONLY prescribe expensive brands versus generics.
2) Lie to you,
3) Endanger your beloved pet’s health,
4) Sell & Upsell you unnecessary items,
5) Charge as much as possible,
6) Be rude to you,
7) Make life as difficult for you as possible,
I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things. I’m not sure I’ve ever been this outraged at a business in my life!
I would rather throw money down a rathole than to ever spend another red cent with these LIARS & THEIVES.
Steer clear of Banfield. WAAAAAY FAR AWAY.
I completely understand your frustration. I work at Banfield, have been there for 2 years and I have personally seen many differsnt “styles” of vets. Banfield has a “goal” in mind and it is mainly to CYA. (well, theirs to be exact) If they did not offer you that lepto vaccine, and your dog contracted the leptospirosis disease….you would still be upset, right? I’m not saying, that vet made the correct choice for your pet, but in the Banfield clinic I personally work at, we EDUCATE our clients thouroughly before they decide on what they would like to commit to for their pet. For instance, if i was your pet nurse, i might tell you about the lepto vaccine, and then ask you a question such as “how often do you travel with your pet?” based on your answers is where we step in and say “yes this is for your pet”, or “no, this vaccine is not necessary”. so ultimatley YOU made the decision to get your pet vaccinated for lepto. There are Dr’s out there (in Banfield and in private practice) that will still try to get you to give any vaccine available, most of these vaccines can be purchased at a feed store, without ANY client education, and people still administer them to their pets not knowing what they do or what the risks/reactions are. Banfield has gone to core/non-core vaccines. (core being dapp, bordetella, and rabies, non core meaning everything else) Offering other vaccines in special circumstanes. Again, sorry for your bad experience, but not ALL Banfield’s or their doctors suck.
Follow up: I spoke with the District Manager at length this morning. What it comes down to is trust – and mine was compromised in these last few interactions.
I do understand why they recommended and upsold the treatments/vaccinations. From their standpoint – they feel they must make every effort to provide Gold Standard care. If this ends up costing more than a person likes, well, too bad for your wallet.
If a vet is going to provide Gold Standard treatment for my dog, and I’m paying for all of the upgrades/upsells – then I darn well want a thorough explanation of why, and more importantly, what they dangers to my elderly pet are. I felt pressured to spend more money on vaccinations that were not required. They have been consistently rude as well. I can tell the vets and vet-techs at this Banfield location are happy working there.
Hindsight is 20/20.
That is just the way they operate.
I will be finding a new vet – that I can develop a relationship with. Banfield may be right for you, but I’ve had all I can stand.
THATS IT.
Banfield is offically evil.
They promote MicroChipping Your Pet with Radio Frequency ID Chips (RFIDs).
You’d think a Pet Hospital would know that these things have been proven to cause cancer.
Ergo: Banfield promotes cancer for your pet.
It’s like the Death Star from Star Wars, but with 500 different locations.
I will never go back to Banfield!! My experience is at the Banfield in Fredericksburg, VA. They only care about your money, not your pet. They always want to run many tests to rack up your bill and then they still don’t know what’s wrong with your pet. I have several cats and I wanted to make sure they are healthy and well taken care of and so I would just let Banfield tell me what needed to be done and I went along. Well, now I’ve tried a different vet and have learned just how screwed over I was by Banfield. I practically spent my entire last summer at Banfield and after spending literally $1000′s of dollars there, I still owe them a couple of hundred and they’re sending me to collections! After the many overcharges I think they are well overpaid! They wanted to charge me almost another $300 to run tests on my cats and because I already owed them several hundred, they wouldn’t treat them so I went to another vet who told me the cats just have allergies – gave them each a steroid shot and they were healed and it only cost me about $70 vs the $300ish Banfied was going to charge me just to run tests – that didn’t even include the treatment!!! Unfortunately, I have all of my cats on the wellness plan and as soon as that is paid off – I’m done with Banfield. I am very disgusted and dissatisfied with them!!
I have worked at many Vet clinics and a Banfield in the past. With my experience I can look at it from the owners view and the clinics. I have heard the whole “you only care about money and not my pet” comment so many times. What clients fail to realize is that the vet is providing a service and using tools and medications to treat your pet of cource they are going to charge for it. What business is out there that is still under operation and gives away things for free. You cant walk into Walmart and depend free food or else your family will starve can you? If you went to vet school for 8 years and paid for that would you do things for free? I dont think so. If you choose to have a pet then you take financial responsiblity for that animal. Just because you can not afford it doesnt mean that the clinic is responsible for it. As far as running tests and things like that of cource they are going to suggest that. The whole reason for them is to diagnosis and figure out whats wrong. And often times you wont get a good answer from running things like bloodwork and x-rays, how is that their fault. If you go the emergency room guess what they are going to do, run test after test to figure out whats causing the issue. It may take several test to be ran until you get your answer. It really pisses me off that people can come in and complain about being charged for what is being done. I know money does not grow on trees and the vet bill can easily climb but you have no right to get made at them when they have a business and run and a family to take care of too. Now on the other hand i know every clinic is different and Im not commenting on the doctor you saw or his/her decisions. Im simply giving you another way of looking at the financial and treatment side of it.
My insurance with Banfield was canceled and they told me to not come back because I won’t do the things they said my dog needed which were not life threatening!!!So don’t get to pissed off they are the best con artist out there!!
Banfield should be banned
I think you are all crazy who are against Banfield, it’s not Banfield personally, I work at a Banfield, and I love my clients and my patients there great. any vet you go to requires everything we do…in fine print on your wellness plan agreements tells you about your consequences for signing up on plan if your plan dies or if you decide to cancel, it’s your fault if you don’t read your contract like your asked to before you sign. Do you sign a contract for a house or credit card before reading the fine print? some of you just has’nt gone to the right Banfield were not all bad, you have to think all Banfields are franchised so they have a set price, some are charter so they can work with some people. Private vets are privately owned Banfield isn’t. Remember you’re not a vet…when you have gone to school for 8 -10 years then you can diagnose your own pet then you don’t have to go to the vet….must be nice….
I am a client of Banfield for more than a year. I have my dog on a wellness plan, and it gives me all of required care with substantial savings. All of the staff never tried to sell me on anything, I think they are just doing a great job on showing concern about well being of my pet. They were always very nice to me and they all know my dog, so I am very comfortable to leave her there for a few hours. Of course we are all human and we have better and worse days, but overall i had nothing but pleasant experience with the veterinarians as well as technicians. I also have a cat, who was considered aggressive by other vets, and I was asked to give her tranquilizer before the visit. I decided to switch her to Banfield, so I have all my pets under one doctor’s care. i couldn’t be happier. My cat was good with the vet, so no more drugs for her. the visit was very pleasant. I will stay with Banfield as long as I own pets, means forever. I am very happy with my Banfield, which is located in Parma, Ohio.
I am interested in corresponding with former Banfield “Chief of Staffs” who have been “de-partnered” “re-assigned” or “released” for reasons beyond their control (due in part to new field leadership direction) in 2009. We are especially interested in talking with “Partners” who have been replace by new vet school graduates nationwide. Thank you, Tom.
Banfield is a big scam, I would advise anyone with a pet to go to a local private vet. At banfield you deal with a coreporate style of treating pets. Even to get information about your plan you are given a 1888 number to be on hold and then have them state you are in a contract so decide what is best for your pet on your own. My dog has been seen twice for no more then 25 minutes and the total comes out to $595.58 how I am not sure I have to contact a store manager to get that information. To contact the 1888 number to cancel the services. If your pet is not doing well and you really care for them go to a private practice where the best interest is in your pets well fare not a large companies profit!
i go to the banfield hospial in campbell CA and i have nothing but good to say about them and i save big bucks by haveing my chihuahua boxer mixs teeth cleaned and free office vists it’s great he was paralyzed in his rear legs and they tried to get him into a local vet but it was sunday moringing and that vet was not ans his pager so off to uc davis and by 9:00 that night he was out of surgery the dr who saw him told us that it was very important to treat it right away if we ever wanted to see him walk again and then just two months ago he was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor they referred us to a local onocologist and we had that taken care of you have to be aware of what is wrong with your pet it’s like having kaiser you have to keep going back till they tell you that you need to see a specialist only you can be your pets advocate and you can’t be cheap about it that is why they sell pet insurance is to take care of those expensive things that may come up in your pets life
On Saturday, November 29, I brought my cat in to Banfield for teeth cleaning. On Monday evening, I got home to find my cat lying down on the kitchen floor with his head flat on the floor and a very weak meow. I called Banfield and was told to bring in him. The Vet examined him and ran some blood work and took x-rays. She then asked me if he’s been around other cats, because she thinks he caught an infection of some kind. His blood-sugar level is elevated and his white cell count is low. I told her that the only place he goes out of the house is there to Banfield for his checkups and he was just there two days ago. She said, no that it couldn’t be there, it had to be somewhere else. She then prescribed some antibiotics and charged my $426. (They said it would have been more if I didn’t have the wellness plan, but the tests and prescription is not covered in the plan.) I gave him the Rx during the week and had to being him back today, Saturday, December 05, for a follow-up. They ran the blood tests again and gave me more pills for him and charged me an additional $50. Again, she asked if he is around other pets, asking if any of my friends brings there pets over for him to play with. I never heard of a pet play date. But no, he doesn’t see any other pets at home and doesn’t go out of the house. I still feel that he was exposed there to what ever it is that got him so sick and cost me so much to treat it. I’m going to cancel my wellness plan with Banfield and find a private vet for him. I might even file a complaint with the BBB (www.bbb.org) and the AAHA (www.aahanet.org) as recommended by Sharon on Feb 16, 2009.
“It would be good for those who experience problems with Banfield to report them to the BBB, and possibly the AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association).”
Or better yet, I’ll file a complaint with consumer affairs (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/banfield.html).
On Sat. Oct. 31st. 2009 we took our adult son’s dog, to the Salisbury, MD (105 East Northpoint Blvd.-21801) Banfield Pet Hospital for services under the dog’s Basic Plus Care plan my son had taken out in Aug. of 2007 with the Banfield Pet Hospital n Gainesville, VA (13241 Gateway Center Dr. -20155.)
Our son had a recent move in the Gainesville, VA area where he could not take his dog. We (my husband and I) needed to board the dog and he needed a vaccine. Looking at the dog’s last visit in Gainesville on 4/20/09, I realized he had been scheduled for a visit in Oct. at Banfield for some of those vaccinations. I got on the Banfield website to find the” nearest Banfied site” near us and realized that the Salisbury Banfield would be the easiest for us to take him for his check-up and the needed vaccines. It is about an hour away. There is not a Banfield in our town. My son called the Salisbury Banfield around 3 weeks ago to first make an appointment on Nov. 20th and a week ago I called to change it to Oct. 31st. I told the person at the Salisbury Banfield that we are looking after our son’s dog that has a Banfield policy our son had taken at the Banfield nearest him in Gainesville, VA and that we would be bringing the dog in because he had this policy. The Salisbury Banfied person never said this would be a problem. With all those “convenient Banfield locations near you” we had no idea there would be a problem either. Our son was aware we were taking the dog in. He had told us about his policy. When he called to make the first appointment they did not say the policy could not be used at that Banfield.(To board the dog in a kennel near us, we still have to have a local vet check the dog out.)
My husband and I arrived at the Salisbury Banfield at 11AM on Oct. 31st. for the appointment. A very nice young man, who was on shift form 7 to 7 we heard him say, greeted us. We told him who we were and that we were there with our son’s dog who has the Banfield policy through our son in Gainesville, VA. I had the folder with me with all the information from the dog’s Gainesville Banfield visits. We were asked to sit until the technician came out. I explained to the technician that this was our son’s dog and that we were bringing him because of our son’s Gainesville Banfield policy. She even took the receipt from the April 09 Gainesville’s visit to see, I inferred, what he needed for the day’s checkup. After seeing the doctor and signing something that said we’d be notified if the cost would be over $100 and that they would call us when he was scheduled to be picked up that afternoon we left to do some shopping.
Around 2:30 we were called that the dog was ready. We arrive a little before 4 to pick him up. When we approached the desk to pay, the same nice young man, said, “I’m going to have to let our supervisor, M., check you out as it takes a supervisor’s OK.” This was the first we’d heard there was a “problem.” M. working busily on the computer behind the nice young man’s check-out area, gives us the bill which shows their retail fee of $527.12 and the Banfield fee of $127.36 which is now over $100 and includes a charge for the “Wellness plan: First Month Payment.” I ask her about this because that is not supposed to be included on the bill–no one let us know anything about it before we left the dog and it was over $100 for which we had not been notified. Then M. proceeds to say we have to do this because “corporate” with whom she apparently had been talking said they, Salisbury Banfield, would have to have my son’s signature-in person for us to pay the bill. My son was somewhere in the Gainesville, VA area at that moment over 4 hrs. traveling time from where we were in Salisbury at 4PM on a Sat. afternoon. Either M.or the nice young man behind the Salisbury Banfield desk “calls corporate” who says that my son may fax his signature which quickly becomes, our son has to call corporate right then to tell them he is canceling his policy and we would be taking it up under the Banfield Salisbury office. This could be faxed. After paying the $127.36 and signing a paper to have $25.95 taken out of my bank account each month, (and now after I get home to read everything realize there’s this membership fee on the statement that was not supposed to be because my son had already paid that.), we leave assuming our son whom we got in touch with while we were there and talked to the nice young man behind the next was calling corporate to cancel his policy and faxing his signature there to let us take the policy over in the Salisbury Banfield location. When I got to the car, I did not like the way the vaccines were recorded, making it necessary for me to take the receipts from the April visit as well as the Salisbury Banfield one to show the kennel and the local vet that the dog’s vaccinations were up to date. As I walked back in, the nice young man behind the desk said, “I’m so sorry there’s a problem we thought you had left –we went to the parking lot to find you (?) Your son just called and there’s a problem, corporate says he can’t fax his signature and that it will cost him $250 to cancel.”
We immediately called our son while we were there in the office. He was heading to the Gainesville Banfield and would call us. While we waited in the office, checking on the dog, I talked to the nice young man behind he desk, he said corporate was now denying they ever said our son could fax this signature. After waiting another half hr. and son called and said he’d have to wait until Monday when he could talk to someone in corporate who had some sense. (I’ll say here that my son has been pleased with the service he has had at the Gainesville Banfield. Therefore we had no idea that we were sitting ducks for this Salisbury outfit.)
We left feeling a ruse had been carried out here and we are the victims. I know it’s at face value a case of buyer beware but the people in the Salisbury Banfield–never at any point let us know that there would be a problem using the dog’s policy at the Salisbury Banfield until we went to pay. I feel they had an obligation to tell us that upfront. They saw “sucker” written all over us when we just kept telling them we were there because of our son’s Gainesville Banfield policy. They also knew we didn’t know what the policy said or we would never have signed the contract because we would have known he couldn’t cancel without a huge penalty. They took advantage of our not being dog owners and wanting to help our son. We would never have driven an hour from our home to incur a new policy expense when our son already had a policy. (We would have used the local vet, whom we have to have for emergencies anyway. (There is no Banfield at the Petsmart here in Easton, MD where we live.) We were never called to say that the charges would be over $100 and did not realize that we’ve actually signed to pay for the startup of a whole new policy.
To settle this fairly, we are not contesting the $127 we paid Sat. although in fairness it should not have been more than $100. We want the contract we signed thinking it was to take over our son’s policy-not incurring a new membership fee too-, which he and we thought he could cancel and the signature faxed to the Salisbury Banfield- should be null and void. -(One of the things the nice young man behind the desk said as we were leaving was that maybe our son could come in person to the Salisbury Banfield office this week sign, and reverse the whole thing–whatever the whole thing is!! Which we know now would never have been allowed under the Banfield “contract”) I don’t think they ever called “corporate.” They were planning this from the day we first made the appointment-my son who has had his policy for two years either didn’t know or had forgotten about the cancellation penalty. In fairness, the policy my son has in Gainesville should be the one we operate under – this Salisbury office nightmare done with–cancel this thing we signed. We will make the very inconvenient trip to that Banfield in Gainesville, VA despite all those “convenient BanfieldVet Hospitals near you (us)” We want to believe that he really was a nice young man behind the desk but are really feeling like we were lied to. The finesse they exhibited carrying this thing out can’t help but make me wonder that Banfield has training manuals with a chapter on “ways to play the public for fools and make a better commission.” We must have fit the profile. We fell for the act of the “nice young man behind the counter.”
Despite two emails to Internet.Inquiries@banfield.net the one given on the Banfield website and a registered letter to: Banfield, The Pet Hospital,PO Box 13998,Portland, OR 97213 detailing my complaint, I have heard nothing from Banfield. My son who called them was told that Banfield contacted the vet there and he said they “followed procedures” –well they were hardly ethical ones. I emailed my complaint to PetSmart and they did have the courtesy to acknowledge they received it. I’ve also filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division of Maryland, Salisbury office. I hope the can help. This is consumer abuse at it’s worst. However, from reading the other complaints, it doesn’t look like Banfield cares what we think—they’ve adopted the attitude of today’s businesses that think they “are too big to fail.”
We have had several horrible experiences with Banfield. Our own consolation, judging from other complaints, is that we’re not alone. We, too, have been pressured into unnecessary plans, procedures and products. They would not vaccinate one of our cats without an expensive test first. Earlier that year, they gave him several vaccines at one time and a combo flea/worm treatment. This was probably not a safe thing to do because our cat got really sick. We thought he was going to die. He was having trouble breathing and would not eat or drink for a day. He was also very lethargic. Later that month, he started expelling worms which had never happened before. We think Banfield made him very sick and did not warn us that there could be such severe side effects. When we called them for help after we saw these symptoms, they did not even seem concerned and offered no help. The vet was also bragging about how her cat never had problems with vaccines. At the same time she admitted that her cat did not receive the same kind of treatment. She was very inept and smug and contradictory. Now we have another cat that they were trying to push insurance on and, like the other customers, we were not given much attention when we made it clear that we could not afford a lot of extras. The vet was rude and the receptionist was even more disrespectful. She would not sell us non-prescription flea medication because we wanted to buy some for our other cat who had not been seen by them as well as for the one who had been diagnosed. She tried to scare us into thinking that both would be infected even though we’re fairly sure one wasn’t. She just wanted to push more product and yet she wouldn’t sell us a dose for the other cat. I don’t think she can rightfully refuse to sell us a non-prescription product. Also, she said we would have to continue buying flea treatment FOREVER and that they would never clear up. Obviously this company just wants to rip people off and doesn’t care about the well-being of the animals. DON’T GO TO BANFIELD unless you want to suffer along with your pet and be coerced into wasting money!
I work at the front desk (CSC) for a Banfield in Maryland, and I want to say that I’m sorry you’ve all had such bad experiences. At my hospital, our vets are VERY professional and VERY well-educated and trained. Everyone who I work with truly does care for the pets and we always do our best to make sure your pet remains healthy and happy.
While it is true that we sometimes take pets in the back to give shots and whatnot, we ALWAYS get permission before doing so and we ALWAYS give you the option of staying in a room for a pet. Sometimes, with aggressive pets, we take them in the back because the way that we have to handle them, while not inhumane in any way, can seem harsh to owners so its for your own benefit to not have to watch.
Vaccine reactions can happen no matter how many times your pet has gotten a vaccine in the past, much like allergies in humans. Reactions are not OUR fault, nor your fault, nor the pet’s fault, but saving YOUR pet is YOUR responsibility and that’s why you’ll get charged for “emergency” shots and whatever the pet needs. Do keep in mind though that Banfield has a first-time vaccine reaction coverage policy, you just have to remember to mention it and make sure that your Banfield follows through with getting the first $100 covered.
The Wellness plans are a really good value when you consider that office visits are about $45, vaccines are $25 to $35 a piece, and other services can range in price. When you sign up on the wellness plan, you’re paying for a PACKAGE of services, NOT an insurance plan. We give you the option of either paying for the whole thing at once, or breaking it down into monthly payments. If your pet dies, you’re still responsible for paying off that PACKAGE that you purchased. If you buy a car and something happens to it, you still have to pay off that loan.
Don’t judge all Banfield’s based on a bad experience that you’ve had. I’ve been to many private vets over my years of owning pets and none come close to the awesome treatment I’ve gotten from my Banfield vets and I wish I had known about them sooner. Our hours are convenient for pretty much everyone, and at least at my Banfield we’re always there to help you. I don’t know how many vet offices you can call and have someone spend 20 minutes on the phone with you because you have questions about your new puppy. Not to mention the fact that we take walk-ins every day of the week. Banfield truly is a great company, but in the end it’s still a NATIONAL company, and of course our prices are going to be higher because it is about making a profit, sad as it is to say. However, don’t put up with poor treatment from anyone. If you have problems, report them to the Client Advocacy Team and they will notify the district manager, the office manager, and the director of pet nursing. Everyone working should be pleasant and professional, and if they aren’t then they shouldn’t be working in a customer service position.
I took my dog, an italian greyhound I rescued 5 months ago, to Banfield to get his required rabies vaccine. The clinic is highly advertised, and I figured it would be easy and convenient to just stop in at a Pet Smart. Boy, would we regret that!! I had already taken Luke in a month prior to this incident for a physical and for a prescription for some thyroid medication he has been using. On this first visit, the vet and nurse attempted to upsell me nearly $700 worth of tests they could do that day and wanted to schedule another $1000 of tests. Granted, my dog was a rescue, so he may not have been in perfect condition, but I couldn’t afford this and was worried about the health of my dog. However, the vet refused to give the dog the thyroid medicine he needed without running a full CBC blood workup, heartworm and thyroid screen, which ran me nearly $300. My dog did not take to the vet, who seemed callous and incompetent. They made me leave the dog there for the tests and I heard him yelping in the back the second I left. He was fine, but I should have rushed back there and refused to go to Banfield ever again. After what happened following his rabies shot, now I never will. We took him in for the walk-in hours, which I thought would be quick and convenient. Wrong! We waited for three hours before the doctor even saw us to administer a shot that took a few seconds. After another half an hour to get out of the store due to incompetent nurses, we brought Luke home. He limped a bit when he walked but the Dr. had insisted that was normal. The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my dog panting, so I brought him some water, but I found him to be unresponsive. His eyes were rolling around in his head and he was burning up. I tried to get him up but found him to be in a state of paralysis. I grabbed him and held him while I called the Banfield vet in a state of frenzy, who insisted that they did not do anything wrong and that I should bring him back in for blood work. Well, Banfield should not ever be allowed to touch another animal ever again!!! I called the vet he went to while he was with the rescue agency and they saw him right away, gave him saline and steroids and he is now responsive, though still ill. Never, ever take your pets to Banfield!! This clinic only cares about money, not the health of your pet, and will disregard proper procedure even if it ends in the death of your pet! Beware!
I currently work as a nurse for Banfield. Trust me, I don’t like the wellness plans either, nor do I think the doctor here is the brightest pea in the pod. I always try to be nice to people, and quite frankly, I DON’T charge people everything I should be. A few thing I would like to say:
1. READ THE WELLNESS PLAN TERMS BEFORE YOU SIGN THE CONTRACT! Seriously, everyone so desperately wants it to be insurance. It’s not. Stop thinking that it is. Stop referring to it that way. It’s a package deal, nothing more. Remember a couple months ago when you were asking me about it and I told you in plain simple English that it is NOT insurance 5 times? Were you listening to me, really? That’s what I thought. Don’t blame me if you zoned out 5 different times throughout the conversation.
2. In general, be nice the to the nurses and front desk people. We don’t set the prices. We don’t have any control over what the vet wants to do. Keep in mind, a nurse sees the invoice BEFORE you check out but after the vet last looks at it. If an owner is polite with me, I have been known to make some charges disappear, or maybe slip them a coupon for the office visit. Would I risk getting reamed by my boss for someone who was downright rude to me? Hell no.
3. Echoing number 2, don’t complain to me how what we did yesterday for $300 would have cost you $50 at another vet. Yeah, and what do you want me to do about it? You really think I have any power? Not to mention, quite frankly, I don’t really care – I here the same darn thing at least 4-5 times per week, so you’re not exactly unique in that case.
4. Don’t complain about wait times during wellness hours (those times when the office visit is waived). You really think we derive any sort of satisfaction doing just rabies shots for crabby people and their aggressive chihuahuas? You’re saving $35+ at the expense of my sanity. Shut up.
5. Actually, don’t complain about the wait until it surpasses 30min. I remember very vividly as a child going to my non-Banfield regular vet and ALWAYS waiting at least 20min the waiting room before being escorted to an exam room. What is it with people getting into shouting matches after just 5 min?
6. Don’t like the wellness plan? Guess what, I don’t either. So don’t bombard me with “so what am I paying for every month then?” or “that really should be included.” Refer to the comment earlier when I mentioned I have no power. I tried to get corporate to include microchipping on basic puppy and basic plus kitten plans. See how far that went?
7. Lastly, remember how I told you you should have your dog neutered, and you responded by calling me a fat cow? But then 2 months later you ran in begging for my help to save your baby because he just got hit by a car while chasing the in-heat female across the street? Karma’s a b***h.
Just to respond to the latest Banfield nurse. We were nothing but pleasant to everyone at Banfield. Everyone loved our dogs and us. It was one incompetent vet who had us resolve to take our four dogs elsewhere.
Never complained about it, but I waited (with an appointment) at Banfield in Richmond, CA on an average of 2 hours. Unacceptable.
This is for Sandra Mc Carthy…If you shop at Mud Bay that puts you in the same town as me. After your experience with Banfield, I’ve never used them so I can’t comment on their treatments. But I would suggest seeing Dr. Steve at Evergreen Vet Hospital, He’s on 14th Ave, right down the street from Safeway (towards the Country Club)
PEOPLE….Banfield is NOT owned by Petsmart!!Stop complaining to them!! Banfield leases space from them-they are not ran by the same Corporations!!
Bad vets happen every where..Privately owned vets can be HORRIBLE as well. It’s not the company, it’s the individual vets.
It seems most of these complaints involve money. Medicine is expensive everywhere, for animals as well as humans. You have to take in consideration what it cost to run a Pet Hospital, It’s not cheap folks!
Pet’s don’t have the same type of insurance we do, so it seems more expensive than it really is.
Think about how much your company charges for their services.
As far as blood work goes, you should be scared if it isn’t suggested to you! NO animal, regardless of young or old, should ever be put under anesthesia with out it. AND NO ONE, not even a Vet can say an animal is HEALTHY by just looking at it!!
AND , No I don’t work for them, this is just common sense!
More food for thought:
For the nurse that would, “Make charges go away for nice clients”: Really? I hope you never own a business and have an employee handing out your merchandise to people behind your back. Nice. Like next time you go to Walmart, see if there are any stock clerks ripping the tags off a few T-shirts or boxes of cereal and going, “Here. Just take it.” AHhhhh!!! Scary!
Not to mention, what if you went in t see your doctor for back pain. Your doctor is going to First, order Xrays to be done by Xray technicians and then be interpreted by the Radiologists before giving the information back to your Dr. Then, he/she might referr you to a specialist depending on what they found or refer you to physical therapy or suggest you rest for several weeks and prescribe you pain medication and/or anti-inflammatory medication. If you were still not better, they would probably suggest an MRI and let’s say this led to a diagnosis that required surgical intervention, then you would need surgery. Now, first of all, would you want your Dr/Surgeon performing surgery WITHOUT taking an X-ray??? What if you didn’t NEED surgery?? Second of all, would you go to said Dr and ask, “so…..I couldn’t pay my insurance last month….think you could ask those Xray technicians to take my Xrays for free?? Or do you think your office staff could make the radiologist charge , ‘go away’. I mean, I know I am not a Dr or anything, but maybe I could just take my Xrays home and interpret them myself and save myself the money?”
Anyways, just some thoughts people. = )
Tonight we took our 4 month old Morkie into the Matthews, NC Banfield Animal Hospital. She was having diareha and vomiting. (we have a wellness plan with them and she has been seen regularly by Banfield since we got her) We called ahead and they said to bring her in, this was 6:15 and we arrived at 6:30. They close at 7pm, told us to hurry and to have her there in 15 minutes. Point being they don’t close until 7pm but neglected to inform us that any pet seen after 6pm has to pay an emergency vet fee. We informed them that they don’t close until 7pm so how was this considered an emergency. They said that because its after 6, that its considered an emergency because it would be after 7 before they could complete the visit. (complete money scam) seeing as how we spent 30 minutes debating why we had to pay such a fee and they never once asked how she was doing, never offered to accommodate us in any way, all they could say was that was their policy and sorry for not mentioning it before you came in. I have always used an independent vet prior to this time. The wellness plan seemed like a good idea at the time. However, now we are stuck in a contract with people who could care less about your pets. The Matthews Banfield acted as if we were burdening them at 6:30pm on a Friday night. The first lady we saw ( the tech) just said there was nothing she could do and I asked to see someone else. The next person, who is named in the complaint, said there was nothing she could do after explaining again that it was after 6pm. I asked to see the Dr. again, she said the same thing….NEVER did any of them (being the animal lovers that they are) even acknowledge our dog, in any way. Their only advise to us, when we refused their services was to take her to the emergency vet down the road. They simply SUCK! I would rather take her to an emergency vet and have someone act like she mattered (and pay their fees) than to ever take her back to Banfield. Judging by all the complaint on Consumer reports, I don’t know how they are still in business.
After over $900 of B.S. including a ct scan for my cat, no prblem was found. after I talked to a fwe other reputable vetnarians, all my cat needede was a simple drip to get her to eat again. My cat is gone now.
Let me tell yall something.
Banfield does not just charge you to be charging you. There are fees for each thing that needs to be done on your pet in order to find the source. They tell you what the problem could be and what they would need to do to find out. They go over an estimate with you and YOU approve those estimates. YOU decide you are going to make these decisions for your pet. The wellness plan is NOT an insurance policy. If you want insurance well damn, go to an insurance company and get it. The wellness plan is a preventive care package and covers annual exams and vaccines. If you feel like your pet does not need these vaccines, all you have to do is tell them that you dont want them done. No one is putting guns to your heads and saying to get anything for your pet. People do save hundreds of dollars on their wellness plans for their pets. Would you rather pay 40 dollars to the SPCA for a spay/neuter for your pet with no bloodwork being done and your pet possibly dying OR would you rather pay 350 dollars to make sure that your pet, which is supposed to be treated like one of the family, is going to make it through the surgery because of the bloodwork that is done beforehand to prevent such things including all vaccines and annuals and unlimited office visits. Okay…so say what you want and do what but dont blame Banfield because of yall not reading contracts and doing research on what you want.
Well you sound like an oxy moron asking if someone would rather pay 40 dollars or 350 dollars. You must be a Banfield money hungry person trying to screw people over to not understand what people are saying. Banfield has screwed many people including me. I was a little more smart and went and got a second opinion. I saved myself thousands of dollars.
Add me to the list of complainers about Banfield – in Pet Smart, West Chester. I received a coupon for Banfield while checking out with food for my Jack Russell. Since I had been looking for a vet to clean his teeth…I made an appt thinking it was a reasonable place and offer since it was in the back of Pet Smart. Well, I should have done more research before taking him there. Took him over at 9:00 AM and they said he would be there most of the day…for a cleaaning I thought that was kinda excessive but we were there and I went ahead with the appt. About 2 hours later I received a call that they would need to pull 6 teeth…I said no way…why would you be pulling sound teeth…they said they were very loose and the gums were infected. I asked them to call me back that I would have to think about it and what that would cost…they said if you take our program it will be $255. When they called back I said – have you doublechecked this and they told me now it would only be 5 teeth but they had to come out. He was there and was sedated so I said then if it’s really necessary – go ahead and I’ll send a check for $255. since I wasn’t going to be home at 4:00 to pick him up. My son got home – saw my note and went over to get our dog. He was livid that I would let them do this because he knew the teeth were not loose unless they damaged them in their cleaning process. They pressured him to sign a contract and he said, no way, we thought it was $255. He was so angry with the little dog so sedated he still could hardly stand and just wanted to get him home. He said, I’ll take your paperwork but I’m sure Mom won’t sign it…she wasn’t made aware of any of your programs…they were very beligerant and told him that was OK that they had my info from my check and would be deducting $30.00 every month from my bank acct. I talked to my bank and they didn’t think Banfield could do this without my signature. I asked if there was anything I could do until this could be resolved and my bank said stop payment on your check. This is what I did plus I have notified the BBB of this situation. If I had known anything about Banfield and their reputation I would not have taken my dog there…I’m on a fixed income and thought since I got the coupon thru PetSmart that it would save money. We’re just lucky that so far no ill effects from this fiasco for our dog.
You’re welcome to send my your comment.
Gloria,
I just made an appointment for my pug, but now I am really scared to take her there…(the Banfield at Bridgewater Falls is where I am going)
I have a few questions…this Wellness Contract everyone is talking about…is this something the vets try to get you to sign? I can say no if I don’t want to sign up? Or did they just start charging your account without your permission? I also have a coupon but my pug is limping so I want the best care.
Also I was going to the Fairfield Animal Care Center and to be honest allot of what people are saying is the same thing I have had to deal with at my other vet, long wait times, wanting to charge for lots of little things, teeth pulling, trying to do all kinds of tests while my dogs were boarding there, dogs came home with kennel cough every time (which means we immediately have to go back for another office visit and some meds) I felt like they cost an awful lot so I decided to look elsewhere.
One more thing: What is this about not being in the office with my dog? Surely they don’t do a check up without me present? I understand about people going to work and having to leave the pet there but if I choose to stay them I get to be in the exam room correct?
Thanks for your help
Of course they can not start “charging your account without your permission”!! You are presented with the wellness plam options because they truly allow you to provide the best veterinary care to your pet at an AFFORDABLE price. I wish my dentist or MD provided such a service actually. (WEll, I guess Kaiser is similar = ) )
What you get: all physical exams by a Doctor as many times as you eed to come in, all vaccinations core and non-core are covered, deworming medication against zoonotic (contagious) intestinal parasites (that are especially contagious to small children!), Heartworm(fatal disease)/Lyme disease and tick fever testing(Ehrlichiosis), Ear cytology, fecals, and then as you upgrade your plan, you also are provided a complete Internal Organ chemistry screen and CBC (What any upstanding veterinarian would perform if your pet was sick) and additonally a full dental prophylaxis with preoperative blood work and anesthesia. If needed, You can also upgrade to the highest level plan and 3 views of Xrays are covered! These are considered preventative care services to try to PREVENT and CATCH diseases and conditions before they occur or when they are mild.
You think dental extractions is a “little thing”?? First of all, if peridontal disease only progresses to the point that teeth need to be pulled with the teeth aren’t being brushed on a regular basis or Professional dental cleaning on a regular basis. When the peridontal ligaments are weakened they are weakened by severe bacterial infections.
Have you noticed what extractions and crowns and root canals cost at the human dentist offices?? Why would this be any different or why should this be “Free” in veterinary medicine?
After your pets teeth have been cleaned and polished, it is very important that teeth brushing or other appropriate home dental care is recommended for you to follow up with to prevent further progression of the peridontal disease.
I am writing in response to all the hate on Banfield. Like Fed Up Too, I work at a Banfield as a pet nurse. I would like to comment on a few of these nasty remarks..
First – Wellness plans are GREAT ways for owner to get all of the preventative care their pet needs. If you think we are “money hungry”, think about how much money you spend a month on those wellness plans. Or annually. At the MOST its a little over 300 dollars. ANNUALLY. For every vaccine (we do NOT give unnecessary vaccines SHARON, in fact we are doing away with the Giardia vaccine only because it is not considered core), heartworm tests, fecal exams, dewormings, ear swabs, UNLIMITED office calls, urinalysis, and many more procedures even healthy pets need, 300 dollars a YEAR is saving literally thousands of dollars. So, wellness plans so NOT make the hospitals lots and lots of money. The do ensure that pets come back and get the care they need. To me, that is not a bad thing.
As for the bad doctor/patient relationships some of you have experienced, that is your doctors fault. Not every veterinarian at every Banfield is a spineless, inhumane animal cruelty lover. Yes I will admit, sometimes there are misdiagnoses and bad customer service, but even the most experienced vets will sometimes not know what is going on. Thats where vets who SPECIALIZE in diagnosing come in. The vets at Banfield (the ones I have had the pleasure of working with) DO genuinely care for their patients and want whats best for them. In FACT, I was taking my dog Grace to a private practice for some shoulder problems she had been having, the diagnosed it as arthritis, weeks went by and her shoulder grew out to the size of a boulder. Well, turns out it was a cancerous tumor that a PRIVATE PRACTICE vet had totally misdiagnosed and she had to be put down THAT DAY. So vets are vets, Banfield does not hire the dumb of the dumb. There are standards and just because your experiences have been bad doesn’t mean all of them are.
The staff at my hospital are all VERY caring, remember all of our patients, have great relationships with our clients and I think we work well as a team. We have had some externs (who went on to private practice) who were always ordering up ear swabs for dogs who scratched at their ears, X-Rays for dogs who limped, and the same medicines for every dog with similar syptoms. So think, that vet MAY be your vet now. So before you just brush off all Banfields as “money hungry, insensitive idiots”, remember that NOT ALL BANFIELDS ARE LIKE THAT. There are MANY private practices that are worse.
I would just like to follow up and add….when all you people are complaining of the prices?? YOU agree to it. So clearly you agree that your dogs needs what we are suggesting. Also, when I take an estimate into a room, I always show the person WHICH of the things on the estimate is absolutely necessary and which things would be helpful but not detremental. Don’t complain to us nurses about the prices. We don’t have meetings saying Hmm…How much can we charge for this and still get people to pay?? And before you agree to sign up for a Wellness plan, read it. Understand it. Ask question!! If you are just blindly signing, then you should be complaining to yourself. And as far as the private practices being better comments… I have have OVER 6 people in the past few months come in asking how much a dental was. When I said 220 AFTER tax (including all bloodwork, anesthesia, hospitalization, ETC), ALL of them were stunned. There amazing private practice vets had told them over 400. For the same.
I am reading so many of these comments and though I empathize with the feeling of seeing your beloved pet in pain, most people commenting here have no clue not just abount veterinary medicine, but plain MEDICINE. I did work for banfield in california before becoming a R.N., and I can honestly say that I saw some lousy incompetent vets there, but I also saw many amazing gifted doctors. (BTW, those of you who glorify private practice vets know this – I have seen several “new hire” vets who were dropped by Banfield for not passing state boards only to be picked up as vets after the third or fourth try by well respected private practices in the area)
For the comment about the e-collar being too big and how the sizing was Banfield’s fault, that is ridiculous. Sometime e-collars need to be humungous because that nose ,when pointed straight up, should not pass the top of the e-collar. Take some personal responsibilty.
For the cat that when in for the dental, I agree that you should have been called no later then 2 pm and notified that they were unable to get to the procedure, but dont get worked up about the cat having to be fasted for the surgery, they are fasted because if they have food in their gut during anesthesia they can become nauseas and choke on their own vomit. And you try dealing with a ten pound killer cat who wants to take out chunk of your face; its a real health hazard.
banfield is the worst place to take you pet! i took my dog there and he was misdiagnosed! they told me it was a cyst when in fact it is a tumor that has to be removed! what a waste of time and money! i will never go to anothe banfield as long as i live
Yes, my dog was hurt bad on the leg I have the wellness plan. They told me I had to pay thousand dollars to have his toe removed, plus an extra 400 if he stayed over night. So I had to take my dog home and bring him back in pain. tell do they really care abiout your pet or money. I say money. word of wise if you care about your pet do not take them to Banfield. Definantly not the one in georgia in snellville off highway78
please you guys want everything for nothing how much would it have cost if you had to stay overnite in the damn hospital more like 4k to 10k and i bet if your loved one had cancer that you would not pay 10k for the treatment cause that is what i paid for my dogs treatment and banfield found it and yes he does have quailty of life he only had radiation thearpy but i bet lots of you cheap asses would just put your dog down banfield has saved my boy two times and they don’t charge me anmore than if i went to another vet in fact they save me money and one more thing the wellness plans ARE NOT INSURACE you cheap people just go out and buy some darn ins for your pet i have my boy covered with the top plan at banfield and a top plan at pets best ins so i just don’t understand all of this whining about banfield and no i have no financial interest in the company
I have a 5 month old puppy that just got spayed @ Banfield. I have the wellness plan – which I’m pretty sure has saved me money on all of her first year vaccinations, however I was stunned when I received the invoice from her spay. The spay was included with the wellness plan but the invoice has 2 columns – one which shows you what you would have paid without the plan. I paid $25 dollars, but without the plan it totaled to more than $1000! No misprint – over one thousand dollars for a spay? What’s going on here? Everything was routine!!!
This is the email I sent to Banfield after the horrible 1st (and LAST visit) I had at the Arlington Heights IL location:
—————————————-
Today I took my dog to Banfield ( the Arlington Heights IL location) for a checkup.
It was my first time there. I was interested in signing up for the Banfield program to help keep my vet bills manageable.
My last dog I took to a different vet, and although I was happy with their services, they are expensive.
Anyway, I walked out of the Arlington Heights Banfield traumatized. The least of the problems was the lack of cleanliness there.
There was visible feces on the floor in the exam room that had not been cleaned completely. A dog peed in the waiting area and someone used a couple of paper towels, but did not completely clean it up.
The other point of concern was the lack of knowledge the staff seemed to have. I was telling them what I knew and they would say, “Oh yeah.” or “Maybe”. I was charged money for a vet tech and a veterinarian (???which I question are Banfield vets really fully licensed vets????) to act very unsure and unprofessional.
As I was waiting to pay my bill, a man with a Bloodhound puppy (she was about 35 lbs) came out of the back room into the waiting room. The dog was in distress and was bleeding all over the place. I asked, “What happened to her?” The person behind the desk said she had surgery on her labia and also was spayed. This poor dog was bleeding all over the floor and not able to stand up without collapsing. The Banfield employees let that dog leave there without so much as a bangage or dog diaper to cover her wound. As the owner was walking her to the car she collapsed again and the Banfield employees were watching and saying “Don’t let her sit down on the salt in the road.” But they weren’t saying it to the people outside, they were just saying as they cringed watching that dog suffer.
They wiped up the blood with a mop and I was horrified to see the blood was just smeared around and not completely cleaned up.
How the Banfield vets, vet techs, and desk employees could have let that dog leave their office in such a state of suffering is beyond me.
I worked in a vet hospital and NEVER saw an animal that butchered sent on its way without so much as a bandage.
I would rather go broke taking my dog to my more expensive vet than to ever entrust my dog to the people at Banfield.
I hope you investigate this (and every other) location immediately. If this is how you run all of your Banfield locations then you have no business being open.
Word of mouth is what will either gain or lose customers and I will tell anyone who will listen and post on every animal message board I can about my experience with Banfield.
No one should have to endure what that poor Bloodhound and its owners did today.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have this location investigated.
Arlington Heights *
49 W. Rand Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60004
Phone: (847) 253-4433 · Fax: (847) 253-5286
Pet owner beware
I just acquired a year and a half old Yorkie that was abandoned this past Saturday night. Our vet isn’t open on Sundays so I took her to Banfield to get her a good once over and her vaccinations. I made it perfectly clear to the woman checking us in that we already have a current veterinarian for our other pet and plan to take the new yorkie to also, all I needed to do was make sure she got her shots and she is healthy. She sold me on a wellness plan. She said it would be cheaper for all that they were doing for the dog on her visit. She told me I had three days to cancel the plan since I intend on taking her to our current vet. I called this morning to cancel the plan and was told I would have to pay the difference for all the services which came to over 300.00 if I canceled the plan. I told her I couldn’t afford that so I would just keep the wellness plan but didn’t want it renewed when my contract ended. She then tried to give me 2 months of discounts to not cancel my contract when it ended. Finally after continually telling her I wanted it ended she gave up and put it in as do not renew. I have voiced my complaint that the staff at Banfield make the customer aware if the choose to cancel they will owe the difference. I was deceived and am very irritated about it. Now I am stuck paying Banfield 18.95 a month till February of 2011.
We had a bad experience with the Salisbury, MD Banfield Pet Hospital. We were tricked into signing a new contract when we took our son’s dog there for a vaccination. (We are looking after his dog until he can take him back.)We took him to the nearest Banfield Hospital to us because our son has a Wellness Plan for the dog in Gainesville, VA and the dog needed a vaccination to be kenneled here. At no time when the appointment was made and change did the office people in Salisbury, MD tell us that the contract taken out on the dog by our son in Gainesville, VA could not be used in Salisbury, MD. We took the dog’s paperwork from the Gainesville Banfield which the Salisbury Banfield reviewed and left the dog with them as they instructed for several hrs. At no time were we called to say that charges were going to be over $100 which they were supposed to do. At 4PM on a Sat.,Oct. 31st–we went to pick the dog up and were faced with a $527.12 bill or $127.36 which included a new wellness plan taking out over $30.00 a month from our checking account They said my son had to sign–he was 4 hrs. away or cancel his contract which would cost $250. Within ten minutes, it amounted he could and then couldn’t fax his signature-we felt forced to sign. So now there are two contracts–my son has over $30 taken out of his account every month. We are in the process of canceling both contracts–My son will have to pay what’s left on his contract but we don’t want it to roll over into a new year which Banfield does automatically and then they charge you the whole year’s payments to cancel. We will cancel ours closer the the date because we too have to pay the difference of what we paid in Oct. and their inflated amount of $527.12 plus the monthly contract. I don’t understand how this loan sharking is allowed to continue. Every time you visit them they give you their price and what they say you would pay otherwise.(Our vet could not belief these inflated prices.) You are constantly running up a tab of the difference between what you pay them at the time of the visit and what they say you would have paid plus you have these monthly payments coming out of your checking account-This is the worst case of Buyer Beware—there should be obvious signs posted in the offices that the plans can only be used where there are taken out. We are upset because this Salisbury, MD Banfield Pet Hopital office deliberately misled us.(They were aware we did not realize we could not use the contract there and never stated otherwise. They get bonuses for the contracts the exact.)–We contacted the Consumer Protection Agency which contacted Banfield in Salsibury, MD only to be referred to the Banfield headquarters who at last check were “looking into it”. When the Better Business Bureau contacted Banfield in Salisbury, they denied even getting a letter from the Consumer Protection Office in Salisbury. Although the Consumer Protection Agency is still following up on this, the Better Business Bureau closed the complaint even though I strongly disagreed with Banfield’s interpretation of the facts. You would think that an “honest” company would cancel one of the contracts–and at least bother to respond to my written and email complaints–the headquarters never did–PetSmart did just to seem to be interested. I will protest with in every way I can to make sure a Banfield Pet Hospital does not get established in our Pets Smart here. Their contracts are legalized loan sharking. We see our local vet which we always had to anyway. We only went to Banfield because they had treated the dog for over 2 years in VA. PLEASE stay away from this rip off scam!
I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO BANFIELD AGAIN!
I brought my 3 yr old dog to the walk in hours at Banfield for a rabies and distemper vaccination. I was told that he was acting tense around me and they wanted to bring him to the back room away from me, so they could give him the shots. I agreed thinking nothing of it at that time. Boy was that the worst mistake I ever made other taking him to Banfield.
Days after his vaccination I notice he couldn’t keep his balance but didn’t think to much of it at that time. Shortly after he started limping and dragging one leg. I took him back into Banfield because I thought it was a reaction to the vaccination. They told me it looked like neurological damage and couldn’t have been from the vaccination, although it was just given weeks prior. They also wanted to take him back into that dreaded back room to do a nerological exam. Once they brought him back to me all they said was he didn’t have any broken bones (which is what they told me in the exam room) and charged me an additonal $25 on top of the office visit. They wanted to do hundreds of dollars in exams and x-rays but I told them I couldn’t afford it, so they gave me all these meds and sent me home.
I didn’t noticed a big difference over the next 2 weeks so I called the vet at Banfield to discuss why they wouldn’t consider this to be a reaction to the vaccination. They said normal reactions are skin irritation, vomiting, etc and that this wasn’t one of them.
I brought him to another vet because this was a normal healthy 3 yr old dog that has had no injuries what so ever. They did a more extensive exam and my dog felt so at ease and comfortable with them. They said this could be an over-reaction to the vaccination but without testing they couldn’t confirm. This vet was a lot cheaper, friendlier and kept my dog in the same room with me while examing him. They did provide me with a low dose of steroids to see if this would help and sent me home.
Unfortunatley my dog has lost almost all functioning in his lower body. It’s like he paralyzed and is getting worse by the day. He now has to be carried up and down the stairs and sometimes is stuck in a position to where he can’t get up. It has been less than 2 months since his vaccination and I know that is what caused it. I will be putting him to sleep tomorrow because he has lost all use of his body and my kids and I can no longer carry him every where. I know he wasn’t injured and he is only 3 yrs old, so it’s not the age.
I WAS WARNED ABOUT BANFIELD BUT MY FAMILY DOG AND I LEARNED THE HARD.
Ok well I always see negative reviews on everything since people will always take time to talk about the negative and rarely speak about the good. Me and my wife have a 11 week old Shiba Inu. We live in puyallup, WA were we go to the banfield hospital located in petsmart. From the very second we got the dog we went here and we are still in aww as to the quality of treatment we have recieved. Yes vaccines are not required by law how ever neither is the H1N1 and yet we all see people flocking like birds for them because its all about prevention. Which is exactly why we have the vet plan. We pay 100$ starting fee and like 20$ per month and we get all vaccines, neutered, plus de-worming and any hospital visits are also included. And if he needs any medicine you get 10% off.
Banfield in MAll of Georgia is the worst veterinary clinic. Last time i took my pet for a dental, my pet got out of the location with allergies and irritation on his eyes. The verianry didnt want to check the pet unless i pay for more threatment. The funny thing is that 3 minutes before they did a procedure. This is the 2nd time this happends. The nurses are all un professional. They dont care about your pet, they only care about the money. Dont take your pets to banfield in mall of georgia.
I had to take my pet tot the emergency room beacuse he was very uncomfortable. The vets at banfield are not well prepared in that location.
My dog recently gained weight quickly, started acting lethargic, had very dry skin, lots of dandruff, had infections and skin problems on his ears, and was becoming somewhat weak. I could not wait until Banfield in Spokane opened as they are closed on Sundays, so I took my dog to pet emergency. I agreed to have basic blood tests done and everything came back normal. My dog had slightly enlarged lymph nodes and I was prescribed clavamox and prednisone. I went in for a follow up with my vet at Banfield the next Monday. She spent approximately 3-4 minutes with my dog and told me she was going to put a bid together of what I should have done. The estimate came back to have blood work and x-rays done with the medication my estimate was almost $600. At this time Dr. Sanders stressed that it is probably cancer we were dealing with so it is important to get the tests done. My husband and I decided to keep him on the medications and give him another week. After doing some of my own research all his symptoms matched up to hypothyroidism. At my follow up appointment the next week, I right away told the assistant that I would like my dog tested for hypothyroidism. She told me that it is probably not what we are up against. She stated at the age of 4 he is not old enough to have this disease. Everything I read dogs can develop hypothyroidism between the ages of 2 and 6. The assistant wanted to talk to the vet on duty (Dr. Sanders) and she came into the room. She only checked his temperature and lymph nodes. She told me that his lymph nodes have doubled in size and are extremely enlarged. His temperature is extremely high at 102.8 and this could be dangerous. She put together an estimate of test to run with the hypothyroidism test…(still stressing he most likely has cancer), the estimate came to over $700. I knew the average temperature for dogs was 101-102.5, for her to make such a big deal about the danger of 102.8 I knew she was lying. No one could answer my questions directly and continued to talk in circles. I knew it was time for me to get a second opinion. I had my dog to a new vet within an hour of leaving Banfield. This vet took the time to listen to me, and answer my questions, and go over all the symptoms of my dog. He physically checked over my whole dog. I did not give him my opinion and I did not tell him what Banfield had said or done. I wanted his professional opinion based on my dogs symptoms. After reviewing his blood work results from pet emergency, he said I believe the next step we should take is to test your dog for hypothyroidism. He went into details of what hypothyroidism was and what it means for my dog if he has it. During my dogs physical examination (from the new vet), his temperature was 102.1 and the vet told me only his back lymph nodes in his legs were slightly enlarged. What a change within an hour (sarcasm). He did tell me that testing for hypothyroidism may just be the tip of the iceberg and wanted me to understand that it could be a long road to find out what was going on if the tests came back negative for hypothyroidism. I am sad to say my new vet called me with the blood results and my dog test positive for hypothyroidism at the same time I had some relief. He explained to me that he can still live a normal life, he just has to take medications for the rest of his life. What that means to me, is that my dog is going to have a happy life and I will make the most of it. Just a couple days on his medication and he is almost back to his old hyper-self again. I find Banfield in Spokane Washington and Dr. Sanders there to be very unprofessional and money hungry. I will not recommend this poorly ran establishment to a person and I will tell everyone I know about my experience.
Be aware of the tricks they oull on the insurance coverage, we was hitting hard times and wanted to cancel the pet insurance, they give us a date to cancel and when we did they stated that they already automatically renewed the insurance, they are very unprofessional and will do anything to keep you paying for the insurance, we have been going back and forth with them for two weeks now trying to cancel the insurance and have them stop removing money from our account automatically and still we are getting no satisfaction, the next thing i guess to do is change banks and account, so be aware because they will tell you one thing and lie to you to continually get your money…
what is wrong with you people you keep saying insurance this is not insurance it is wellness care get it through your thick skulls people anyhow we have have nothing but the best of care from banfield hospital here in campbell ca they have saved me thousands of dollars and i also have full coverage ins for my little one and it all runs about 90 buck a month and if that is too much money then get rid of your furry friend and go have a damn kid see how much that one costs you lmao
Buster, we get it. You worship at the Banfiedl alter. We got it the first 10 times.
We attempted to use the Banfield Animal hospital starting September 2009 in NC. The 1st visit was alright. We opted for one of the wellness plans since we talked our daughter into adopting the kitten we found. The next couple of appts went a little bizarre. After visiting this office a few times we now go in and there is yet another vet that comes in and all of a sudden she hears a heart murmur. No one else in the office could hear this sound. We go back for the rest of the vaccination appts and she is cleared by another vet to proceed with spaying. We make the appt in November 09 and the vet that is there that day is the only vet that supposedly hears the heart murmur. She calls us that mornning to inform us that our kitten needs xrays and other tests to see if she can undergo the spaying to the tune of $350.00 just to start. (I am keeping this story short) At this point we are livid. Because this is feeling more and more like a racket than a place that really cares for animals. We went to pick up our kitten w/o the tests or spaying and discuss this issue with the vet. She was clearly shaken by our frustration. She informed us at one point that “maybe we did not care if our pet died on the operating table but she did.” This did not set well with me as I had to put down my precious dog of 13 years one month earlier. This behavior by a professional truly shows that Banfield Animal Hospital is the epitomy of a Corporate run facility. In other words I feel that all animals that enter this facility are only seen as dollar signs. I must add that we took our kitten to a reputable vet in our area and she was spayed and is doing great.
I had recently moved into the area and took my dog to Banfield in Ocoee, FL to look at a tumor inside my dog’s eyelid. I expected that the bill would not be pleasant, however, the vet assured me that it was a very simple surgery. When the technician came back in with the estimate it was 3 pages long and came to between $1100-$1200. When I questioned the charges on the estimate the vet was not very happy for me questioning him. I decided to get a second opinion and took my dog to my old vet that is about 25 miles from my current home. I was shocked when my old vet came back with the estimate for the surgery to be only $311. The estimate of charges wasn’t even 1/2 a page long. My dog had the surgery yesterday and did fantastic. The bill ended up being only $279 which included all prescriptions that he needs at home. BANFIELD IS A RIP OFF! If your animal needs surgery get a second opinion. A $900 price difference is a VERY BIG difference. The folks at Underhill Animal Hospital in Orlando do a fantastic job and really care about the animal. I will NEVER GO TO BANFIELD AGAIN!
I worked in a vet clinic for several years and I am currently in vet school. When I worked at the clinic, we had several 4th year vet students doing internships. Just to give you an idea of what the vet schools think about Banfield – every one of the students that interned at the clinic (and they were not just from one vet school) told us that Banfield was banned from the list of credible vet practices for internships. I never had any personal experience with or knowledge of Banfield until a year ago. One of my friends took her new puppy there for routine vaccinations. She went week after week after week, having to pay over $100 each visit, yet they did not give ANY vaccinations; the Banfield staff said the puppy was not ready and might have a reaction. I realize that puppies can have reactions to vaccines, but charging over $100 for visits when there are no vaccines given?!? She told me about what was going on and I told her to go somewhere else, and she ended up getting her dog completely vaccinated for less than what she had paid in 2 visits to Banfield. She spend over $600 in Banfield just to have them say her dog was not ready for vaccines. Her dog is still alive and doing great. Another friend of mine took his dog in to Banfield on a Saturday because he was having problems with vomiting/diarrhea and his vet was closed. I know these are very general symptoms and there can be a lot of reasons for them, but Banfield charged him around $500 to tell him to take his dog to an emergency vet because they were getting ready to close. X-rays, ultrasounds, and meds were given at Banfield. He then took his dog to the emergency vet and all it took was giving IV fluids (under $50 for the visit). His dog is also doing fine.
I just want to warn pet owners: do not look for discounts and conveniences. And find vet practices that do not focus on revenue, but ones that care about the health of your pet.
Yes MK
Thank you for sharing that with us.
I think it explained why my last banfield vet was a “doctor” from Nigeria with some vet equivalent degree.
He was horrible. My dachshund never ever had any reaction after receiving vaccination for 5 years under their “wellness plan” until we visited this “doctor” from Nigeria.
Allergic reaction (trouble breathing) after getting the rabid shot and had to bring her in for an “emergency visit charge totaled $300. The “doctor” never even spoke to us once. Not one word.
In the next visit,
He tried to up-sell a plan with dental cleaning.
No..sorry dude.
I choose a “real doctor” (specialist with Phoenix Zoo) instead, with state of art equipment, wonderful staffs and only $800 fee for both of my dogs.
I purchased the “wellness plan” because I was lie to believe it was best for my pets.
I learned my lesson.
Because of Banfield, I’ve stopped shopping at Petsmart as well.
People have problem with Banfield should also submit a complaint to Petsmart cooperate.
(I AM WELL AWARE THEY ARE NOT THE SAME COMPANY…. Don’t worry, “nurses” from Banfield)
Still, Petsmart should know by leasing space to banfield, they are losing customer as well
I’ve also filed a complaint with the Arizona state attorney general. You should do the same with your state agency.
Thank you
Banfield is not a Vet, they are a sales company that sells tests. Terrible. I lost my adopted dog, because they would not heal his Kennel Cough without running $700 of tests and x-rays. I had to surrender him to the Humane Society 5 days after I got him, because they would not prescribe him the amoxicilin he needed and his condition worsened.
I recently signed my new baby bully up on the Banfield Wellness plan, and to my dismay, I have signed up for a scam! The doctors are not only extremely incompetent, but they treated my pet like he was completely replaceable and not worth their time. After bringing my boy in for his final vaccinations and an opinion on his current health, I was shocked to find that it would cost me 500 dollars to take x rays and find out what I could have GOOGLED! Not only did they completely rip me off, they told me my dog would not live past a year. As you can imagine this was extremely heart breaking. After some research, I came across many pet owners with the same experience with their bullies and found out that his condition is definitely treatable. After relaying this information to the vet, she had responded as if the information I had found was old news to her! I was completely dumbfounded that she had not even given me a single word of advice, nor did she seem to understand the text books her vet school had required her to read. As a college student myself, I can attest to the fact that it is not difficult to recite lines from a book. It is however a challenge to understand and interpret the information one reads, a skill this doctor clearly did not posses. Since this visit at Banfield I have found the necessary treatment for my bully, and I am hopeful for his future. Unfortunately, I have spent 1000 dollars at Banfield for absolutely no information; a 1000 dollars that could have been put towards my dog’s surgery. I feel so strongly that the unsatisfactory culture at Banfield is perpetuated nation wide that I have found it necessary to write my first ever review. My goal in writing this is not to scare people away from all Banfields, but to simply advise pet owners to research the doctors in their area before committing to any insurance program. Frankly, my advice is to seek other means of pet care.
Just curious about a comment posted in a community about visiting Banfield. The person said to the effect “I got an allergic reaction from visiting Banfield with my pet.” Does this make sense?
Correction!! I reread and reread the short comment. The comment said that that it was the pet store where banfield was that caused an allergic reaction so bad it caused an immediate ER visit. Still doesn’t make sense. Didn’t even mention why there in the first place.
So you can understand how I misread it. Assumptions do get in the way of precision. The problem is that I initiated a post applauding that particular Banfield that I just transferred to from another Banfield. This was the response. Didn’t mention the name of the store in the title, only Banfield. Not even in the body of the short comment.
Also, I’ve been involved in transferring from one Banfield to another. This time, miraculously to both the Banfield staff and me, Banfield Hospital is now ONE Hospital all over the country, electronically. You can see it all yourself together with your Banfield staff. This way all Banfield Vet stations can help the entire Pet Medical profession. A true miracle. I’m 80YO and the same thing is happening to me with my own health records. All we need is for Banfield to get an Internet Email medical secure service going now. Having moved from one state to another 1000 miles away I know how wonderful it is to have electronic records. From now on if I have to move I won’t have to worry about Baruch’s health being interrupted. Things are changing for the better in Banfield.
Because of the groomer being right next door to Banfield has helped me a lot too. Eventually I can envision that there will be more public recognition of this. I actually had the chutzpah to tell the groomer I wanted my toy poodle to look like my first dog, bichon frise (part Westie but looked all Bichon). I gave them permission to shave him if he had mats. I was pretty sure he didn’t because I brush him. I can’t believe that they customized the coif of my companion to please me. It’s like being a wealthy person, a movie star, at the age of 80. Only in America.
Perhaps the US President might also invest our tax $$$ in producing PCP’s for pets. He’s doing it for humans.
I have been whit Banfield for over 3 years, i have a small dog and every time i take her there i have to wait at least 1 hour or more is horrible, they always tell me she is really healthy but they find some new procedure they need to do everytime and i ended of paying some money so what my insurance cover?…. And the other day i took her and they told me i had to drop her off cause they didnt have a Vet available at the time, so i leave her ther at 8am and at 1pm i called them and they said they were busy but they will start whit her as soon as they could…. what????…. they are so unprofesional…. unvelibable
First of all, the Wellness Plan is not insurance. It’s a way of the Hospital risking their budget together with you risking yours. It’s just a plan. I like it because I’ve figured out how much all through my years, 1994-2005, of being a dog owner, how much I’ve spent annually. The “co-payments” using insurance vocabulary is really part of my choices in managing my dog. Because some vets do not use electronic records properly and even obstruct my partnership in going over electronic records with them and their staff are therefore obstructive, it feels like war. Now that both the current Banfield office and I are in synch since last week, to all of our delight, this will nolonger be true for Banfield all over the US.
As for waiting. Well it works out this way I just discovered. If you leave your dog then it’s considered being in a hospital. If you wait with your dog, it’s considered a PCP visit. Some events such as vaccines and periodontal work are considered necessary Hospital outpatient events. Bloodtests are simply PCP events.
The main thing is to make sure you leave the visit with every single printed document you can including your pet’s specific blood tests which in my case was hard to come by and caused me concern. I’m learning to do this as a habit myself. I’m retired and I have no work-related excuse and it’s still a hard habit to acquire. Actually, I like to compare my dog’s records with my own.