Banfield Pet Hospital
Reviews and Complaints

This is a PSA to warn folks to avoid this company at all measure. After four years on the program, a prescription screw up and internal accusations within the medical staff, I decided it was time to leave the Banfield program.

I am at fault for not formally canceling my plan. But, Banfield did not call or contact me to advise my account was past due and still accruing monthly charges and the most infuriating thing; they placed me in collections.

In a discussion with corporate, I was to they tried to call me several times and emailed me equally. I NEVER was left a message and never an email. They said to check spam as they often go there.

I have zero issue paying what I should, but the indifference, arrogant, and condescending response from Banfield is just not acceptable in this era.

Please avoid this company.

Dear Banfield Corporate please see my complaint below addressed to Dr. Daniel Gallinaro.
Re:Banfield Pet Hospital at 16575 Washington St., Thornton, CO 80023
Dr. Gallinaro,

I am writing to inform you that my dog Leila has suffered greatly following her surgery last week on 1/26 to remove mass on her right hind leg/foot. I feel that something certainly went awry with what is a fairly routine mass removal. Things were not handled well by your clinic when my wife picked her up, she was walked out when she should have been carried, with no instruction to keep her from walking. She began bleeding from her bandages almost immediately had to be taken back 10 minutes later after bleed all over my wife's car seats. She was carried back in by a Banfield staff person who happened to be leaving as my wife called for help. After being seen she was not rebandaged, just given a towel and sent on her way with my wife again. She continued bleeding that night and the next morning. When I called early Friday morning to report this with urgency, I was told she could not be seen until Monday. I told the woman on the phone "my dog is bleeding alot!" from yesterday's procedure and could not wait, she said I could call other Banfields or other vet clinics to see if they could get her in sooner. I couldn't believe it, I hung up in disbelief. She called back 30 mins later and said I could bring Leila in to see you later that day at 3pm. All this while she was filling the bag that covered her leg with blood. You saw Leila and treated her, rebandanged her and sent us home with Rimadyl and Denamarin. She began to bleed thru again on Sat evening. I took her into the 24 hour vet ER and they could see that her leg was in bad condition and when they observed her incision area they became very concerned about dead (necrotic) tissue and possible infection, the vet & her staff were dumbfounded in regards to the sutured area, how bad it looked, the amount of swelling and what had been done in terms of treating it. Her leg was double it's normal size (see attached photo). I knew I could not return to Banfield if Leila wanted to have any chance of keeping her leg and/or surviving. She had already gone through so much pain and distress. You are paid to help our pets, if you guys cannot handle what's presented medically, by all means, pls refer patients elsewhere. I hope Banfield's profit model does not interfere in the patients best interest. It is not my intention to be rude, and I am not unaware that complications can result from surgeries. However I am upset and angry as it became clear that every time I brought Leila into you, she left worse off than when she arrived. I will be terminating my wellness plan, it's not worth it after having to pay 100's upon 100's of dollars more at other clinics to fix botched and/or inadequate care at Banfield. I can only hope Leila will be ok and this will not happen to another four-legged family member.

Sincerely,
Derrick

To Whom it mat concern, Back in Aug/ Sep 22 I took both of my dogs to be seen At 916 Loganville Hwy Bethlehem, GA, 30620 location. We were told they didn't have the flea and tick meds on hand and that we can have them shipped to us or pick them up. Well we reached out to the store and were told that when our plan updated the meds weren't included. But some how we get our meds for our other dog and still paying the same monthly price. Please look into this for me. before we have to cancel our account. The Phone # associated with this account is [protected]. Thank you for your time

David & Sherri Wilson

I took my puppy to his first visit at Banfield whom was highly recommended by my sister. During the appointment I was told that the food he was on that I continued through breeder was not nutritional. Recommended a better food. As we know I was told to follow recommended portions according to the bag. Once home and time for feed realized the recommended food went by weight. Looked over my paperwork, checked his online profile, no weight recorded. Immediately called Banfield a little after 6pm on 1/20/2023 same day as my puppies appointment and left message. Called again 1/21/2023 about 10am left another message. Called a third time about Noon still no return call pertaining to my question. I would have thought taking the weight of a puppy would be part of an exam. I am so far disappointed with the process of just getting my pets weight to determine the amount of food he should be given. This is the Banfield in Largo Maryland. My puppies appointment was at 3:00pm on 1/20/2023. Can anyone assist me with this matter?

I am extremely unhappy with how my family’s whole experience has been with the financial situation at Banfield. The uncooperative, unyielding “assistance” on every level really surprised me negatively (except the helpful staff actually at the hospital who just don’t have the ability to do anything to help with the account - THEY deserve a raise for what they do to try to help with as much as the billing department doesn’t give them access to). The account is in complete disarray and my family is being blamed for it. This week (first week of January, 2023) my son, who had given his dog to my daughter and her husband several years ago, received a collections letter with a ding on his credit report of 25 points, stating that he had a delinquent account for a whopping $651. He had not been caring for the dog for many years. My daughter and her husband had paid off the final bill for the dog’s last services March 28th, 2022 and closed the account. The person with whom my daughter spoke on the phone verified the account was clear, all was paid off, and it was now closed. My son-in-law had been asked to “sign the receipt” prior to this at the hospital and it turns out he had been handed a renewal form for another year of the dreaded annual contract at Banfield that committed them to 12 monthly payments of over $50. He didn’t even know that because the intent had been to close the account down. Now we find out that they have to pay $651 for absolutely nothing. No services for the dog. No vaccines. Not even a toenail clipping because they didn’t even know they had a wellness plan since they had intended (and it had been confirmed) that this had been closed and they were good. No effort has been made to reach out to get the bill paid. Apparently the card on file didn’t work (I believe you had an expired card or something) but even with the email and cell phone, you did not make an attempt to ask for payment. The address on the account was from when we created the account for this dog back in 2012 - 11 years ago. I haven’t lived there in over 4 years and my daughter hasn’t lived there in longer. She kept trying to tell staff at Banfield to update the account to her information and all she managed to get them to do was change email and cell phone. Naturally, ONE notice letter was, of course, mailed to the old address. No other effort was made before it was immediately sent to collections. Had we known this was an issue, we would have used the wellness plan, albeit begrudgingly because we thought it was cancelled. But we would have wanted our money’s worth. Again, we didn’t even know there was an open account because of how this went down. We never even used the services. Does anyone in billing care about that? Not in the slightest. No efforts have been made to believe any of my family who have tried to get something fixed. This is theft and deceit, in the form of a signed contract and there’s nothing we can do because the wonderful, amazingly understanding billing people could only repeat, “Well, I have a signed contract here.” I’m insulted, very angry, and disgusted with this business for being so deceiving and for making absolutely no effort to make this right for the customer. When it comes to Banfield Pet Hospital, I unequivocally will encourage people to go elsewhere if they want to hang on to their wallets. Nobody cares in the billing departments or at corporate in the financing department. It’s just, “There’s a signed contract.” So no effort to help or make it right. The principle of this thing is a lot more important to me than even the $651. The name on this account is Caiden Eastmond. I am his father, Steven Eastmond. You may contact me at eastmond.[protected]@gmail.com.

My dog got a partial tail amputation about a month ago. The surgeon did a TERRIBLE job with stitching her up and the stitches were coming off in a day. We got ahold of him and he said to put Manuka honey on it. That didn’t help. He charged close to 2000 for this surgery when we were quoted about 1300 by a different location but they didn’t have the staff to go the surgery. NOW because the surgeon messed up so bad my dog needs ANOTHER surgery. And you’re charging full price when the vet messed up in the first place. I’m ready to get a lawyer yo fight this because you guys are just money hungry. I need answers and I need answers fast.

In late Feb of 2021, we took our kitten (Rudy) to be seen for poor feeds and vomiting at Banfield in Laurel, MD. Rudy had labs drawn, was given subQ fluid bolus, and discharged with 2 out of 3 medication. Once home, I contacted Banfield to ask how to give PO meds since Rudy continued to vomit and I was told my the staff to "read the directions" and to give the medication a chance to work. Initial Banfield visit was $700. Rudy health continued to decline and we decided to take Rudy back to Banfield. Rudy was given an injection ($70) which was also ineffective. Rudy health declined more to the point her gait was unsteady. On March 4th, we rushed Rudy to Friendship Animal in Hospital where she was found to be jaundice upon arrival. After further diagnostic test and $3000.00, it was determined that Rudy could possibly have FIP and in organ failure. After receiving the grim diagnosis, the decision was made to put Rudy down at 6 months of life. I reviewed Rudy's lab work that was performed by Banfield and noted an elevated bilirubin level of 7.3 and neither my witness or I were notified of any abnormal labs. We placed numerous calls to Banfield requesting to speak with the Veterinarian. The Vet eventually called back after learning that Rudy was put down stating that Rudy was "fine" upon her examination and told us she didn't need to review Rudy's lab work since we are healthcare providers.

A complaint was filed with Maryland State Board of Veterinarian Medicine and it was determined that the veterinarian was at fault for not performing any assessments and in violation of Maryland law(s).

There is a lot to complain about, but enough is enough. I was originally taking my dogs to Crocker Village and had moved to Cameron Park. I noticed Buddy had a mass on his face and called the Folsom Banfield. They were booked and suggested I call another Banfield. I was able to get an appointment on the same day at Fair Oaks. It turned out the mass could be cancerous and Dr. Watson suggested removing the mass and teeth cleaning. The catch is Buddy has a bad heart, and I would have to go to the Carmicheal office since that is Dr. Watson's primary location. Despite the drive of 35 minutes, I went ahead with Buddy getting an X-ray to be sure the cleaning would be safe. In addition, she did not want to do an X-ray and did not have an appointment set for the teeth cleaning, so the Fair Oaks set an appointment for 1/10 at 8 am at the Carmichael office. This was on 12/27. After glancing at the X-ray, she said it should be fine and at this point, I was told to expect a call from Dr. Watson or call her at the Carmichael office to know the results of the X-ray. I missed Dr. Watson's call on 1/3 and my voicemail was full. Dr. Watson and I were able to connect on 1/5 to discuss the results. She went through the results of the X-ray, and the costs to remove the mass and do the teeth cleaning. Everything was falling into place. She was a bit rushed which was fine, and I asked to speak to the receptionist as I wanted to confirm the date and what to expect that day. Well to my shock the appointment was never scheduled, the receptionist stated they never got a call back from the Fair Oaks office. So, despite the Dr calling on 1/3 to tell me that she wants to proceed and me getting a hold of her two days later there was never an appointment set.

Neither manager was available at both of the locations, and the receptionist at Carmichael said that Dr. Watson can't even call me back today.

Upon writing this letter the receptionist unapologetically at Carmichael called me back and said she talked to the doctor and they shuffled some appointments and can see me at 8:30 on 1/10.

I have been trying for two days now to reach you on the phone. Your wait times, still using covid as an excuse for terrible service is an abuse to me and every other customer you may have. You make it virtually impossible to cancel plans for even deceased pets. Just overall give up on you and want to take all pets off auto-pay and pay as I go until I find a new local vet.

I am a senior, for me and other seniors out there, I think you should consider your practices, your horrible customer service, your inability to answer the phone during business hours, making it as hard as possible to cancel wellness plans or at least take off auto-pay-is abusive to seniors.

I took my cat to banfield because I have the plan for visits in October. He had swollen lymph nodes and runny eyes and would not use the litter box.They told me he was most likely fighting off a UTI and gave me an antibiotic and ran a bunch of tests up to 600 dollars worth with the plan. It seemed to make things better until this past week my cat developed two golf ball size lymph nodes and a 106 fever which I took him to another vet. He has been in and out of the hospital for a week now. He has lymphoma. Banfield call representative refuses to cancel my membership or transfer me to a supervisor where I can explain what happened and what is going on. I will not continue to pay for them when I do not trust them and they do not actually care for my pet and give him what he needs and now he will most likely die.

Do not use Banfield Wellness Plan. After spending thousands of dollars to try to save our beloved pet. We canceled our plan because our companion passed away and Banfield tried to charge us an additional $459.00 because we renewed our plan before he passed, not knowing he was not going to live. If you use Banfield, just know that you will not be able to talk with a vet and you will not be with your pet when they are being examined. Your pet will be taken to a back room and a vet tech will talk with you. If you love your pet - do NOT use Banfield!

Banfield pet hospital is a scam all around. They refused to fulfill a standard veterinary diet prescription for my dog that it has been prescribed for years. In dealing with the horrible customer service, I opted to take my business elsewhere and they refused to cancel the optimum wellness plan saying that the costs incurred for service within the plan would trigger a charge so they plan to continue billing despite not providing such a basic service as filling a prescription. Shameful business practices.

I ve had pet insurance with Banfield for several years. I am longer in need of service and would like to cancel my and was denied by your. customer service dept. This is absurde how dare your company do this to customers. I no longer require doing Business with your company. I demand immediate cancelation or légal action will be taken against Banfield. Customer name. Linda Johnson 2281 Akers Mill Rd SE apt. 3710. Atlanta Ga 30339. My Pet Foxy

I had to take my German Shepard Meech into the 15530 w. 64th ave location due to the location that I have been taking him to for years since he was a puppy (160 wadsworth Blvd. location) being booked out. He was diagnosed with an ear infection and was sent home with cleaning solution that I was instructed to rinse his ears out with. I misplaced the cleaning solution, so I called the 160 wadsworth Blvd. location the day prior (yesterday) to A) make sure they had had solution and B) if it was okay for me to pick up a new bottle there - instead of having to drive all the way up to thr 64th ave. location. I was told that would be completely fine and it would be no probelem for me to get another bottle of solution at the 160 wadsworth location. When I was arrived I was told they weren’t sure who I talked to and there was nothing they could do for me, and there was no way I could get more solution to treat my dog. The practice manager was extremely short and unprofessional during the interaction and at no point apologized or tried to understand my situation. I asked for the practice manager Kayla’s last name or a supervisor I could talk to because I felt she was being extremely short, unhelpful, and rude. She would only provide her first name Kayla and would not give me any other kind of information. She then proceeded to say I was yelling at her when I was simply upset and showing frustration as I was telling my story. I asked for last name one more time, After this she threatened to have me trespassed from the building and walked away saying “I am going to get someone to escort you out”. Fearing for my safety I left the premise, with not only no cleaning solution to treat my dog after I was told it would be no problem to come pick it up the day prior, but a nasty taste in my mouth about Banfield pet hospital and I will most likely never come back after this kind of treatment. I’ve taken him here for years since he was a puppy and I am upset to feel there was no consideration for my problem, no apology, and actually treated with hostility and attitude.

I’ve called three local Banfield Pet Hospitals today, Monday, December 12, 2022 for my sick Golden Retriever. The soonest one of the three that could see Monte was this coming Friday the 16th. I have their wellness plan which is totally worthless if we cannot get an appointment when our dog is sick.I was on hold for 45 minutes because “I have one caller in front of you” EACH time I called. Not to mention that if you need anything outside of the plan, like medication or x-ray, Banfield rates are outrageously high. We are dropping Banfield’s plan immediately. Their “customer service” is horrible… absolutely horrible!

Paul Morrison

I have taken my baby to Banfield since she was born. Once Covid hit, the service changed. For one I no longer have the Wellness Plan. My account went to collections because they wouldnt let me cancel. Every single time I called i always have to address that bill that has been sent to Collections. There is zero accountability for the vets at this hospital. We were blamed to our face for declining services. Because we didnt have the Wellness plan we were slighted in how we were treated. Focuses way too much on the plan and cost instead of the pet. My pet passed away and i had to speak with the manager to get her chart. They never called me for my pets critical labs. I was told no news is good news. They wouldnt let us in the rooms but would rather violate hipaa and discuss everything in the waiting room with several other pet parents. When i finally read thru the records. These vets were documenting that they spoke to us about issues that we were not aware of. I will never recommend this hospital. I dont know if they are vets in training or what. There is no accountability. I want to get another pet but i am traumatized from this whole experience. And still have only a tad bit of resolution. I still dont know what my precious girl passed away from. Horrible! Horrible!

I am very disappointed with Banfield’s wellness plan. I opted in thinking my dog will have a great care but during my first visit, they made us come in for an exam they couldn’t even do at the time which wasted my time. With the hospital’s level of organization and care, I do not trust them with my dog so I decided to cancel my plan. I was still expected to pay the whole plan even tho I opted in on November, almost done with the year and had my dog only do a comprehensive exam. I am very disappointed!

I left Banfield’s Wellness program because they would not grant permission for me to receive my dog’s medication through Chewy at a reasonable cost. I recently found out that my credit history had been hit by Banfield for 0ver $550.00 dollars, and, as a result, my credit score went down by 70 points. I have spoken with: the pet hospital staff, the collection agency, and a representative of Banfield’s CEO to no avail.