Banfield Pet Hospital review: can't cancel 70

What a rip off on there plan. Took our golden in for a recheck on his ear infection and charged us again for a ear swab just tell us he is doing better. Why charge us again what are we paying for on this plan the hidden charges are they run by the mafia or what. Try to cancel the plan they want us to pay upfront to cancel out what a rip. Also when we took our dog in he was real nervious and growled at the vet, did they mistreat him? The last time he was drop off there. We would'nt advise our friends, relatives, or anyone to go there.

The Wellness Plan is just what the name says a WELLNESS PLAN, it does not cover diagonastic tests or meds.

I'm sorry I didn't do further research before I bought the banfield wellness plan for both my pets. I hated the old vet and needed a replacement when their shots came due. It seemed like a good thing for my pets well being at the time.

They were friendly and kind, I thought they had my pets best interest at hand.

I will never leave my little girl for the whole day with them again. She came home hoarse, scared and her leg was so sore. I had to be so careful about picking her up or she'd screech. You can't get an appointment for a minimum of one month. So what happened to getting care for your pet when you need it?

The Vet won't come in and talk with you about the visit, after care or next appointment. I waited 20 minutes then they sent in one of the "nurses" to do it, who leaves you confused and unsure of the service they're providing.

My little girl just mops around the house and won't let you touch her unless you have to.

I just hope they didn't cage my two pets together. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

This like many other Banfield Hospitals have a lot of inexperienced Vets. The vet prescribed Etogesic tablets for my pet and we immediately saw his stool become watery with blood. When I looked up the drug on the internet I discovered that it was dangerous for pets, that it damages their liver and kidneys and several deaths have occurred. Good that we caught this early and were able to go else where. Their customer service people are inept and rude, these people should not be in the Pet care business, their wellness program is not worth it. Young and inexperienced vets are no comfort for your Pet. you can easily loose them.

Two days ago we took aour dog to Banfield to cure her of Parvovirus.
Then one of the doctors told me that the medication cost $416 .
they also said that the treatment was going to last two days but they only had her for half a day when we picked her up they didnt tell us what was rong and they didnt know what to tell us.Then they told us that she had to go again and check her again when i went they told me that i had to pay $300 just for a check up and for some medecine called clavamox wich in the store only cost $20 and they wanted to charge us like 200 dollars for it.They werent responsable for giving our puppy the right medecine she needed .So i DONT recomend you to take your puppies there for NOtHING!

The address is:
10075 almeda genoa road. houson, Tx 77075

These people are useless, they shouldn't even be allowed to operate their business. Honestly, there are WAY BETTER vets out there than this; this I must say is the worse I have been to. They are just there to take your money. I took my dog in because his posterior part of his body was paralyzed (his hind legs and his tail). I took him to the place and immediately the nurse took him before I could ask any questions. They later charge me a ridicuolous amount of money just to examine him and of course they don't know what's wrong with him or give some suggestions as to the cause of his illness! The "doctor" prints out a page full of tests and its fee to give to me. They were very unprofessional for the most part and their procedure of the whole situation. The visit to this Banfield Hospital was not at all helpful, but a waste of money and time. WARNING DO NOT GO TO THIS BANFIELD HOSPITAL or any others, apparently they have bad rep!

They will actually let you out of the contract if you pay for the services you received, but it would probably be better to just pay them the 21 bucks a month... ;-)
Yup and I am also one that is sick and tired of there wellness plan, they told me I saved over 600 Dollars to neuter my dog, where at a different clinic I could have gotten it done for less than 100 dollars (ABC Clinic in Waco). They are just trying to get money out of you and will do procedures that are not neccessary and will always charge you something.
I am in the process of canceling mine but I waited til the contract year is over with.
Hope you might have been able to figure something out with them!

How do you cancel? My dog's plan is up this month, and I can't find the paperwork. I think I remember reading that you can only cancel with a written letter- but don't know where to send it to. Let me know...

It would help to know where this Banfield practice is located. They are a franchise in which each vet owns the practice, so experiences differ from place to place.

My Banfield Pet Hospital practice, located in High Point, NC, is absolutely wonderful, run by compassionate, caring, expert people from the vet to the kennel staff.

I would hate that all Banfield practices be tarred with the same brush, when so much depends on the individual who actually owns the specific practice and his/her staff!

I have had to fight the same fight over the phone today and have been completely surprised. If you are someone thinking about getting the wellness plan DO NOT GET IT! I have just lost my baby Gilbert on Friday, June 19th. I have called Benfield Wellness Plan to cancel my plan. They of course will NOT DO it. Even tho, my pet is no longer alive and obviously no further services will needed Benfield wants to CONTINUE to charge me 22.00 dollars a month for the next six months. For what? What reason you may ask? Why would you pay for no services? That is this Wellness plan for you: THEY CHARGE YOU FOR NOTHING, IT'S A ROBBERY. In very small print on the agreement they said they would keep charging regardless of cancellation.

A second reason why I am not recommending this plan. My kitty had to have several office visits this year, x-rays, medicines, etc...this plan will not cover any of that and you are limited to only see one doctor. My recommendation that for only 5$ more/ month you can get a pet insurance. Do it. It will get you better benefits, more coverage, lower deductibles and an option to take your pet to any vet you choose.

Good luck to all of you and a happy healthy life to your pet!

I think you are a sucker. It plainly says on the brochure which I just read, "Plan memberships are annual agreements..." and "You may cancel anytime before the expiration date by paying the retail value of plan services or the remainder of your plans value, whichever is less." ...and this wasn't in small print either.

I am looking at both of our brochures and I don't see anywhere where it talks about cancellation. Not sure where ChristopherW is seeing it.

The fine print clearly says you are liable for the full year subscription even if your pet dies or is disposed of... It clearly says to provide a written notice of cancellation no less than 30 days prior to the renewal date which you have to assume is one year from the subscription date. (the dates of renewal and the cancellation procedure are very unclear)

If you do this then they will not have a leg to stand on but you have to provide the letter to the banfield office you subscribed at since that is the only office or address mentioned in the agreement. I suggest you send this letter certified and keep copies of everything. You might want to deliver a letter there personally just for good measure and make sure it is being received and tended to and not just set aside.

We have had our GSP hunting dog in the Top Wellness Plan for years.
Last year these Hacks, butchered our dog. Removed a cell mass, and only put in a few stiches.
Leaving their office the dog bleeding would not stop.
Next day they needed to put in staples, as they should have to begin with.
The bleeding still continued, I called they said he can't move or it will still bleed.
Next day the staples began coming out. During these days of recouperation, I had to hold the dog not to move at all just to stop the bleeding.
After the staples came out, the wound would get bigger and bigger every day.
I called daily asking what I needed to do next?
After 5 daily trips to their office, they said now we can only treat it as an open wound.
Now it is 3" by 4" square of open wound. Treat it as an open wound was their only cource of action?
After a week of this, I took him to the Specialist and had a real Vet. DR. redo the operation.
Another $1, 500. to correct their hack job.
Staples were again used to close the wound. This time put in correctly, and they held and healing began. Bleeding was never an issue.

Thinking this was only one bad operation, we stayed in the Wellness Plan.
Yesterday he went in for his update, shots, X-rays the whole deal.
I dropped him off at 7:30 am. Expecting to pick him up after 2:00 pm. as directed.
12:30 they call me, "we can't mussel your dog, can you come in and help?".
I drove right over to find my dog running aound their kennel area.
I asked, What 's the problem? They said he just growels at us, and we can't mussel him.
I put his lead on and took him outside, where he took a pee as soon as he got out the door.
Two more steps and he began pooping. I thought he had all his business taken care of before I dropped him off at 7:30 am. But I guess 4 HOURS in the kennel waiting for treatment was too much time. He has never in 10 years of life ever done his business inside and never in his kennel.
No there was not any emergency treatments going on, they just knew they had all day to their job.

THESE TECHS CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DOG THAT NEEDS TO GO OUT, AND AN AGRESSIVE DOG? Where do they get these people?

Our GSP is a lover of all. And has never snapped at anyone.
I went back in to talk to the Vet., and discussed What took so long? And why hadn't treatment started. He said, "I don't know? They said they couldn't put a mussel on him?"
I said, "Why don't you have any system in place to put a mussel on? If that's want you need"
He had nothing to say.
Now I need a new Vet. We only began at Banfield because our family Vet of 15 years with other dogs retired.

Needless to say, NO WELLNESS PROGRAM ever again.

I wish I had read more about these Hacks before we ever began any program.

I had a plan with Banfield for about 4 years, and unfortunately we lost our dog this year about halfway through the year right after I had just gotten all of her vaccinations. She began having problems so I actually upgraded her plan so it would cover some of the blood tests they wanted to run to see what was going on, unfortunately she kept getting worse so we chose to euthanize her. It took me a couple of months to contact Banfield [protected] to cancel. They were actually very nice and took off half of the cost of the remainder of her contract and automatically set up to cancel the contract so I wouldn't have to call back. I think this was fair since I was using their services. I don't understand why people think they should be able to just stop whenever they feel like it, unless they are not using the service to begin with.
I miss my dog, but if I ever get a new one I would not hesitate to use Banfield again.

We have two dogs under the wellness plan for 9 years and were relatively happy with it until July. We called to get an appointment to get our son's dog spade and specifically ask for the vet we have been dealing with for 12 years. We took the dog in at 8am and were told she should be ready around 4pm. Received a call later that they were busy and she wouldn't be ready until around 6pm. Then we got a call at 5pm saying they would be unable to do the operation that day and it would have to be rescheduled. Dog had been there all day and had not had food since the day before. I told them to cancel the insurance on our two dogs because that level of service was not acceptable and I did not want our dogs exposed to that type of treatment. Then after protesting the monthly credit card billing I learned that the insurance is not cancelable and the credit card company is obligated to collect the charge. Apparently they can treat dogs in any manner that they want to and a person is expected to pay their monthly insurance bill. Banfields bills are ridiculously over priced to make a person think they are getting a good deal. Comparing the bills to insurance payments would make a person wonder how they stay in business. I think there is evidence for a class action law suite which I plan to ask a lawyer friend to investigate. We also filed a complaint with the state veterinary department and have not yet received a reply and will look into filing a complaint with the state insurance commissioner.

I failed to mention that the vet we ask for to spade our son's dog wasn't even working the day we were given the appointment.

We will be cancelling as soon as our plan is up. At our Banfield there has been so many different “doctors” at our location that they do not even know our pets. They make so many appointments at one time that we have to wait forever. One of our dogs suffers from anxiety and we always ask for the first appointment so he doesn’t get stressed. After waiting for an hour just to get into a room and another 20 minutes to be seen, and having to hear my dog whine and moan for an hour the vet had the nerve to laugh saying he needs to be on meds. My heeler who I had dropped off a few times started attacking a certain vet. She has and had never attacked anyone before and has only attacked that vet! What did the vet do to her? At our last appointment the nurse came in and started poking on our heeler who has hip dysplasia and is not to have any shots in her rear end. I stopped the nurse and I asked her if she had reviewed the file. She laughed and said no and then read her file. Her reply was oh I am not supposed to do that. I was pissed. What if I had dropped her off and not been there? I am assuming that is what the other vet did. Or mix breed has stomach issues (he sneaks other food he is not suppose to eat) and when we took him into Banfield we saw a new doctor. SURPRISE! He had us believing it wasn’t the same thing that the other vet at Banfield said it was. I told him the dog had the EXACT same symptoms and he had been at someone else’s house and got into their dog food…no he told us it was life threatening and he may not make it…$700 later it was the same thing the other vet said that cost $30 to take care of! Yes in the end the $30 of medication is what he needed! None of the vets agree witht the same type of treatment either. One vet said to give milk of magnesia the other vet said no, that can make them sicker. Who am I to believe? They told us to pick the vet we wanted…did they log it? NO! One vet didn’t even document what she did for our dog and had no clue what we were talking about and agrued with my husband when we had to return for more treatment. I wrote everything down she said to do at the visit and her freaking name was on the prescription bottle. She didn’t want to look at it (this is the same vet my dog likes to attack now)! They do not treat your pets as anything else than an object that brings in the cash. I wanted to cancel our plan but we are in a contract and cannot cancel until the time comes. So here we are paying for horrible services. Our pets are our children every time we go to Banfield I feel like a horrible parent. Can’t wait till the plan is up! I have told everyone I know not to use the Wellness Plan!

Brought my Rottie in to have his face looked at. He ran into another dog and got a hematoma. The face was swollen and the eye looked infected. Took him in to be put on an antibiotic. I was told they would have to run some blood work because he is 8 yrs old and he might not tolerate the medicine. $480 dollars later I was told I could pick him up. The knocked him out to draw blood. I was told his blood work was fine other then his white blood count a little high but nothing major. They didn't think he had an infection but put him on antibiotics anyway. was told to bring him in in 2 weeks. 2 weeks later I brough him back and was told the face looked better then it did but they wanted to take exrays or more blood work. I declined. I brought him back 2 weeks later on a Sunday because his face got swollen again and you could tell that he had another infection. They said they had to take xrays. I had to leave him for a few hours. They would try sedate him a little to take them if they couldn't they would again knock him out. At this point i was told it would be almost $500 or if I sign up for the wellness plan it would only cost $235 plus like $40 a month for the next year. This amount would have to be paid even if he died. About 4 hours later I got a call to come pick him up. Of course they knocked him out and it took 3 people to carry him into the car because he was still so sedated. I was told that I need to see an oncologist because they think it was cancer. I told them it is clearly infected again and was told the medicine wouldn't do any good. I took almost 4 days for him to start eating because of the trauma they did to his face taking xrays. I left in shock and took him home. I looked at my bill when I got home and saw that i was charged for stuff that wasn't even done to him. I t was what they would have passed through to the insurance if i took out that wellness policy. i beleive that is insurance fraud. I called on Wednesday and asked if I could please get medicine for him because his face was clearly infected. I asked for a Vet to return my call. I again called back on Thursday and said I never received a call and would like to talk to a Vet. I was told the Vet is in surgery and that I really need to take him to the oncologist for a biopsy. I asked for a return call. It is now 2 weeks later and i am still waiting for that return call. I have a friend who is a Vet and she was passing through our state to go home. She stopped by and looked at him. She started him on antibiotics. After 2 doses his face is almost back to normal. I will never go to a Banfield again and do my best to make sure I tell everyone about my experience with them.

Same thing happened to me on the wellness plan. I did finally get them to reduce the amount by 50%, but still a giant rip-off. Burnt once your fault, burnt twice my fault. Never again.

I wish I read these reviews earlier. I will tell EVERYONE who has a pet this- and I am forwarding a description of my experience to EVERY pet owner I know. I moved to Maryland from another state and was looking for a vet for my 2 doxies. Banfield was quick to offer me the Wellness program and charge my credit card, but when my male dog had a paw infection a week later they were TOO BUSY to see him. I called for days for an apointment and finally drove to Virginia when the poor dog started limping. Shame on you Banfield! They wouldn’t even let me speak to a vet! My girl dog is there now for a teeth cleaning and every time they call me back they are adding another charge to her teeth cleaning bill! $45 for a different anesthesia, $200 to get a biopsy of a lump. I thought this pet insurance was for the care of my pet! I can’t wait to cancel next year! STAY AWAY from Banfield. Just pay for services that your dog needs and find a vet that’s more concerned about the welfare of your pet than making a dollar!

Xena777xena, based on the details in your post, we believe that you are already in contact with our Client Advocate Team, and we will work on getting a response to you as soon as possible.

New info... their contract may be illegal/unenforceable according to an attorney I spoke with. They got me too, bad. Trying to enforce that contract after your pet has passed probably isn't legal. I'm starting a movement to do something about it. Here's my blog I just started. Join me in fighting these people.
http://www.banfieldwellnessplanreview.blogspot.com/

This is not the first issue that I have had with this specific Banfield. On one occasion I had left my boxer for her comprehensive exam and upon picking her up 9 hours later, she ran towards the door in desperate need of having to pee. I was annoyed at this point as I had a suspicion she was not let out the entire day to pee. She is a well trained house dog and will not pee indoors or inside a kennel. When I got home she went straight to her water bowl and drank as she hadn't had water in days. At this moment I called Banfield and the employee told me that they do not walk, feed, give water, or let dogs out to pee. Water is restricted because then the animals pee in the kennels. How can you torture these poor animals for hours without water?! That is inhumane treatment and I am not paying every month for my pet to receive this inadequate care. 6 months later I again took my dog for her comprehensive exam. When I picked her up and started walking around the store to shop, I noticed she would not put any pressure on her front paw. I walked back to the office and the employee then tried to blame it on my dog. That she was probably scratching at the kennel. AGAIN my dog is completely housebroken and does not scratch at kennels. She sometimes opts to sleep in her kennel while at home. They took her back in to examine her then came house and gave me too many excuses. This is just poor care. My pet is my family and for anyone to treat her like just another animal is beyond upsetting to me. I immediately let everyone know on my social media of how badly banfield cared for pets and was surprised that others had the same experiences. I will be cancelling my monthly "insurance" and will gladly pay full price to any other vet that will provide my pet with the care she deserves. I am extremely disappointed in the staff at this facility. If they do not have the compassion or the desire to care for these helpless animals then they need to find a different job path!

The problem is is that you probably paid only 21.95 instead of the estimated $400 for the exam, shots etc. so essentially you already got the benefit of the year's plan. Perhaps they could just charge you out full fee for the initial exam that you took your late puppy to and then cancel the remainder of the payments.

ya Banfield and there damn wellness plan im tryin to cancel after being billed evey month of 31.95 and just coz i took my dog in for physical and her shots i gotta pay them over 200.00 dollars to cancel what about the money i paid monthly on the wellness plan i paid them evey month for the diccount they barely give you and they still want more money out of you man they can kiss my ### i wont go there no more

ya like i said no more Banfield for me they suck

Sad to say, but it took me 3 days to get hold of Banfield customer service to cancel my dog's plan. Thank God I had only two more months until the end of my contract year and grateful that the customer service agreed to waive the last month coverage in order for me to cancel the plan immediately.

Not the way I would have run my business, but it is what it is.

My local Banfield sent me a letter in the mail stating that they closed their facility that I had signed with. The next closest hospital to my is a 30 min drive. I have no transportation and can not take my dog on public transportation. I messaged customer service and they stated that I was still not able to cancel my plan, because it had not been a year. The agreement that I signed has the address of the hospital that is now closed. I do not see how I am legally obligated to pay them for services when the location I signed the agreement to is no longer running.

I am on line right now because I do not want it to extend another year. I have been happy up to this point. The service I received has been good. I will not be keeping the service because this is as bad as calling TWC ( cable company ) I am on hold now 15 minutes because I want to cancel next years service. DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS PLAN !

I agree with all posts saying DO NOT SIGN UP FOR BANFIELD IT IS A SCAM. Take your pet to a vet outside of their network that cares about your pet not on making money off of you.

For all these reasons that I have read, I do not recommend using the services of Pestmart, mistreat our pets, care service is lousy, the plan for my pet I just renewed, CAN NOT CANCEL, then I left alone change store and wait until February 2017, really is a steal, I regret having taken this plan, but what if I'm sure is not the committee recommends for nothing, because even for supplements pets are thieves, much more expensive than in other stores, even online, DO NOT RECOMMEND ANYONE, I'm really upset, THESE PEOPLE LOSE A CUSTOMER MORE

I rescued a little mixed terrier destined for euthanasia. I took the dog to Banfield for his first checkup. I was talked into the "Plan". I was told he was heart worm positive and would need treatment but not to worry, it was very safe. All of this was not in the "plan" so I had to pay for it out-of-pocket (around $1000.00). The first treatment went OK. The 2nd treatment caused a reaction and the little dog went into respiratory arrest. They treated him and I was told that he had a reaction and should never be given anything (medications) while under the treatment. The 3rd treatment should have been the easiest because it was a pill. The dog was given the pill and no reaction was noted. When I picked him up the Vet (straight out of Vet School) told me he needed booster shots and a treatment for worms. He also had a skin infection and was given an antibiotic. Again, except for the boosters, I had to pay out-of-pocket. I questioned the vet due to the reaction to the 2nd treatment. She told me not to worry that if there was going to be a reaction it would have already happened. I took the dog with me to Charlotte for the weekend. He started throwing up and was listless. I called the Banfield to talk to the Vet. A message was forwarded to me that was normal and not to worry. The next day the little dog went into convulsions and died while trying to be resucitated at an emergency hosp. I was being debited monthly out of my account because they refused to end the contract even though the dog died at their hands (only used 2 months of their services). To this day, I am still fighting them over the debits from my account. I am tempted to take them to Small claims court ($5, 000) for "pain and suffering" and "economic hardship". It will cost me a lot of time and about $60.00 and I may not win but it may make them a little more careful. I have another dog now and even though I can take her back to Banfield under the existing contract, I love my dog too much to subject her to "quackery" and "thieves".

I go there every month for my dog Max to have his nails cut and anal squeeze. However the past couple of months I had to deal with a manager Lisa Bellini. She is very rude and abrupt. She always asked me if I made an appointment for my dog. However, they originally informed me that an appointment is not required for these type of procedure. Today I waited for them to register me. However three people with appointments came after me and I feel that she did not even want to help me with my dog, Max. Then she even asked me if I had their plan and I informed her I was planning on putting my dog on their plan. It seems like she doesn't even want to cater to me because I do not have any plan. What kind of manager treats their customer so rude and abrupt. She doesn't even smile. It seems like she can't handle her job. The store gets a little busy with four dogs and she gets stressed out. She is the most horrible person ever. She even told me to leave because I got upset. I am so lucky that I have not signed up for their plan so I do not ever have to deal with her.

The people at the Fayettville Banfield Animal Clinic are
more concerned about the money than they are about the
life of the animal. In an attempt to assist my employee whose
dog had a life threatening illness and need immediate surgery,
I had an unpleasant encounter with the staff at this
Banfield clinic about payment for the dog's surgery. I would
describe them as rude, inflexible and all about the money as
the dog lay dying. How sad that their business policy is such
that the money takes place over everything else. Shame on them
and save yourselves from their selfishness.

Re: Pet Hospital

My puppy’s name is “Samson”. I had visited your Stapleton Office. I was told then, “Samson”. We would be enrolled in the puppy plan. After, speaking with the office manager she stated, since “Samson” was over the 6 months, he would be treated as an adult. However, this was not stated to me in our conversation.

Since, I am unable to transport “Samson” properly. I had requested to have my plan transferred to another hospital which is closer for my access. I am being, instructed by the office manager Melissa at the Glendale Office I would have to start the puppy plan over again. Now, Samson, will be a year old in less than 2 weeks. I had tried to explain, the situation of my driving long distances with my pet. I currently, have MS which enables me to operate machinery. I feel I should be able to transfer the plan to any Banfield Facility without having to restart a new plan.

I have contacted the Better Business Bureau, and the Attorney Generals Consumer Division. I would like to continue my plan for my pet. However, I feel it would not benefit me.

Thank you, for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Wanda E. Roberts.

took my pet cat Smokey, to Banfield after he became weak, could'nt walk or use his legs.
I thought that the cat had eaten a rat or a poisoned
small animal; I was told that he ehad an infection and was given prednisone, antibiotics(baytrol?)
and vitamins. The DVM did a blood test and it came back as being low, or anemia. Also the cat was thrombocytopenic, so now the cat was bleeding
internally and would probably need an infusion.
This first visit cost me almost $500.00. A few days later I was to bring back my pet for another blood count, since hos hematocrit, or packed cell volume, was not low enough to warrant an infusion at the emergency animal hospital, which I had no idea existed and was a full service hospital that could have given him what he needed to save his life. Anyway after the second visit to Banfield and another $120.00 spent, I rushed smokey to the emergency clinic . it would have cost me 2,000.00 to save my cat. Do not take your animal to Banfield; I learned my lessonand got nothing but a broken heart from Banfield!