Complaint Review: Banfield Pet Hospital - Chandler Arizona

Funny, how the Banfield employees tell people to call or email them...  Lol.....  I find that quite hilarious because I've done all of the above and more...  Matter a fact I had written numerous letters, made numerous calls....  I even spoke with Elario (supervisor at Banfield) in corporate and he was going to take care of it so he gave me this client advocate number on July 7, 2011.... The harassment just became worse... It's now August 30 with no response?  So I called Elario, he put me on hold to look up the information he conveniently never came back to the phone and forwarded my call to the Chandler Banfield....  The women there apologized because she couldn't help me...  I called Elario back he didn't pickup the phone...  I left messages for him to call me back.....  Nope he didn't call me back either...  What do you call this?  THE RUN AROUND TREATMENT

So you can tell everyone to make calls, send letters.....  When in fact you are treated poorly by Elario who is management not to mention John Payne who's the big guy over in corporate...  Everyone ignores you when you trying to talk about this issue....  However, they sure love to harass you into paying the money...

Banfield is a nightmare and it's not worth a darn penny...

Update to my original report....  Banfield continued to harass me...  So I paid them $579 to get them off my back for the entire year...  I went in to the pet hospital and wrote a check, I didn't want them to ever have access to my credit card again...

Do yourself a favor find a good honest vet in your area and in a long run you'll do way better than paying all those monthly fees on top of extra charges for medications the animals don't need...  Pay for a regular exam and just the yearly shots and you'll save a ton of money... 

Trust me even with your supposedly member discount it was way more money than a regular vets pricing....  

Thank you all for your support...  I hope this helps other people..

I have had a similar experience with Banfield here in California. My cat had been on a wellness plan since she was a tiny kitten (for 5 years). Every time she has ever been to the vet, it has been to Banfield. I did feel their practices were a bit shady, though, when I started noticing that every time I took my cat in, they would insist that she had some ailment that required medication (anything from crystals in her urine, to a high white blood cell count, to high temperature, etc etc). This, despite the fact that she acted healthy, was playful, was eating well, drinking well. So for the first few years I figured, well, these medicines are sure expensive, but they do seem to take good care of my cat, so I kind of let it slide. I started getting concerned when they began saying that I'd have to pay extra for vaccinations (which are supposed to be covered under the plan) because the cat "was supposed to have the shots on the last visit, but didn't." Umm, really? Is this not what I'm paying you people for? How is it my fault you forgot to give her vaccinations on schedule?

Long story longer, we ended up moving out of the area. I took my cats in for one last vet visit (complete with the usual recommendations for hundreds of dollars' worth of medications, which I declined - and no ill effects since for either cat, by the way). I requested to cancel the contract because we were moving, and also because somehow they had nearly doubled the cost of my contract without notifying me first, and they told me they couldn't help me with that, and I'd have to call their corporate office to do that.

Okay, so I called the corporate office several times and was put on hold for up to 20 minutes at a time. I must have called 5 times or more, with the same result each time - never could talk to anyone who could help me, and was then put on hold forever. Finally, I cancelled the credit card they were charging. Well, today I get a letter in the mail (nearly a year later) saying that if I don't pay them $31, they're sending me to collections! REALLY?! Even though I didn't use the services in the past year, they are saying that's the cost to cancel the contract. I asked why my cost had nearly doubled without my knowledge or consent, and they had no good answer for that. I also pointed out that evergreen contracts do not hold up in California courts, but in all honesty, who has the time to take Banfield to court over the cost of a year of their "wellness plan." And they know this, which is why they do it. They know you'll just pay them rather than take them to court (like someone really should).

So, lesson learned. I paid $31 to get Banfield out of my life. But I promised them I'd be sure to post all over the internet about my experience with them, so I am. Buyer beware. They are not about pet care, they are about fleecing you for as much money as they possibly can.

At Banfield, our ultimate goal is to ensure your pet stays as healthy as possible. We highly recommend wellness plans because theyre designed to include the preventive care services a pet will need throughout the year, in an affordable package, with the convenience of a 12-month financing option. In addition, services not covered in the plan are provided at a discount, depending on what level plan a pet is on. We realize there will be situations where our clients may need to cancel their wellness plans. To cancel a wellness plan, you may do so by either paying for the services your pet used while on the wellness plan, or the remaining wellness plan payments, whichever is less. If you would like to discuss the details of your plans further, please contact our Wellness Plan Relations team by calling 888-649-2716 or emailing [email protected].

And permanently.

IS a ripoff.

NEVER leave your pet alone with these freaks!