I want to retract some statements, if I may!

Please disreguard any statements that you have seen me make about my vet's office being good with financial troubles, ie, billing as needed, payment plans and such. As of now, I have nothing good to say about them...period. They will no longer bill or work out payment plans of any sort...if you can't pay 'em, you're just screwed. I took Tigs in today to get him checked out 'cause he's sniffling...and turns out that because I owe them a small amount, they won't see him until I pay it off....but still won't see him until I have enough to pay it off AND pay whatever the bill is...so I sez piss on 'em! Time to find me a new vet in town, methinks!

How terrible Cindy! What is WITH these vets lately????

Good luck in finding a vet who will work with you to give your kits the best possible care...

Thanks, Heidi....wouldn't have made me nearly so mad, but all I asked in the beginning was that if it was over $70 could I pay the rest next Friday....was very rudely informed that "we no longer do that"...hrumph!

Oh Cindy thats awful! Find a new vet then tell the original vet to stick their practice where the sun don't shine!!!.

the vet we went to a few weeks ago for my bunny let us pay by bill a few days later because we had no cash and they dont accept visa.
But the vet in frankfurt doesnt let us pay off a little bit later.

Originally Posted by valanhb

How terrible Cindy! What is WITH these vets lately????

Good luck in finding a vet who will work with you to give your kits the best possible care...

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Sorry to say and no offence to any users here at TCS, but my vet is now the same way. I could get anything done, all the checkups needles what ever needed and pay then by post dated checks. Now it is impossible, the vet explained the reason why is because of being set up to many times. He stated that there are many good people out there but the ones that don't pay up are the ones that mess it up for everyone else . So because of people not paying their vet bills cause good people like us to have this problem which means if we have an emergency and our babies need help, its not us that is screwed its our babies if we can't find the money to pay for it up front. I am so worried about that.

I don't know if vets have been stiffed on there bills or what. Mine takes credit cards so I ok but it is a large clinic with 6 or 7 vets as they have a very large large animal practice with all the dairy farms around. I know that the farmers don't pay their bills in full every month so why do the small animal ones have to (my S-I-L who has a large dairy operation says their bills are sometimes $1000/mo). My vet office isn't as good about payment arrangements as they have been in the past but will make exceptions.

If you have been a long time "customer" that should mean something. But hey maybe they have enough business without your business. Its the old adage-if you tell someone that you are upset over customer service/quality of product that does effect a great deal of people in the end.

That's silly that they change the rules!

I think you're right to go and find a new vet that will work properly and not make sudden changes to billing! I don't blame you at all for being mad - I certainly would be!

I swear, this is getting ridiculous . I can go into just about ANY retail business and they'd be MORE than happy to hook me up with some financial company or a "90 days same as cash" or some such. Why the heck can't the vets do the same? And it's not because it's a service rather than purchasing an item either as you get the same sort of thing with contractors, etc.

Let us know how your search for a new vet goes.

Cindy

I feel bad for you Cindy, but I'm trying to see both sides here.

This vet has paid a lot of money to get his education and degree. It sounds as though he tried to be fair and ended up still not getting paid for many of his services and has decided if you can't pay go somewhere else. I love animals too, but I certainly could not afford to pay rent, pay for supplies, drugs, and staff to run a clinic if I weren't being paid for my services.

Although he is a vet (supposedly loves animals), he is also in BUSINESS, has student loans to pay off if he is a recent graduate or a family to clothe, educate and feed if he is older, and that means he can't afford to work for free.

Would you work for someone who couldn't afford to pay you? Or would you tell them you have rent to pay, food to buy, etc. and couldn't afford to work for free.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

I feel bad for you Cindy, but I'm trying to see both sides here.

This vet has paid a lot of money to get his education and degree. It sounds as though he tried to be fair and ended up still not getting paid for many of his services and has decided if you can't pay go somewhere else. I love animals too, but I certainly could not afford to pay rent, pay for supplies, drugs, and staff to run a clinic if I weren't being paid for my services.

Although he is a vet (supposedly loves animals), he is also in BUSINESS, has student loans to pay off if he is a recent graduate or a family to clothe, educate and feed if he is older, and that means he can't afford to work for free.

Would you work for someone who couldn't afford to pay you? Or would you tell them you have rent to pay, food to buy, etc. and couldn't afford to work for free.

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Linda, that's the fun part, being in business myself, I understand far more than most....BUT for me, would it have been too much to send out a postcard (like they do for reminders on vaccinations) stating the policy change when it came about? I think not, lol! And the rudeness......I think that's what really nipped me off more than anything.

That really stinks! I could understand it if he had never done it before, or if you had not paid, or even if he did not do it for new clients. I have been fortunate that my kits have not needed vet services when I have been really broke, so I do not know what my vet would do. I guess I should find out their policy. My old vet would let people pre-pay into accounts, and would take payment out of that.

Like Linda, I see both sides of the issue. It is likely, if you are a good client, who pays something each month on an outstanding vet bill, you could have gone to the office manager and worked something out. That is what happened to me, when my vet stopped taking post-dated checks. With all his clients, he was getting stiffed with checks that were NSF so rather than deal with all the noise, he just changed the policy which was his perogative. He has a busy practice and he posted a sign in his lobby letting his clients know the change. He did not send out individual postcards.

Not even that MA, I looked around while she was getting my receipt for what I paid....not a sign anywhere......but that's the way that the cookie crumbles...lol

While my vet has it posted that all bills must be paid at time of servicwe they do make exceptions for s few of their old time reliable customers. When rufus was real sick I called around to find one who would do payments and his office heard about it and called me and said bring Rufus in and we could work it out. I think though that is cause of my volunteer work at C.A.T.S. that so many people around town know me.

I hate to say it again but it is up to us in the long run to ensure we can pay for all our kitties' needs. Vets sadly are not charities and they must be sure they will be paid for their services. Most small animal owners need vets on an ad hoc basis, not like farmers and horse owners who need shots, dewormers etc on a regular monthly basis and are not going to suddenly move away. You would hope most vets could set up accounts with old and trusted customers, but every cat owner should try and be prepared for the worst, either through insurance (though I have found that to be very expensive) or by having a special savings account into which we put a regular sum each month. Most people simply do not budget for vet bills the way they budget for electricity, food, rent etc.

i just opened a savings account yesterday but im going to open another one for teufel on monday so i can finance things better

My vet does let people pay over time, and as long as they are still making payments, she won't refuse to treat their animals. I was in one day, and a young guy came in to pick up his dog. He didn't have the money for the bill, and when it came to the prescription for the meds, obviously none to cover that either. But the receptioninst just asked him how much he did have. He pulled a 20 out of his pocket, she said thanks, and he left. After he had gone, the tech who had been watching asked if she ever expected to see him back, and she said, probably not. But the dog needed the medication, so she couldn't let him leave without it.

I am sure she gets stiffed on bills, but it is nice to see that the welfare of the pets comes first.

I probably wouldn't do it, though. I own my own business, and those unpaid accounts are a real burden.

Originally Posted by jennyranson

I hate to say it again but it is up to us in the long run to ensure we can pay for all our kitties' needs. Vets sadly are not charities and they must be sure they will be paid for their services. Most small animal owners need vets on an ad hoc basis, not like farmers and horse owners who need shots, dewormers etc on a regular monthly basis and are not going to suddenly move away. You would hope most vets could set up accounts with old and trusted customers, but every cat owner should try and be prepared for the worst, either through insurance (though I have found that to be very expensive) or by having a special savings account into which we put a regular sum each month. Most people simply do not budget for vet bills the way they budget for electricity, food, rent etc.

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I agree. I did not want to sound harsh by saying that, but if we aren't prepared for vet bills, perhaps we are not in a position to afford having a pet. I'd love to have a horse, but I know I couldn't afford it so I don't have one.

Vets have a right to be paid for their goods and services the same as a grocery store, a hairdresser, etc., etc. They have every right to expect to be paid for their services when the service is rendered.

Our daughter has pet insurance for Mika, but she still has to pay our vet up front and get the money back from the insurance company. Many dentists also get paid up front and expect us to collect from our insurance companies.

I also know that as a long-time client of our vet that if we were in a spot financially she would work things out with us - but the onus really isn't on her to provide medical necessities for MY animal. The responsibility lies with me, the pet owner, to cover the costs of the needs of my animal.

Pardon me ladies, but I'd like to go on record as saying I normally do have an amount set aside for my vet care....but apparantly you've never been at a temporary place to where you couldn't pay for something that you needed? Thanks.

Oh, and FWIW, pet insurance wouldn't cover Tigs anyway...he has FeLv.