Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/17/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 6/20/2024 we had an appointment with the Cedar Ridge animal hospital to provide vaccinations for 2 litters of Kittens and the moms. These were wild cats we saved and were giving away on ******** but were asked to get vaccines for them. When we contacted the company a few days prior to set up the appointment we asked for a quote on prices to make sure we could afford the visit since these were not family pets but just homeless cats we were trying to help out. The individual we spoke with told us it was $65 for a check up and then $22 per cat to get their vaccines done. My wife asked to clarify if it was $65 per cat or for all of them together. The individual on the phone said that it was a charge for the whole visit but the $22 for the vaccine was per cat. My wife checked with her again to make sure the number was right and she confirmed one more time that we would pay a one time fee of $65 for the check up and then $22 per cat for the vaccine. Total amount we expected to pay was $263 for 9 cats to have vaccines and then the $65 check up fee. We waited over an hour for our appointment because they were backed up, then spent about 40 minutes with the Vet. They listened to the heart beat, looked in thier ears and then gave them the shots. After the services they handed us a bill for $797.43 more than $500 what we were told we were going to have to pay. When my wife asked about it they said that was the price and we had to pay now. Our mistake was paying right then. We went back in after receiving the itemized receipt. It had charged us per cat, and added other things we did not ask for. They told us one thing on the phone to get us to come in and once they provided services they charged us a totally different amount. We were deceived. When i called the person in charge of billing she just kept telling us we were wrong and they would not do anything. Why would we spend $800 on cats we were giving away, it makes no sense! Please help us! This is wrong!

  Business Response

  Date: 07/29/2024

  We did see these kittens on the given day of June 20th.  All our exams/office visits are billed at a rate of $65.  When we have a litter of kittens or puppies, we bill the exam and other services and product for each pet seen, we then give a discount on the exams and a 100% discount on the deworming medication.  These prices do not include the mother, she is billed at the full cost.  We had 7 kittens scheduled for first time vaccinations, we did not have the mothers scheduled but the doctor said they were here, and we would get them see at the same time.  The veterinarian recommended that the two momma cats be spayed, and the client was given an estimate for Milky which would also be the same price for the second mother Star; therefore, only one estimate was recorded. 

  As you can see on the attached invoice for the kittens was $693.00. Then exams were discounted by $112 and the dewormer discounted by $84.00 for a total charge of $497.00.

  The client also brought both moms to this appointment, and I have attached their invoices as well.  

  The client's husband called me to talk about the bill, like I have explained here we give discounts for litters.  We had already given a $196 discount and I told him that was as much as I could discount the services.

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/02/2024

   
  Complaint: 22003563
  
  I am rejecting this response because: We did speak on the phone and they did mention a discount on the service but disregarded the original frusteration. They told us an amount on the phone, we triple checked it because it seemed like a good deal and we wanted to be sure. The person was very clear about what we were going to pay and then after services were rendered they overcharged us more than $500. I appreciate that they took a little off however it still feels like we were cheated. We were told one thing to get us to come in and then charged something different once we had no other choice. It does not make sense that we would spend such a huge amount on stray cats. 

  I know she kept telling us it was not on them it was all on us, that we must have mis-heard her employee, i also know she said they could not afford to discount our services anymore because of what it cost them, but we were with a doctor for less than 40 minutes. He checked to make sure the kittens had a pulse, looked in their ears, weighed them, and then gave them a shot which we payed for separately. Where is the $500  they can not afford to  work with us over. It may not have been this, but it feels like we were brought in under false information and then taken advantage of. To them we are just one more customer, but we live on a very tight budget, that money was suppose to be used to take care of my kids, not pay a huge sum to make sure some stray cats have a pulse, thats why were were so careful to make sure we knew what it would cost and what we would owe. We are honest people which is why we paid at the time of service, but i feel like once we handed over the money we lost our ability to get real help, and now we are out of luck. Even if we don't get any of our money back, we want to make sure nobody else in our community gets scammed like this. A difference of $50 is one thing, but over $500 is just not right! 
  
  Sincerely,
  
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