Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/23/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  I last saw the vet for my dog on 03/14/2023 the purpose of that visit was vaccine and a general check up. I use flea and tick meds and she asked me about those meds and I stated that I still have those meds and I do not have a need right now. So, at that visit she took ******** temps, looks at ******** teeth and looked at his ears and stated that the dog had ear wax. A day or two later my dog is cocking her whole head and favoring her ear. I looked at her ear with a bright light and I see a huge chunk of ear wax in her ear. I pull out the ear wax the size of a quarter. My dog stopped cocking her head and favoring the ear afterwards. I am grateful that I was able to get the earwax removed from my dogs ear. In June my dog was out of flea and tick meds I also own a horse and I purchased pet meds from 1800petmeds and Chewy. I called Chewy and I ordered flea, tick and heartworm meds for my dog. They requested a prescription and I gave them the information to my dogs vet. The meds were delivered. I gave my dog a dose of the medication and then I received a bill in the mail in the amount of $10.00 for pulling a record and giving the okay to fill the prescription. I have never been charged for this type of service. I immediately called the vet. This is not reasonable or customary. I would go broke if every vet charged me $10.00. I was astounded by what they had stated to me. I also discussed the ear wax I had to remove from my dogs ear. I requested to speak to the practice Manager and they stated that they would have someone call me back. I did not receive a call until four to six weeks later. I received a call from the practice manager she stated that this was their policy. I was never informed of this charge. I asked for the $10.00 charge to be expunged. I was told that they could not do that at this time. They took four to six weeks to return my call and now am I already accrued **** interest on the ten dollars. I would like for them to expunge the fee and I no longer do business with them.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/30/2023

  ******************* has been a client with Union Veterinary Associates, LLC since August 17, 2021. At that time a doctor/client/patient ************ was started for the care of her horse *********************** Angel. This patient was examined and treated by one of our doctors.  Nine days later, August 26, 2021, the client called asking for medication for her horse for another problem.  The medication was prepared for her and picked up by her on August 27, 2021. 
  On September 15, 2021, ************** called the clinic and asked to speak with the veterinarian.  She was asked if this was an emergency to which she responded no, she just wanted to speak with the doctor.  When she was told that a message would be left for the doctor who was not in the office, she stated that she knows the staff has the doctors number and that she wanted them to text her immediately so she could receive a return call. The client did not request that a patient be examined during or after this exchange.
  On October 7, 2021, ************** called the clinic to set up a farm call for her horse.  She refused appointments that were offered.  She stated that because she was going out of town, she needed an appointment right away and did not understand that the doctor was already fully booked for that time frame. She did not schedule an appointment for a later date.
  On October 13, 2021, ************** called the clinic to state that she had placed an order for medication through an online pharmacy for her horse.  She was told by the staff that once she places an order, the pharmacy contacts us to approve the prescription.  She informed the staff member that we were going to call the pharmacy because she could not wait around for it to be approved. She only had four days of medication left.  The attending doctor went beyond the call of duty, making a special phone call for her prescription to be approved.
  On November 17, 2021, ************** called the clinic stating that she needed to bring her dog ***** in for vaccinations and a stool examination for parasites before November 20, 2021, because she was due to leave town.  Although the schedule was full at the time,she was accommodated for an appointment on November 19, 2021.
  We did not see a patient for ************** for the next 16 months.
  On March 14, 2023, ************** presented her dog to our clinic for vaccinations.  A complete examination was performed, and it was noted that the left ear had some wax accumulation,the teeth had 10% tartar coverage on the upper canines, the eyes were normal,the femoral pulses were strong and synchronous with the heart rate, there were no heart murmurs, and the lungs were clear. The abdomen was nonpainful and the skin and coat appeared shiny with no evidence of external parasites.  Additionally,the nose, mucus membranes, CRT, throat, thyroid glands, lymph nodes,extremities and gait were all found to be normal. Our doctor did not miss the wax in Ellies ear. The doctor noted in her records that ************** stated she would clean the ear herself since she had Otisoothe (ear cleanser) at home. At this visit she declined heartworm preventative.
  On April 17, 2023, ************** called the clinic and stated that her horse had an abscess and needed the doctor to prescribe antibiotics and pain medications without her horse being examined.  At that time the horse had not been examined by a doctor in our clinic for over 20 months. Since a current doctor/client/patient ************ is required for us to prescribe medication, ************** was told that the horse would need to be examined before medications could be dispensed. When ************** was told that the horse would need to be examined, she stated that she already had an appointment set up with another veterinarianand hung up on the staff member.
  On June 21, 2023, ************** called the clinic and stated that she had ordered heartworm preventative medication for her dog through an online pharmacy and that it had not been approved by our clinic yet.  She was told that we had not received a prescription request yet.  She became combative and rude to the staff.  Our staff contacted the online pharmacy only to find out that we had not received the prescription request because they had faxed it and we do not have the capability to receive faxes.  After clarifying the issue, the prescription request was approved, and ************** was able to receive her medication.
  In the last several years, the growth of online pharmacies has resulted in a tremendous increase in the workload placed on our staff to receive, review, and approve prescription requests.  This involves the time of our technicians and doctors to make sure that these requests are correct since they are placed by the owner who is not medically knowledgeable, that a proper doctor/client/patient ************ is in place and to update medical records properly.  Because of this burden, our clinic now charges a fee for those services. Ms.  ***** is not being singled out and this policy was explained to her. Since she has a problem with this policy, she was told that we would be happy to inactivate her account and forward her records to the veterinarian of her choosing.  Her account has been inactivated and she has received no further billing from us.  We have also declined to provide any additional services for her.
  Our goal is to provide professional dependable care to pets.  We do this by building a close ************ with our clients.  We also keep meticulous medical records which we hope will help you understand the difficulties we have had in our ************ with *************** 
  Thank you for your review of this information.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/06/2023

  Complaint: 20513511
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  My request was for the clinic  to forgive the $11.00 and there was no language in your explanation that states that.  Until they state they are forgiving the $11.00 this is unresolved in my mind.  I will be seeking veterinary care from another clinic.  Regarding the issue of online Pharmacy.  I have been ordering online meds for my dog and my horse for eighteen years, in particular dealing with multiple veterinary, I have never been charged for the vet to be a conduit  to receive online pharmacy purchases.  I have also followed up with several veterinarian  that was  previously customer's of mine, and they are not charging for this service.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************

  Business Response

  Date: 09/20/2023

  We have no additional information with respect to this complaint.