ComplaintsforChino Hills Urgent Care Pet Clinic

• Initial Complaint

  03/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I initiated the email to get this sorted today. Instead, you are practicing extortion and manipulating the total amount on your invoice. If you just calculate your numbers correctly and ethically in place of using threats and manipulation you will notice the mistake. My cat was taken to urgent care at the Chino Hills Urgent Care Pet Clinic on March 1st due UTI, I was given a quote $3459.31. I paid consultation fee of $95 which was paid by a debit card. The remainder $3364.31 was to be paid on the spot plus additional $256.38 for pain meds that will be refunded if not used. We paid in total $3715.69 on the assumption that the $256.38 will be refunded if not used and the $95 will only be charged once. When I picked up my cat, they refunded me $3620.69 by error and when I reached out to them to sort the issue, they started to threaten me to pay $3715.69 or else. I kept asking they recalculate their total as it was incorrect but they insisted and sent me an email stating either I pay or they will send to collection. Please note, I lost my job back in April 2021 and I have serious heart condition as well as severe auto immune disease and I certainly do not need any additional stress.

  Business response

  03/22/2022

  We understand a sick pet can cause a tremendous amount of stress and we are sorry you had to go through that. However, we did not try to extort or manipulate you in any way.
  
  Yes, we saw “******” on 03/01/22 for a possible UTI. Upon examination it became clear that “******” had a urinary obstruction. As we explained, a urinary obstruction is a serious medical emergency and we promptly quoted you for immediate treatment and 3 days of hospitalization. You were given an estimate of $3,559.57 and you proceeded to decline all treatment due to financial constraints. We were deeply saddened for “******” at this point and knew his only other option would be euthanasia. Not wanting “******” to take that path and knowing that it would also be difficult for us to financially take on another cat, we decided to offer you the option to relinquish “******” into our care and ownership. You accepted and signed all pet relinquishment paperwork. Because you continued to express your financial constraints, we allowed you to pay the normal exam fee of $95 instead of the emergency exam fee of $115. Lastly, we offered you one last visit to say goodbye to “******” and you declined.
  
  As soon as ownership relinquishment paperwork was signed, our clinic proceeded to provide the best possible immediate care for “******”. 
  
  The following day we get a call from you in tears because you wanted your cat back. We explained the relinquishment paperwork to you and continued to explain that we would love nothing more than for “******” to be able to go home, and if you are able to pay for all services ($3,620.69) that were completed on him, we will gladly return ownership of “******”.
  
  When you arrived hours later with family willing to pay the total, there was no hesitation on our part to return him to you. We also explained the severity of his medical situation and the fact that he would need a few more days of hospitalization. You agreed.
  
  Unfortunately, sometime during his stay a technician accidentally refunded the full total of $3.620.69, and during discharge the total for treatment came out to $3,544.31 and an additional refund of $171.38 was given to you, leaving a balance on the account of -$3620.69.
  
  When the mistake was recognized, we contacted you, apologized and attempted to collect what was owed. The amount that was initially attempted to collect was $3,715.69 because our system automatically adds the exam fee ($95), which should have been removed.
  
  Understandably, you were skeptical of the amount that you owed and if a refund was truly given, so we allowed 1 week to pass to ensure all funds returned to your bank.
  
  We then contacted you and attempted to collect the correct payment amount of $3.620.69 and you were extremely rude to the staff and refused to pay. The staff followed protocol and sent a letter informing the balance would go to collections if left unpaid.
  
  Following this email, you called and paid the total due.
  
   
  
  We acknowledge the mistakes that were made on our part and have made adjustments to prevent that from happening again. It was never our intention to cause additional stress.
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
  Thank you.

  ***** *****, RVT
  
  Hospital Manager
  
  Chino Hills Urgent Care Pet Clinic

  Customer response

  03/24/2022

   I am rejecting this response because: it is irrelevant to the situation. They are responding how my they abused my emotional state when they pressured me to either give up my cat due to extreme cost or pay upfront the full amount. She also forgot to mention the threats of paying or sending it to collection although she was away for a few days. I am not asking to take their money as I have already paid the amount in full. However, I still believe they are over charging me for a service that with no explanation. I was also not provided with a report of what the problem was and received conflicting information of what the issue was. 
  
  
  

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