Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  04/09/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  VCA Lakewood has been our preferred veterinarian practice since relocating to the neighborhood 4 years ago. From the beginning, weve been mildly happy with this location because they can be a bit cold at the reception desk and they dont always follow through on their word.Like another review left by ******************, do not sign up for their ********* membership unless you are okay giving them money and they not provide the services they promised. This location essentially stole $1200 from us over the past 12 months.This all began when we adopted a small dog we found on the street that was dumped. The dog was not spayed or microchipped but overall was in good shape. We signed up for ********* membership on April 7, 2023 because the technician and I agreed that Id be paying to have the spay and microchip services at a later date because at that point in time she was in heat and we had to wait until her cycle finished, which is a 4-6 week period. We agreed that I would schedule her operation once she was done. Sadly, it slipped my mind because, you know, life gets in the way and I forgot. Supposedly, the only reminder the staff ever sent for this service was a call sometime in August of 2023, but I never got the supposed voicemail with that reminder. I have gotten calls about money though.Fast forward to February 2024, I had fallen behind on paying by two months due to financial hardship, and we agreed on a payment arrangement to get caught up. Never once did they remind me or my spouse that we had services that needed to be completed, but we did get threats to send our account to collections.When the office called to collect our final payment to get caught up, yet again no reminder about the services, the receptionist, ******, coerced my spouse to cancel the plan - bear in mind we have three dogs and each has ********* - but she only convinced him to cancel HER membership yet not the other dogs. And, on top of that, she failed to mention we wouldnt be getting any of the services if we canceled.So, when we asked to schedule the uncompleted services which were paid for, ****** proceeded to tell us that we cant because WE cancelled the plan, and tried to tell us the services werent even a part of the plan we enrolled in. This was incorrect so we urged her to review the original contract because it should specifically state the contrary. Once she reviewed the original contract she walked back her original statement because she found that we had agreed on spaying and microchipping along with removing an umbilical hernia. By the way, ****** never apologized for lying to us with such conviction. Instead, she chose to be the aggressively unprofessional gatekeeper. We pleaded for her assistance with this issue and she said she would call ********* and speak to her superior to see what could be done.She then calls us back a few minutes later, and informs us that there is nothing that can be done because of the cancellation she prompted, but that she could help us out by getting the services completed for an additional $450. The nerve of her to say they are helping us by charging us more!!! This is theft and deception at its finest.They have the money and I have a dog that hasnt been fixed or chipped yet they cant do anything?? You mean to tell me the supplies and time I paid for over the past 12 months cant be used because we canceled?? All they have to do is schedule the services and perform the operation. They are acting like a computer program is preventing them from doing their job. Its total BS and if this wrong is not made right, I will make it my mission to spread the word about these crooks and thieves.

  Business response

  05/21/2024

  Our response letter is in the attachment.  

  I had previously called on 5/13/24 to let you know that this was sent to the wrong hospital manager and I was just receiving it. I apologize for the delay.

  Thank you,

  *****************************

  Business response

  06/01/2024

  Please update your email address (I have already called and done this but unfortunately it appears it didnt work) to *************************************. 
  the email address that you are sending these to is not our hospital. 
  thank you

  sherry 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩