Petco Reviews & Complaints

Contacts

• Official websitepetco.com ↗

Customer service & general contact

• Customer service, general inquiries, 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pacific(877) 738-6742 2 complaints mention this number
• Petco Perks Premier members, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific(858) 657-2035
• Vetco Mobile Services, Mon-Fri 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific(877) 838-7468

Settlements & legal notices

• Legal notices to the Petco Legal Department (arbitration opt-out), not customer service[email protected]

Corporate & press

• Corporate headquarters(858) 453-7845 2 complaints mention this number

Locations

• Headquarters10850 Via Frontera San Diego CA 92127

If You Have a Problem With a Petco Store, Grooming Visit or Order

• Write it down first. Note the store location, date, employee names, order or receipt number and the amount involved. Keep the receipt, any vet or groomer paperwork and photos of an injury or a damaged product.
• Contact Petco. Speak to the store manager, then call customer service at (877) 738-6742, open 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. Pacific. For Petco Perks questions choose option 4 on the same number; Petco Perks Premier members have a separate line, (858) 657-2035. A written complaint can be mailed to Petco's headquarters at 10850 Via Frontera, San Diego, CA 92127.
• Returns. Store purchases go back to any Petco or Unleashed by Petco store with proof of purchase. Online orders can be returned to a store or by mail through Petco's Ship it Back service, and their days count from the shipment date. Either way you get a full refund in the first 30 days and merchandise credit only from day 31 to day 60. Petco's policy says returns without a receipt or after 60 days are not eligible for return or exchange. Petco requires a government-issued ID for every return, scans it and shares the data with its fraud-prevention vendors, and may limit or refuse returns flagged by that system. Mail returns have the return shipping fee deducted, and original shipping charges are not refunded. Prescription and pharmacy products cannot be returned.
• Live animals. A companion animal bought in a store can be returned with the receipt within 30 days for a full refund to the original form of payment. Freshwater fish bought in a store are guaranteed for 30 days in a properly established habitat, for an exchange or a full refund; a receipt is required and Petco recommends bringing a water sample. Saltwater fish and other marine life carry no guarantee and cannot be returned or exchanged. Aquatic life ordered online is guaranteed for 7 days from arrival; report a loss within those 7 days to customer care at (877) 738-6742. If an animal falls ill, take it to a veterinarian, keep the written findings and the receipt, and bring both to the store within the 30 days.
• Grooming injuries. Petco's returns policy lists grooming and training as nonrefundable. If your pet is hurt, ask in writing for the vet bill to be covered and for the grooming fee to be refunded as well. See a veterinarian the same day and get the findings and the bill in writing. Several complaints posted here say a store promised to cover a vet bill and then delayed or refused; get any such promise in writing before you pay.
• Card charges. For a wrong, duplicate or unauthorized credit card charge, or an order that never arrived, send a written dispute to your card issuer within 60 days after the first statement showing the charge was sent to you, as the federal Fair Credit Billing Act requires. Do this even while you are still talking to Petco, because the clock keeps running. For a problem with what you bought, such as a sick animal or a damaged product, federal law lets you withhold payment from the card issuer only if you first tried in good faith to resolve it with Petco and, in general, the purchase was over $50 and made in your home state or within 100 miles of your address. Debit card disputes follow your bank's rules and different federal rules, so contact the bank right away.
• Arbitration. Section 16 of the Terms of Use for Petco's website and services is an individual arbitration agreement. It defines the disputes it covers broadly, including disputes about the services or your relationship with Petco, applies American Arbitration Association consumer rules, and waives class actions and jury trials, but either side may take a dispute to small claims court. If you are bound by the terms, you can opt out by a signed letter to Petco Legal Department, 10850 Via Frontera, San Diego, CA 92127, or an email to [email protected], with your name, address, phone and a clear statement that you opt out, sent within 30 days after you first became bound. A later update to the terms does not open a new opt-out window.
• Outside the company. File with your state attorney general's consumer protection office, at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or with the BBB. A complaint about a veterinarian at a Vetco clinic or Petco hospital goes to your state veterinary licensing board; suspected animal neglect in a store goes to local animal control. Petco lists product recalls on the Recalls & Advisories page of its Help section.

Company Information

Legal name

Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc.

Founded

1965

Business type

Pet specialty retailer with grooming, veterinary services, memberships and online sales

Website

petco.comSource: Petco Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, checked 2026-10-29

Headquarters

San Diego, CASource: Petco Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, checked 2026-10-29

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Reviews & Complaints on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 138 historical complaints about Petco, published between 2002 and 2014. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources on this page.

• Refused nail trim without faxed vaccine proof, rude staffPublished Feb 1, 2014 · Historical consumer allegation
• Sick of sick animalsPublished Dec 27, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Horrible Groomer!Published Nov 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Poor care of Russian Tortoises - Russian Tortoise— (living creature)Published Oct 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Advertised wrong Price & Renigged - Bearded DragonPublished Sep 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation

Complaint Themes

Themes summarize what people write about most often. One complaint can touch several themes, and some complaints (a positive report, or one later retracted by its author) fit none, so themes are not a count of complaints.

Complaints Posted on This Site

138 published complaint reports are linked to this profile. They were posted between 2002 and 2014 and describe individual store visits, so they are the writers' accounts and not findings.

• Grooming. Writers describe pets shaved shorter than requested, cuts and nicks, clipper burn, long waits, and disputes over who pays a vet bill after a grooming injury.
• Animals sold in stores. Writers describe small animals, birds and fish that died soon after purchase or that appeared sick or poorly housed in a store, and disagreements over the store's replacement or guarantee terms.
• Pals Rewards. Several writers say a free-bag coupon under the former Pals Rewards program was not issued or not counted.
• Returns, prices and online orders. Writers describe refused returns, charges above the shelf price, price-match refusals, and wrong or delayed online shipments.
• Employment. A number of posts are from current or former employees describing scheduling, management and animal-care conditions.

A few posts praise the company, such as a reviewer who received a prompt apology and credit for a late online delivery.

Consumer Litigation

WholeHearted grain-free dog food. Mina Maiman filed a proposed class action, Maiman v. Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc., Case 1:26-cv-01520, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on March 16, 2026. She alleges that grain-free dog food sold under WholeHearted, one of Petco's own brands, was marketed as providing complete nutrition but is not nutritionally balanced, that Petco charged a premium without warning buyers of risks, and that her dog developed heart disease and died after eating it. She seeks to represent everyone in the United States who bought the grain-free products and claims violations of state consumer protection laws. These are allegations, and Petco has not been found liable.

Shareholder case. A proposed securities class action, Spurbeck v. Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc., Case 3:25-cv-01667 in the Southern District of California, was filed on June 30, 2025 over statements about the company's pandemic-era growth. A plaintiff filed a notice of voluntary dismissal on January 20, 2026, and the court closed the case on January 22, 2026; there was no finding against Petco.

Individual personal-injury and other suits naming Petco Animal Supplies Stores, Inc. are also filed in federal courts each year. In its annual report Petco says it does not expect pending claims to have a material effect on its finances.

Court & Public Records

What Petco Is

Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. is a pet specialty retailer based in San Diego, California, founded in 1965. It sells pet food, supplies and live companion animals in approximately 1,400 pet care centers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and online at petco.com, with repeat delivery, buy-online-pickup-in-store, curbside pickup and same-day delivery. Its services business covers veterinary care, grooming and training, delivered through in-store veterinary hospitals and Vetco clinics. Petco Love, founded in 1999, is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded partly by Petco; through its Think Adoption First program it works with Petco stores and local shelters on pet adoptions.

Petco's shares trade on Nasdaq under the symbol WOOF. The annual report says the company is indirectly controlled by funds advised by CVC Capital Partners, the CVC Funds, and by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Company Facts and Petco Perks

Petco's annual report for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 gives these figures: net sales of about $5.96 billion; over 29,000 employees, whom the company calls partners; approximately 1,400 pet care centers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, all leased; approximately 150 centers in Mexico and 2 in Chile run through a joint venture; about 300 full-service veterinary hospitals in its network; and approximately 1,600 Vetco clinics operated each week.

The loyalty program is now called Petco Perks. The free tier earns points toward Petco Cash; the paid Petco Perks Premier tier costs $24.99 a month for dogs and cats or $9.99 a month for birds, reptiles, fish and small pets, and requires an annual commitment. The older Pals Rewards program, the one named in many older complaints, was merged into Vital Care in January 2023, when Pals Rewards members moved to the free tier, and the program now runs under the Petco Perks name.

Among its risk factors, the annual report says Petco receives claims and complaints alleging that it does not properly care for animals it handles or sells, and that deaths, illnesses or injuries sometimes occur while animals are in its care, including during grooming, training and veterinary services. On legal matters, Item 3 says Petco is involved in ordinary-course claims and litigation and believes no pending lawsuit or claim, alone or together, may have a material effect on its business, financial condition or results of operations.

Company Relationships

• Affiliated withCVC Funds
• Affiliated withCanada Pension Plan Investment Board

Frequently Asked Questions