The following is the report we sent to the Better Business Bureau here in Indy as well as the Indianapolis Veterinary Emergency Center. The BBB was of no help because the Vet clinic felt they did no wrong. Our account below contradicts their belief:
Re: Invoice 37777
Client Kristine *
To Whom It May Concern:
Tuesday morning at approximately 10:30 my fianc came to your office to stay with her dog Kyser while he was put to sleep after a failed surgery and final recommendation that he be put to sleep. Needless to say she is still very emotional about this entire situation which is why I am writing this letter at her behest. I assure you she has reviewed the content contained herein and by her signature below has endorsed my words as synonymous with her own.
I would like to be as brief and to the point as possible in the hopes that we can reach a mutually agreeable conclusion in an expedient fashion so we do not feel compelled to seek assistance from outside sources such as The Indiana Board Of Veterinary Medical Examiners, The Animal Legal Defense Fund, The Better Business Bureau, and ultimately through legal action in whatever manner we feel will provide us the best remedy. The timeline of events follows.
The initial estimate for approximately $1,200 was given the night we left Kyser in your care, Sunday the 29th.
Monday at 10:30 AM She called your office after not hearing from the contact person who was supposed to call that morning and was promptly asked about her ability to pay for a $600 test that was needed badly (If it was needed so badly why did you wait till she called YOU?) She at first said yes to this test but then hesitated because of the cost and asked for a doctor to call back with a better explanation of what we could hope to learn from this test.
Monday at 11:51AM The office called and gave her the results of the test. The unauthorized test. She inquired as to why the test was performed without authorization and the doctor was put on the phone to explain. She told him she never authorized the test, and he reluctantly agreed NOT to charge her for the $600 test saying that there was an obvious misunderstanding. At this point She made the decision to put him to sleep since it was becoming more apparent that he would never walk again based on the information she was being given. At this point the doctor said I'm not saying you need to put him to sleep. They discussed odds of Kyser walking again if brought home with no surgery. The doctor estimated that at a 50% chance. She told them to prep Kyser for pickup the following morning and she would care for him at home and take her chances on his recovery.
Monday at 8:35 PM The Doctor called back saying that Kyser was much worse, had no pain response. She asked about waiting till morning to make a decision and seek a second opinion when another vet would be open. She was promptly told if you wait until morning to make a decision on surgery it will be too late She asked him "what he would do" and he said if it were my dog I would do everything I could to save him and at this point that means surgery In no uncertain terms this amounts to coercion with the sole intent of making back the $600 you agreed to drop plus much more. (although She did not yet know you intended to stab her for the $600 again) When asked about percentages of recovery without the surgery, The Doctor dodged the question twice. This is another emotional ploy which achieved its intention. She was in the car within seconds to sign the paperwork and (again) hand over her credit card.
She drove to the office at 8:40 PM to sign paperwork for the surgery and was presented with a bill including the $600 for the unauthorized test that the doctor earlier agreed to remove. At this point she was so emotional she just signed it when the assistant said The doctor wanted to be sure you knew the $600 was back on your bill since he had to use that information for the surgery This was AFTER agreeing to take it off the bill, and ADMITTING a mistake. She told the doctor she did not appreciate the way it was presented or how it was handled, the doctor replied It was clearly a miscommunication on our part.indeed. Then She was told about a good possibility that Kyser had a fracture in his spine. The test indicated that the dye leaked from the spinal cord into the surrounding area. This information was not presented prior to this conversation at the office.
Monday at 11:49 PM the office called to report on the surgery and told her that Kyser will never walk again, will have no bowel control, spinal cord degenerated with no hope for healing; he must be put to sleep. She agreed and came in the following morning for that procedure.
Just prior to that procedure, we had a discussion about protesting the charges and were told we HAD to pay the entire bill today or they would not release his body. I can not express to you enough how much you played on her emotions (yet again) with that one act. The bill is being disputed. Handle that later and let her have her deceased dog to bury. (We later decided to pay the $45 for you to handle it) You already charged her credit card in excess of $2,000 do you think that the other $600 is going to be a problem? We were very appalled at the perceived greed and further coercion at this point.
Bottom line - You made mistakes. You admitted to mistakes. We are very upset at the way things were handled, tests that were performed without authorization, and the fact that Kyser went from a 50% chance pre-surgery to having to be put to sleep. We do not feel that your services were worth the $2779.60 at all.
At this point, in consideration for us dropping any further action as mentioned above, we are willing to pay for the initial assessment of $350 and his hourly care until he was put to sleep at 10:45 Tuesday, which according to your pricing would amount to approximately $100, his euthanasia at $52, and disposal at $45 for a total of $547.
We will wait until Tuesday June 7th at noon for an answer before pursuing additional remedies. You have her cell phone number on file. Contact whomever you need to in order to make this happen. We are not going to extend this timeline for answers so do not hesitate. We wish to put this behind us.
Well, obviously since the BBB couldn't get anywhere, I'm trying this website now. Small claims court will be next.
If the Vet clinic in question would work with us at all I will be glad to post a retraction or update on this website.
Shannon
Indianpolis, Indiana
U.S.A.
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