Vet refusing to give refund - who is in the wrong?

[Pleaseeterausername]

Took my dog in for a blood test a couple of weeks ago and a week or so later they called up to tell me that the bloods never made it to the lab and got lost in transit. I already paid for the blood test so they said to come back in and redo the test free of charge.

Went back today to redo the bloods and a couple of hours later they called up to say that the sample wasn’t enough, the lab needed more blood as they didn’t draw enough from my dog and to bring him back in again.

I explained that I wasn’t prepared to bring him back for a third time, it is really quite traumatic for my dog and I didn’t want to put him through it again. I’m not concerned about my dog, he is well, I obviously had a reason (long to explain) to book the blood test, but it isn’t urgent enough to put him through the trauma again! It was more a routine type check - it can wait and I’d rather go elsewhere.

I requested a full refund but so far they are refusing, they essentially said that we are on the same page now that they re did the bloods the second time free of charge (although we are not on the same page as they didn’t do it properly and therefore I will not receive the results?).

Posting here to get opinions on who is in the wrong and how to handle it from here?

Thanks

I'd want a refund. OK, it's not their fault that the first test was lost but taking an inadequate amount of blood the second time most certainly is. It wouldn't give me much faith in them and I would want to go somewhere else.

I don't agree that they knew the fill was inadequate. Too much of a stretch and it would depend on the technician and their experience.

I had an ESR test recently. I watched the nurse fill the vial. She could not have got any more blood as it was a specialized container with a pre determined vacuum and yet it was deemed inadequate and I had to do a 30 mile round trip to have it done again. It happens.

It's the entrenched position of the practice that I don't understand.

Either there is little local competition so they know they can be ...less than professional or they are so overrun with work they don't give a tinkers but in a modern world with social media, I think they should try and do the right thing for the animal, that, after all, is supposed to be central to their work ethic.

If they’re refusing op
the fact that your mumsnet thread thinks you’re right and they’re wrong is unlikely to swing them to change their mind

RVN here-personally find it strange that the second time round they didn’t take enough blood for the sample as they would have known from the first sample? If your dog was difficult/had tricky veins then you should have been warned of that prior to collecting him the second time round. Do they sample from his leg as they can’t get his jugular (that would seem plausible from your description of how the sample is taken) if so they may be doing that to avoid sedating him so are actually trying to be helpful but I personally struggle to take more than a ml this way and seldom use legs unless for glucose spot checks. I’d probably be wanting to do the sample a third time just so that’s put to bed in case it revealed something relevant but of course FOC again.

I would expect a refund and probably be looking at changing vets, they sound incompetent. I've had many vets through the years, they are definitely not all equal.

A good vet is sensitive to the fact these procedures are very stressful and should be aiming to minimise this. That's not what your vets are doing.

I’d want a refund

I don't think YABU to ask firmly for a refund. The first time wasn't their fault the sample got lost, but subsequently sounds like their mistake and the professional thing to do would be to offer to do the test for free again or refund you. I definitely would be questioning how competent they are and would look to change vets.

I think I would have the test done again as it sounds like they aren't going to budge on the refund. And then I'd look into finding a different vet because they don't sound very competent.
The bloods got lost in transit but who knows whether that's actually what happened or whether the practice lost them before they were even sent away. Then they didn't draw enough blood. Surely they know how much blood is needed and they should have dealt with that at the time rather than later on deciding that they needed more blood.

My vet practice has their own blood analyser which makes a huge difference. We go in, have the blood taken, wait about 20 minutes and then we get the results and can discuss them there and then and saves a return visit to the vet that would have to happen if the sample had to be sent away to a lab.

I think you're spot on! I'd 100% be asking for a refund. They lost it and then did it incorrectly. Waste of everyone's time. I'd also be changing vets.

They didn’t draw enough blood, it’s on them. You aren’t getting the service within the contract you agreed with them, the experts, and paid them for. I think you are due a refund. Substitute this: ‘I took my car to the garage, paid £200 for diagnosis tests, the garage then contacted me later and said they hadn’t stress tested the timing belt for long enough, so there is no diagnosis result, but they could try again if I fetch the car back tomorrow. I would now prefer to go to the dealership as I have lost confidence in them. Should I get my money back so I can instead pay the dealership?’. Darn right you should! Dunno why anyone thinks a vet practice should be different!

I would change vets to be honest. Mistakes happen, but losing one lot of bloods and taking too little the second time is traumatic for the dog and for you.If you don't want to continue they should refund your payment, but it's not worth making a fuss over. Better to find a better vet.

I've had rescue cats (Siamese) for over 10 years and my occasional fallings out with vets have always been over billing practices, perhaps rather than care. But you are quite right to state that the expectation to casually bring the dog in for a third time, due to no fault of yours OR the dog, is not OK. You might be busy or the dog might be nervous about it.

My latest 2 rescues - the older throws up the minute he gets in the car - he is obviously very anxious about being abandoned again. My little one - had to have teeth removed. There were admin issues to start with then she didnt recover well from the op. She was so anxious at the post-op check up. Shaking. So when weeks later the practice contacted me to say that the law on cat chips had changed, they didnt have the chip numbers recorded, and I needed as a matter of urgency to bring mine in for scanning. I said No. The terse email I received in reply stating did I know what my obligations were. I replied to state that the only time my 2 anxious rescues would be coming into the vets would be when they needed support and treatment, not due to an admin cock-up (as the cats had been there just recently and could/should have been scanned if that important and urgent.) I am not sure that vets practices always focus on the welfare of the animals.

You are absolutely correct in requesting a refund as the service requested and paid for has not been Provided inform the practice manager that if a refund is not immediately received you will raise a complaint with the royal college of veterinary surgeons outlining their failure to provide an adequate service and the abuse neglect and trauma they have inflicted on your dog 🐶 unnecessarily during a time that can cause both you and your dog anxiety

Thanks all. I briefly thought about just waiting a couple of weeks and trying the sample again (and of course dropping my request of a refund). However the Manager called up yesterday late afternoon and I had changed my mind. It really is on them, there are other things (not exactly relevant to the blood test situation) about the practice that is unprofessional and I feel it’s time to change vets and push for the refund. Initially I agreed with PP comments about ‘it’s still their time and diary slots’ but it isn’t my fault that these two appointments have effectively been a total waste of time and money. I also do not want to put my dog through it again any time soon. It isn’t fair on him, he is getting older and is a very sensitive boy. I stood my ground, yet to get an answer - was very busy today but will call back tomorrow to chase up the refund request. The manager yesterday said that he would have to check with the actual owner of the practice (annoying how he as a manager couldn’t make the decision instead of dragging it out for another 2 days!).

Well then a vet who takes a long long time to qualify should have drawn enough blood when they took the blood instead of expecting the OP to take the dog back for a third time through no fault of her own or the dogs.

Even tho they were fine incorrect??

The OP is choosing not to get the dog tested now though. That's her choice.

She is choosing not to pay again to have the test re done for the third time when it was their error. They should refund and she can go elsewhere who might not lose or not take enough or offer to the third lot for free - they're not saying that - they're saying they are straight now and she needs to pay again. I

You should get a refund.

My cat is a nightmare for blood tests but he needs them every six months for his arthritis medication. I've had to bring him back more than once on multiple occasions and I've never been charged beyond the cost of the original appointment.

The vets haven't done what they're supposed to do - you should get all your money back.

I'd want a refund too.
They've failed to ensure the first suitable sample made it to the lab. Shouldn't happen but does.
They took a second sample but didn't take enough. That one is completely on them- (unless they said something like, it's not as much as we should have but we can try and hope they can test it and if not we'll have to draw a third time, or we can do a 3rd draw now to ensure we get a full sample. Which from your post it doesn't seem like that was the situation. )

I wouldn't be giving them a 3rd chance unless I was desperate for the test.

I would be furious if this happened to me and yes would expect a refund, how incompetent can they be ?

As annoying as this situation is and it really is, I'd taken my dog back for retest and accept I won't get a refund. You obviously wanted the blood tests for a reason in the first place and even if you go elsewhere your dog will be stressed out, possibly more so because it will be unfamiliar to them.

Tbh, I don't think I'd request a refund. I would hope, however, that the third draw is free of charge. Not a lot of blood is actually required for a multitude of tests so the vet probably assumed they had enough. If, however, as @Miloarmadillo2 has pointed out, there was less serum than expected and more packed red blood cells, this will mean there is less sample to be tested. Unfortunately, we don't know that until the specimen has been sent to the lab and centrifuged.