Has anyone refused to pay a bill and then changed vet?

[vetprob]

I'm unwilling to pay the final part of our bill due to the surgery not having been completed to the agreed standard.

Has anyone moved vets with something like this in the background? I realise notes may not be passed along, but I'm hoping that won't necessarily matter.

Do you think I want to trust them with my pets again?

Why should he have to go through yet another anaesthetic, he's an old boy.

See post above yours.

They said they would do something, they didn't(for bo apparent reason) which means he'll need yet more treatment in the future.

Ah, x post with your insurance explanation. I have not heard of that way round! I always thought insurance was a claim after, not in anticipation. That's me taught.

Unfortunately quotes aren't bills and I am sure that the small print allows for this.
I understand why you are upset but they WILL pursue you if you don't pay and other vets may not want you as a client OR they will ask to be paid upfront

You accepted an estimated cost. The final cost is a lot more and you’re underinsured so have to pay yourself.

This is nothing to do with the standard of surgery. You’re just trying to get out of paying.

@vetprob how has that left you with a higher bill? Or are you saying you'll be left with a higher bill in future due to the tooth being left in?

I would probably ask them to correct the mistake (ie remove the final tooth free of charge) if possible?

One of my cats goes for regular blood tests and often requires 2-3 appointments as he's not very cooperative - they only ever charge me for one as it's their "fault" as it were that they can't get blood in just one.

If it was actually a quote, they can't amend it without advising you of the projected increase and asking if you'd like to proceed. If they didn't give you that advice, I'd suggest you had a good chance of just paying the original quote and refusing to pay the extra they added without warning.

However, you say later on in your posts that it was an estimate, not a quote. As you accepted it as an estimate, then sadly you're probably legally obliged to pay, irrespective of how much extra they added.

I really think you could have grounds to take this to their governing body though - they've not been clear about their costs if it's just an estimate and that to me is poor practice. Vets know we'll do anything for our pets and this smacks of "taking advantage" to me.

Obviously unexpected circumstances can arise even with the best planned surgery, but I'd say an "estimate" was pretty much a blank cheque for the vet.

Can they actually justify the tripling of the cost? How? I'd want an itemised bill, and full explanation of the extra costs etc, laid in black and white in front of me on paper to discuss with them before I'd even consider paying.

I'd certainly not be using their services again. It feels very deceitful and the trust would be gone forever.

So they quoted for removing all teeth but then removed all but one? How did doing "less" work end up costing 3x more? Did they say why they left one tooth? Was it a mistake or deliberately done?

I’d be very surprised if any other vet would take you on if you’ve refused to pay a bill elsewhere and want to leave with it outstanding. I know where we are they wouldn’t as this info would all be passed on and they wouldn’t want to risk being the next ones chasing payment.

He had other procedures done at the same time

The op took much longer than expected which is where most of the extra came in, plus they left a couple of obvious items off the initial estimate and there have been extra meds needed in recovery which again weren't mentioned.

I'm gutted as we've always had a great relationship with our vets until this event change to a chain.

*recent not event

Yes - good point @CocoapuffPuff . Our vet will not deal with the insurance claim until you pay the final bill. So they don't bill you for an estimate. They bill you for all treatment. (Then they charge a 15 quid admin fee to deal with the insurer when the claim comes in!)

Your vet approach sounds an odd way round. I can see why you are frustrated.

It is claimed afterwards.

The insurance has paid out and we've paid the original quote. We were going to pay the rest grudgingly but now it turns out they didn't even finish the job. It's infuriating!

This is incorrect. A quote is different in law from an estimate.

If it was presented as a quote then it is fixed and you only pay that. An estimate is variable.

It is an estimate @sharpopalnewt so it seems a licence to print money.

@vetprob they can't know in advance how long an operation will take or what medication will be required afterwards. All animals are different and while one cat may recover with just the basics, another may need much more support.

I'm not sure you can refuse to pay on the basis that the operation was more complex than originally thought or because your cat required more medication than they first anticipated.

You may be able to request a discount based on them not removing a tooth, though it would depend whether it was an oversight of whether there was a medical reason for leaving it in.

And also you are absolutely allowed to query a bill with any professional and they are absolutely NOT allowed to blacklist you as a result. All this "the vet industry is a small world, you won't get treated anywhere else" is absolute nonsense.

First complain to the vets and if you don't think they have dealt with it properly, complain to their professional association.

When I was a solicitor in private practice my clients would have complained about me to a partner and then the SRA if I suddenly tried to give them a far bigger bill than expected without keeping them informed.

Many vets do overcharge and need to do better. A lot more transparency and better communication is required.

@SharpOpalNewt surely a private business can refuse any client they like as long as it's not based on a discriminatory quality?

This.

@coffeesaveslives they did know it would be a long recovery needing extra meds they just didn't add it to the estimate.

And if there was a chance it would be more complex then maybe a more realistic estimate should have been given, or a couple of possible figures one high one lower.

In over 30 years of pet keeping with all manner of surgeries and illnesses with multiple pets, we have never had this before.

People won't be able to afford to keep pets if nasty surprises like this are going to happen. Not healthy pets anyway.

How is putting people into debt a good way of encouraging good pet care?

This happened with me op, leading to the death of my pet. She had a prolapse and she was meant to have x rays and exploratory surgery (to a certain degree). Instead he brought her in and just stuffed her insides back in and stitched her up. She came home with anti biotics and pain medication, but a week later I could tell she was still extremely poorly and not improving. And then the prolapse happened again. THIS time she had the x rays and exploratory surgery to find the cause which was meant to happen the first time, they found a piece of wood she had ingested which she couldn’t pass through which caused the prolapse, unfortunately by that point her insides were completely necrotic, and I had to go by their advice to let her pass on the operating table. I told them to shove their bill up their fucking arse. I got letters for ages with extra unpaid fines on top but didn’t pay a penny, they could take me to court as far as I was concerned. They just stopped sending them in the end. I still use other local vets

@Anon1274 that's awful I'm so sorry. Your poor girl. Disgraceful x