Fremont Veterinary Clinic, Inc.

Review: I have taken my pets, over and the charge for the services, are over price, and no explanation, on some are just miscellaneous, charges.

Ivoice#XXXXXX On 4/23/13 I took [redacted] in for diarrhea and the charges were Office Visit $29.00, Health check $135.00,Bio Harzard disposal Fee $5.00 Fecal Exam with Giardia $68.00, X-Ray 2 views $125.00, Antiobiotic Injection, $38.00, PPM Large $25.00In-patient Care $31.00, Metronidazole 500mg/tablet $42.00,Misc. Injection $38.00 Total Charges for this visit $536.00 Invoice#XXXXXX On 5/4/13 I took [redacted] for limping and the charges were, X-Ray 2-views $145.00 Bio Hazard Disposal Fee $5.00,Pain Injection $45.00, In Patient Care $35.00, Sedation $125.00, Health check $125.00 after hours examination $85.00,Rimadyl 75mg chewable/tablet $81.00 Total charges for this visit was $646.00 Invoice#XXXXXX on 5/29/13 I took [redacted] for lack of calcium, the charges for this visit were Office Visit $29.00, Health check $135.00, Two Misc.injection$150.00,Catheterizatio 32.00, I.V. line set up $18.00, I.V. Fluids Sodium chloride 500ml $45.00,In Patient Care 31.00, Treatment $81.00, steroid Injection $38.00,Pet Tinic/2oz bottle $22.00,osteo-form chewable tablets #50/bottle $35.00, Antiobiotic injection $38.00, Amoxidrops 50 mg/ml 15 ml bottle $39.00 Total for this visit $693.00 Four days later [redacted] was steal sick, I took her back this time the bill was over $400.00 I just got so upset, I told them the could keep her, that was not paying them.Desired Settlement: It is for them to be realistic they are charging people, wat ever we allowed, I have spoke with the Veterinay, asking them to please go over the charge realy

Business

Response:

Initial Business Response

[redacted] is one of our valued clients. She came to pick-up her pet named [redacted] and

got a little upset due to the charges. I ([redacted]) the office manager tried to explain to her the bill but it seemed like she did not want to understand.

Every time she brought her pets to our clinic, she signed the estimate (please find copies

attached). We do this with every client. We just don't do anything and give our clients surprise bills. We always call and communicate with our clients if there will be other charges.

If you see her complaint she mentions bringing [redacted] for diarrhea on 4-23-2013, and for limping

on 5-4-2013. These are two very different cases. Estimates were signed and [redacted] was happy with the service.

The reason why she is up set is probably because she brought [redacted] on 5-29-2013, with hypo

calcium and again on 6-2-2013, for same problem. When [redacted] brought [redacted] to the clinic, she

came running inside with [redacted] having bad seizure"

When [redacted] picked up [redacted] the dog was back to normal and she was very happy with us. We

told her about the medications and what to do at home to prevent this situation in future.

On June 2, 2013, [redacted] was brought back with seizures and was very dehydrated. We did the

treatment again. We kept [redacted] for a couple of days" When [redacted] came to get [redacted] she

wanted to know what the miscellaneous injection charges were. I told her those were the

calcium injections and we did that a few times.

The bill for June 2nd was discounted to $400.00. [redacted] did not want to pay and we told her it

was OK.

At the end, I would like to say is that, we do not overcharge any client. We take care of our

patients and clients. Estimates are always given. If clients do not want any charges, we do not perform services without their approval. In some cases we tell clients that medicine to go home will be added.

I hope this solves explains the issue with [redacted]. As I said earlier, [redacted] is a nice person and

a would love to see [redacted] and her pets back at our clinic.

Final Consumer Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

The Invoices that I have are the same, but different Subtotal he has change the amounts, but if you look a the ones I have It has the credit card receipt, and that is what I paid. I would like to know if there is a prize regulation establish, or how do we know when we are been over charge. The 'miscellaneous injects' are supposed to be for 'calcium injections'. Why is it each charge for this and for 'office visit' and 'health check' vary each visit. These should be standard charges. Seems like charges are made up as you go.

Business

Response:

[redacted] is one of our valued clients. She came to pick-up her pet named [redacted] and

got a little upset due to the charges. I (Kumar) the office manager tried to explain to her the bill but it seemed like she did not want to understand.

Every time she brought her pets to our clinic, she signed the estimate (please find copies

attached). We do this with every client. We just don't do anything and give our clients surprise bills. We always call and communicate with our clients if there will be other charges.

If you see her complaint she mentions bringing Molly for diarrhea on 4-23-2013, and for limping

on 5-4-2013. These are two very different cases. Estimates were signed and [redacted] was happy with the service.

The reason why she is up set is probably because she brought [redacted] on 5-29-2013, with hypo

calcium and again on 6-2-2013, for same problem. When [redacted] brought [redacted] to the clinic, she

came running inside with [redacted] having bad seizure"

When [redacted] picked up [redacted], the dog was back to normal and she was very happy with us. We

told her about the medications and what to do at home to prevent this situation in future.

On June 2, 2013, [redacted] was brought back with seizures and was very dehydrated. We did the

treatment again. We kept [redacted] for a couple of days" When [redacted] came to get [redacted], she

wanted to know what the miscellaneous injection charges were. I told her those were the

calcium injections and we did that a few times.

The bill for June 2nd was discounted to $400.00. [redacted] did not want to pay and we told her it

was OK.

At the end, I would like to say is that, we do not overcharge any client. We take care of our

patients and clients. Estimates are always given. If clients do not want any charges, we do not perform services without their approval. In some cases we tell clients that medicine to go home will be added.

I hope this solves explains the issue with [redacted]. As I said earlier, [redacted] is a nice person and

a would love to see [redacted] and her pets back at our clinic.

([redacted] co. resp. supporting docs..pdf)

Consumer

Response:

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

The Invoices that I have are the same, but different Subtotal he has change the amounts, but if you look a the ones I have It has the credit card receipt, and that is what I paid. I would like to know if there is a prize regulation establish, or how do we know when we are been over charge. The 'miscellaneous injects' are supposed to be for 'calcium injections'. Why is it each charge for this and for 'office visit' and 'health check' vary each visit. These should be standard charges. Seems like charges are made up as you go. ([redacted] Receipts.pdf)

Business

Response:

As I had previously mentioned in my reply to the complaint that we did not charge or billed her for the $400 bill that she complained about. The estimate was approved by her and we always do that.We do not just surprise our clients with hidden charges. Office visit is $29 and with coupon it is $19. Health check is not "office visit".It is blood work.

Review: I was told that I could have my dog back from cremation in 7-10 DAYS & The Vets office inflated my dogs weight to overcharge me for cremation service

Our dog [redacted] was very sick so on Wednesday July 10, 2013 my husband and I took him to Fremont Vet clinic on Fremont St in Stockton, Ca.

He had extensive problems with his prostate that would require surgery by a specialist and costly medication with no guarantee of favorable outcome. It would be several weeks before we knew IF he would be ok.

[redacted] was 12 1/2 years old and we could see how this sickness had deteriorated his quality of life. After a difficult decision we decided not to prolong the suffering our dog was going through and decided to put him down. When we asked about having him cremated we were told we could have him back in about 5-10 DAYS.

Here are my complaints:

1. Upon check in, my husband and I weighed [redacted] on their office scale at 90lb 6oz. (This is not what was reported to the cremation company)

2. We were charged for an office visit AND an emergency visit for the same visit.

3. Today 7/19, I called to find out when I will be able to pick him up and was told by the receptionist, "In about 2 weeks." When I asked her "Why two MORE weeks?" she stated that he had not been picked up till 7/16 so I would have to wait two weeks!

4. [redacted] was not picked up for almost 7 days after he passed away. When we were in the office we were not notified of any certain pick up days for cremation. We were told "We tell our clients it takes between 5-10 days but it's more like 5 days" while in the office.

5. According to [redacted], the office manager, he is now telling us that it takes 10 BUSINESS days. So if [redacted] had been picked up 7/16 it would take up to 10 BUSINESS days from that date to get him back. If that is the case then I should have him back by 7/23, why am I being told that it would take still two more weeks? We went round and round with [redacted] until we were able to obtain the phone number to the [redacted] Servicesd.

6. When we called to talk to [redacted] reported weight as indicated by Fremont Vet, was 100lbs. [redacted] does not re-weigh and goes by whatever is written down by the vets office. They confirmed pick up of [redacted] on the July the 16th and he was cremated the next 7/17.

7. When we talked to [redacted] again, later the same day, about the discrepancy of [redacted] weight he said that according to the Cremation service, [redacted] weighed 100lbs at pick up. Obviously someone is lying to us because we had just been told by the cremation company that they do not weigh and go only by what is reported by the vets office. When we confronted [redacted] about the discrepancy of weight he simply said "Oh I guess I was looking at one of [redacted] previous visit when he weighed 110lbs. On the 10th he weighed 92.06" Again that was wrong because we had weighed him at 90lbs 6oz. He laughed on the phone when we asked again, why [redacted] weight was reported as 100lbs.

I believe that the office deliberately inflated [redacted] weight or used the 110lbs to charge us more for the cremation of our dog. [redacted] services does not charge per weight of animals it simply charges the clinic an undisclosed amount per service. It is the Vets office that puts a price per weight.

I have made arrangements with the cremation company to pick up the remains of my dog in Sacrament (at my cost) to avoid any more emotional stress and/or problems with Fremont Vet.Desired Settlement: I would like to see a refund for the amount that they overcharged me to have my dog cremated and either the office visit or the emergency visit as I have never seen an office charge for both!

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

[redacted] 12 1/2 years old Labrador came to our clinic on 7-10-2013. According to our chart [redacted] weighted 92.6 lbs. We did blood work (Health Check) and X-Rays. After the X-Rays and blood work, the doctor talked to his owners and told them about the results. [redacted] had extensive problems with his prostate.

Mr. [redacted] decided that htey would put him to sleep because they did not want [redacted] to suffer. They signed the euthanasia form and we placed a catheter. Later [redacted] was put to sleep. The bill was paid and receipt was given. They decided to do private cremation (remains comes back to the owners). They were told that remains will be back in 5-10 business working days. On 7-19-2013, [redacted] called our office inquiring about [redacted] remains. We told her that we will call her back after we check with the cremation company and she got very upset.

We checked with the company and they told us that [redacted] remains will be at our clinic no later than 7-23-2013.

Answers to [redacted]'s complaints:

Their complaint is that we overcharged them. We DID NOT overcharge them.

1. Our private creations are charged according to the weights. There are 4 different weight category's

0-25 lb

26-60 lb

61-90 lb

And more than 90 lb

According to our chart and [redacted] weighed more than 90 lb.

2. We only charged them office visit. There was no emergency visit charge. Please find receipt attached.

3. All our euthanized pets are picked up once a week adn that is every Tuesday. We tell our clients, 5-10 business working days if they choose private cremation.

4. [redacted] wanted to pick up [redacted] remains herself. We did not tell her to go and pick up the remains. She insisted and said we were lying after I told her that [redacted] remains will be here at our clinic on Monday or Tuesday (7-22-13 or 7-23-13) I gave her the cremation company's phone number so she could calm down and trust me. The company called me back, asking if [redacted] could pick up [redacted] remains. I told them it was O'K if that's what she wanted to do.

5. We only charged her Office Visit. She is probably confused with Health Check, which is total "blood work" in house.

At the end I would like to say that there may have been some confusion. We never overcharged anyone. We always give an estimate before we do any treatment. I hope this letter explains and if there is any questions please give me a call at the number provided below. The [redacted]'s are very nice people and I hope to see them back at our clinic.

Consumer's Final Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

This is in response to Fremont Vet Clinic version of events which I enclosed in. The clinic is bending the truth and it is obvious to me that they are trying to make it look like they did nothing wrong. The clinic is still not admitting to changing the weight records of our dog not only on the office visit but also what was reported to the cremation company as well. Fremont Vet clinic clearly reported the wrong weight and has not given a reason for the inconsistency.

[redacted] 12 1/2 years old Labrador came to our clinic on 7-10-2013. According to our chart Gunner weighted 92.6 lbs. We did blood work (Health Check) and X-Rays. After the X-Rays and blood work, the doctor talked to his owners and told them about the results. [redacted] had extensive problems with his prostate.

The scale that [redacted] was weighed on at Fremont Vet clinic is located in the reception waiting room, next to the reception window. When it was time to weigh Gunner, we, the owners directed [redacted] onto the scale and he weighed 90.06 lbs. This is the weight that we conveyed to the receptionist whom was on the other side of the window (behind the counter), when she asked us for the weight. This weight included a small brown shaggy rug that we had used to transport [redacted] in our car. It made it easier for us to help [redacted] get up when we needed him to walk. (This rug was not returned to us because [redacted] was still laying on it when he was put to sleep) Neither the receptionist nor any of the vet tech or veterinarian were in the room nor were they in view of the scale so whatever was written in their chart is not what we told them and we told them 90.6 lbs. I have two exact carpets as the one left behind just in different colors and the weights of those carpets are 4lbs 4oz and 4lbs 6oz. So [redacted] actual body weight should be about 4lbs less when the weight of the rug is deducted; 90.6-4lbs = 86.6

Also, please note that when my husband called the pet cremation services to inquire about the weight and status of [redacted] they told him that the chart from the veterinarian said that [redacted] weighed 100 lbs.

Mr. [redacted] decided that they would put him to sleep because they did not want [redacted] to suffer. They signed the euthanasia form and we placed a catheter. Later [redacted] was put to sleep. The bill was paid and receipt was given. They decided to do private cremation (remains comes back to the owners). They were told that remains will be back in 5-10 business working days.

Omitted is also the fact that they talked to us about referring [redacted] to a specialist for surgery that would cost "a lot of money" as they put it and then [redacted] would have to go on more "costly medication" and that it would take weeks to see "IF" there would be any type of improvement. I might add that [redacted] had a similar problem about 2-3 yrs. ago at which time Fremont Vet had recommended neutering [redacted] to avoid future prostate problems. Now the Veterinarian was saying to us "In this circumstance, we would have just recommended [redacted] be neutered, but because [redacted] was already neutered, [redacted] chances are "not good." [redacted] prostate was already extended into his stomach area (about the size of a football) and was putting pressure on his internal organs. He was no longer eating and could barely walk a short distance before needing to lie back down. So, of course my husband and I had to make a very hard decision to NOT let our dog suffer any longer.

As I have stated before they told us it was going to take about 5-10 days. Never did the office manager nor the receptionist say "BUSINESS" or "WORKING" days to us.

On 7-19-2013, [redacted] called our office inquiring about [redacted] remains. We told her that we will call her back after we check with the cremation company and she got very upset.

Again as I stated on my complaint, on 7/19 (nine days later), I called Fremont Vet clinic to find out when I will be able to pick up [redacted] remains and was told by the receptionist, "In about 2 weeks." When I asked her "Why two MORE weeks?" she stated that [redacted] had not been picked up till 7/16 so I would have to wait two weeks from that date! I was more devastated rather than "upset". But if that is the word they prefer to use... I did not get "upset" until I was told that #1.) Gunners body was not picked up till X-XX-XXXX and #2.) the receptionist was telling me it would be up to 2 more weeks from 7-16-2013!

Neither my husband nor I were informed about the "Once a week pick up date." What owner would not be upset after losing their pet only to find out that it was just pushed aside for 6 days? Had I known about the once a week pick up date, I would have made other arrangements. Even if I, personally, had to drive my dog's remains up to Sacramento! The office is lying about telling me they would call me back to let me know when [redacted] remains would come in. It wasn't until my husband began speaking to the office manager and going round and round with him that he was told they would "call us back" and that was because my husband was insisting they give us the name and phone number of the cremation company.

Answers to [redacted]'s complaints:

Their complaint is that we overcharged them.

My complaint was filed under CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUES and that they did in fact overcharge us. I can only hope that my complaint will force Fremont Vet to be more accountable with their record keeping and initial weigh-in process. Provide accurate records and be more sensitive to pet owners in circumstances like ours! There was nothing funny about our situation and there was no reason to be laughed at by the office manager over the phone! These may not be medical records for people but they are our pet's medical records and there are still laws to follow about the accuracy of those records!

We DID NOT overcharge them.

1. Our private creations are charged according to the weights. There are 4 different weight category's

0-25 lb

26-60 lb

61-90 lb

And more than 90 lb

According to our chart and [redacted], Gunner weighed more than 90 lb.

We have insisted this whole time that Gunner weighed 90.6 yet the office still will not admit to writing down the wrong weight on the clinic chart (92.6) and (100lb) on the report to the cremation company.

2. We only charged them office visit. There was no emergency visit charge. Please find receipt attached.

3. All our euthanized pets are picked up once a week adn that is every Tuesday. We tell our clients, 5-10 business working days if they choose private cremation.

4. [redacted] wanted to pick up Gunners remains herself. We did not tell her to go and pick up the remains.

As I previously stated this on my complaint "I have made arrangements with the cremation company to pick up the remains of my dog in Sacramento (at my cost) to avoid any more emotional stress and/or problems with Fremont Vet."

She insisted and said we were lying after I told her that [redacted] remains will be here at our clinic on Monday or Tuesday (7-22-13 or X-XX-XX) I gave her the cremation company's phone number so she could calm down and trust me.

This statement is a lie! I never said any such statement to them! After having spoken with the receptionist on my first call to them, I was so emotional that all the rest of the phone conversation occurred through my husband. It was because of my husband's determination to not just let it go that the office manager finally and reluctantly gave the crematories phone number.

The company called me back, asking if [redacted] could pick up [redacted] remains. I told them it was O'K if that's what she wanted to do.

5. We only charged her Office Visit. She is probably confused with Health Check, which is total "blood work" in house.

At the end I would like to say that there may have been some confusion. We never overcharged anyone. We always give an estimate before we do any treatment.

Please DO NOT mistake this for a written estimate! We were given a verbal estimate for blood work and an x-ray and nothing more, the total ended up being hundreds more than what we expected!

I hope this letter explains and if there is any questions please give me a call at the number provided below. The [redacted]'s are very nice people and I hope to see them back at our clinic.

We have used Fremont Vet clinic for the past 4yrs for our pets. We traveled across town to go to this one specific office, place passing by several Vet clinics because we liked out Veterinarian! Now they have a new Veterinarian and many of the old staff has changed. In my opinion the level of care is not the same as it used to once be, it all seems to be about the money now and not the care they used to provide to our pets.

We will definitely NOT be back nor will we ever refer our friends and family.

Review: My Chihuahua about five year old dog called [redacted] was bitten in my yard by a neighbor dog on the neck. I took him to the Fremont veterinary clinic on Fremont street. Dr. [redacted] took exray and told me that [redacted] had no major injuries. He said that he would operate and stitch up the neck and fix a small hernia. He told me to return at 530 pm and pick up [redacted]. The Doctor could see that I was blind. I came back at 530 pm and he said that [redacted] was ready to go home. [redacted] was not fully awake yet so wrapped him in a red blanket and took him home. My dog died within 3 hours in my arms. This doctor should have keep this dog over night to be sure he was okey and that he did not miss something on the exray and also who should not have send a sick dog home with a 71 year old blind lady. He told me that [redacted] was okey and bring him back in four days to take out the drain he placed in the wound. If he was okey as he stated why did he die?

[redacted] Desired Settlement: I asked him to return one half of the money I payed for his services since I believe he killed [redacted] by not finding all problems. He missed something since [redacted] died. Therefor I want one half of the money returned to me for his services and he is refussing to do so.

Business

Response:

Sorry for the delay for my response. This complaint was not filed by the owner of [redacted] but by someone else. Well,iam sorry about Ms [redacted] losing [redacted] was released from our clinic when he was fully awake.we never send our patients home half awake.when our patients are sent home,special instructions are given to the owners for example not to feed or give a lot of water and keeping their pets warm ect. Now,I do not know what happened to [redacted] at home since we did not receive any calls from anyone regarding [redacted] as we are open till 10pm or someone is on call after hours. Our clinic employes professional people and we are here to help animals but not to kill them. We help so many animals everyday and always go extra miles to make sure pets and their owners are treated with respect. When we received call about [redacted],we were sorry about [redacted] .we did offer them free cremation but they declined. I hope this matter gets solved .[redacted]s X-ray and reports shows no major internal damages.

Thanks,

Consumer

Response:

When I sent you this complaint I thought that the Revdex.com had some power to do something,and that you could do something about people getting licensen and not doing a good job in business. From your letter you don't sound like you can do anything, after you give out the licensen. Doctor [redacted] sent this dog home only half awake remember II do not see well and I had people with me at the time I brought [redacted] home. The doctor made me pay up front before he would operate on [redacted]. Soon after I took him home he died,why would I call him back the dog was dead. I do accept his answer and I do not want him to cremate [redacted]. I want him to returne my money, he did not do his job as a vet.. I am now getting friends together for picke lines. I will take him to ccourt if necessary. I am not satisfied with his letter. This vet told me and friends that their was not much wrong with [redacted] and that no main parts were damaged. This letter is filed by the owner of [redacted] who in the hell does the vet think would pay that kind of money for someone else dog. This is not over even if you have no power to do something. He killed my [redacted] and should not be payed for that. My friend and I asked him before the operation if he was bad hurt if we should just put him to sleep and he said that nothing much was wrong.

I have found at [redacted] states 3 other people who lost dogs by their vet.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

[redacted] came in and was in shock.that is normal with any pets who are involved in an accidents or get bit by another animal. [redacted] was bit by a dog and x-rays and blood work did not show any major complications.There were lacerations.puncture wounds and multiple bites. If there would be any complications,[redacted] would not be able to go under sedation and have the surgery done. He was up and responsive when we released him. Now,we do not know what happened to [redacted] at home. Was the instructions given post surgeries followed at home,we do not know. Again,iam sorry for [redacted] loss and I would be upset too if I lost my pet but we are here to save and help each and every pets.We are not here do anything wrong to any pets. I hope this resolves this case.