Tatum Point Animal Hospital

According to the medical record of this pet there were never any payment arrangements made on the original surgery The estimate was signed and the services were paid for We filled out the grant at the owners request in an attempt to help her recoup some of the cost she incurred In all of my dealings with this owner, and with the grant group, my message was consistent, the check should go to the owner directly The fact that this did not happen was unfortunate, but we did offer the owner multiple options as to how we could resolve the situation One of these options was that the owner have the grant company reissue a check in her name The owner made the election to have us reimburse the card with the full knowledge not only of the fact that they would be responsible for the processing fee, but what the processing fee was prior to our making any financial transaction At this point, while it saddens us that the client remains dissatisfied with the solution that she herself chose, unfortunately we do not feel that there is anything we can do to satisfy this client

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
The information provided by the business is falseI did make arrangements with the hospital before the surgery was done and even before I made payment As I stated in my initial complaint I asked the hospital staff if they could apply for a grant that I qualified for to help cover the expensesI explained that they needed to apply for it and that the money would go to the hospital and not to me. And I asked if I put the cost on a credit card could they reimburse my card when they receive the grantI explained that I did not have the money to pay the charge off so I needed to know for sure that they would credit my card back once they received the money It was the only way I could go ahead the procedureThe hospital told me yes they could…In fact they said that it would be “ no problem.” I told them I would come back with the information on how to apply since I didn’t have the information with me Now I didn’t get back to them with the information for about a week or so due to my own health problems(It was this delay that caused the initial denial from the grant sourceOnce I explained they immediately approved the grant)
Now I wasn’t too concerned about this short delay because I had some time before I received the bill from my credit card companyOf course I didn’t know that the hospital would not only refuse to reimburse my card as agreed but also threaten to send the money back unless I paid their fees… the amount of which she wouldn’t tell me! It took *** (with IAADP International Association of Assistance Dog Partners) who provided the grant calling the hospital and finally leaving a message since they wouldn’t return her callHer message stated that she would provide me documentation needed to dispute the charge with my credit card company unless they resolved the situation by end of the dayIt was only after this that I was finally told the amount I had to pay them to get my money!
I’m not surprised they have responded this way to my complaint Their behavior towards me from the start has been rude, disrespectful and threatening There has been no hint of professionalism from the start of this From the start she (the office manager) did not care that I had cleared everything with them first… that her staff had said it wouldn’t be a problem to apply for the grant and reimbursed my card She told me they didn’t tell her Well that’s not my responsibility I told her that I acted in good faith and cleared everything with her staff At no time was I told I would have to pay their fees I told her all of this but she didn’t care and just kept saying I would have to pay their fees …but when I asked how much she wouldn’t tell me
The only reason I ended up paying the hospital’s credit card fee even though I was not responsible for it is because she threatened to send my grant money back And I needed the grant that was awarded to me because I didn’t have the money to cover the bill And not getting the grant money would jeopardize the care of my dogs since I wouldn’t have money to pay for even routine care if I was forced to carry the debt for the surgery on my credit card All of which of course she knewBut didn’t’ care
I have never had such an experience with a veterinarian in my life And I’d like to add that *** with IAADP ---International Association of assistance dog partners (which I’m a member of) and who provided the grant… told me they have never had veterinarian behave in this manner Her advice to me was to have nothing else to do with Tatum point animal hospital and to find another vet to care for my dogs
Regards,
*** ***

We are in receipt of the complaint against out business filed by this client regarding financial arrangements she made with us following medical care provided for her dog.  The client presented her dog to the hospital for an annual exam and to check a tooth on 12/30/2014.  During the exam...

the tooth was found to be fractured and a dental cleaning and tooth extraction was recommended to the owner.  The owner was given an estimate and elected not only to have the fractured tooth removed but several small growths removed during the procedure. The procedure was performed on 12/30 as approved by the owner and the owner paid her balance in full at the time of the appointment.  There were no payment arrangements made at the time of services.  On 1/14/2015, the owner requested that the DVM complete some paperwork to allow her to apply for a grant to help with some of the expenses she had incurred.  The paperwork was completed by our office, but our understanding was that the grant was for the owner to reimburse her, not the hospital as the hospital had already been paid.  The owner never spoke with our veterinarian or with the hospital management about our refunding monies to her should she get the grant.  We were informed on 1/26/2015 that the owner had been denied the grant.  On 1/30/2015, I received a letter from the grant group saying that they had elected to approve the grant and that the Owner had requested that they send the check to the hospital.  I contacted both the owner and the grant group and told them that the client had no balance with us, and not to send the check to the Hospital, but to send to the owner directly.  I never received a call back from either party.  I received the check around 2/29/2015 made out to the hospital.  I reached the owner and explained that as we did not have a balance, the check should be returned to the grant company and remade out in her name. I made several attempts to contact the grant group to see if they could re-issue a check in her name and cancel the one we had in our office with no response from them.   The owner requested that we refund her card and deposit the check instead.  I advised the owner that if we agreed to refund the amount to the card and apply the check to her balance she would be responsible for any processing fees we incurred in so doing.  We would much prefer to return the check to the grant group  and have them re-issue the check in her name as we had originally requested before the check was actually issued. The owner declined that option and elected to have the amount refunded to her card, and agreed to pay fees we incurred, requesting only that we find out what the fees would be before we actually processed any transactions.  It took me approximately 5 days to get in contact with the appropriate person at my merchant services so that I could give the owner an expectation as to what the charges would be.  The charge, $21.00 seemed nominal, and I called and advised the owner that if she agreed to this, we would go ahead and deposit the check and then refund her card minus the $21 once the check cleared out bank.  The owner had changed her mind about paying our card feed at this conversation and felt she should get the full amount.  She claimed that our staff had told her that we would be able to do this, however, I have no noted to this effect in our medical record, and I had been the one in contact with her since the grant paperwork was completed with respect to this matter.  My message had been consistent that we expected the owner to receive the check and be reimbursed directly. I discussed the situation with the business owner and she was not comfortable either signing over the check to the client or depositing the check and re-issuing a check to the client for the full amount. I advised the owner that I could still return the check to the grant group and she could work with them to have it re-issued in her name.  She declined this option and elected to have us return the charge to her account minus our fees.  After the check cleared the account (~10 days) we contacted the owner and completed the transaction as described.  As far as I understood, at this point the matter was closed.  At all times throughout the owner was given options as to how they wanted to proceed within the framework of what we were able to do on our side.  I want to be clear that the grant was not something that was offered or recommended by the hospital, and no arrangements were made by the owner with respect to this payment at the time services were rendered.  The hospital agreed to complete paperwork for her as a service to her and at her request a full two weeks following the date services were actually rendered in an attempt to assist the owner in recouping some of the expenses and with no intention of receiving any funds ourselves as we had already been paid for our services.   I am sorry that the client is dissatisfied with the situation, we did our best to accommodate her requests and she ultimately did receive 98% of the funds granted through the request minus a nominal processing fee equal only to what we were actually charged by our Merchant Services Processor.

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The information provided by the business is false. I did make arrangements with the hospital before the surgery was done and even before I made payment.  As I stated in my initial complaint I asked the hospital staff if they could apply for a grant that I qualified for to help cover the expenses. I explained that they needed to apply for it and that the money would go to the hospital and not to me.  And I asked if I put the cost on a credit card could they reimburse my card when they receive the grant. I explained that I did not have the money to pay the charge off so I needed to know for sure that they would credit my card back once they received the money.  It was the only way I could go ahead the procedure. The hospital told me yes they could…. In fact they said that it would be “ no problem.”  I told them I would come back with the information on how to apply since I didn’t have the information with me.  Now I didn’t get back to them with the information for about a week or so due to my own health problems. (It was this delay that caused the initial denial from the grant source. Once I explained they immediately approved the grant)
Now I wasn’t too concerned about this short delay because I had some time before I received the bill from my credit card company. Of course I didn’t know that the hospital would not only refuse to reimburse my card as agreed but also threaten to send the money back unless I paid their fees… the amount of which she wouldn’t tell me! It took [redacted] (with IAADP International Association of Assistance Dog Partners) who provided the grant calling the hospital and finally leaving a message since they wouldn’t return her call. Her message stated that she would provide me documentation needed to dispute the charge with my credit card company unless they resolved the situation by end of the day. It was only after this that I was finally told the amount I had to pay them to get my money!
 
I’m not surprised they have responded this way to my complaint.  Their behavior towards me from the start has been rude, disrespectful and threatening.   There has been no hint of professionalism from the start of this.  From the start she (the office manager) did not care that I had cleared everything with them first… that her staff had said it wouldn’t be a problem to apply for the grant and reimbursed my card.  She told me they didn’t tell her.  Well that’s not my responsibility.  I told her that I acted in good faith and cleared everything with her staff.  At no time was I told I would have to pay their fees.  I told her all of this but she didn’t care and just kept saying I would have to pay their fees …but when I asked how much she wouldn’t tell me.  
 
The only reason I ended up paying the hospital’s credit card fee even though I was not responsible for it is because she threatened to send my grant money back.  And I needed the grant that was awarded to me because I didn’t have the money to cover the bill.   And not getting the grant money would jeopardize the care of my dogs since I wouldn’t have money to pay for even routine care if I was forced to carry the debt for the surgery on my credit card.  All of which of course she knew. But didn’t’ care.
 
I have never had such an experience with a veterinarian in my life.  And I’d like to add that [redacted] with IAADP ---International Association of assistance dog partners (which I’m a member of) and who provided the grant… told me they have never had veterinarian behave in this manner.  Her advice to me was to have nothing else to do with Tatum point animal hospital and to find another vet to care for my dogs.
 
Regards,

According to the medical record of this pet there were never any payment arrangements made on the original surgery.  The estimate was signed and the services were paid for.  We filled out the grant at the owners request in an attempt to help her recoup some of the cost she incurred.  In all of my dealings with this owner, and with the grant group, my message was consistent, the check should go to the owner directly.  The fact that this did not happen was unfortunate, but we did offer the owner multiple options as to how we could resolve the situation.  One of these options was that the owner have the grant company reissue a check in her name.  The owner made the election to have us reimburse the card with the full knowledge not only of the fact that they would be responsible for the processing fee, but what the processing fee was prior to our making any financial transaction.  At this point, while it saddens us that the client remains dissatisfied with the solution that she herself chose, unfortunately we do not feel that there is anything we can do to satisfy this client.

We are in receipt of the complaint against out business filed by this client regarding financial arrangements she made with us following medical care provided for her dog.  The client presented her dog to the hospital for an annual exam and to check a tooth on 12/30/2014.  During the exam...

the tooth was found to be fractured and a dental cleaning and tooth extraction was recommended to the owner.  The owner was given an estimate and elected not only to have the fractured tooth removed but several small growths removed during the procedure. The procedure was performed on 12/30 as approved by the owner and the owner paid her balance in full at the time of the appointment.  There were no payment arrangements made at the time of services.  On 1/14/2015, the owner requested that the DVM complete some paperwork to allow her to apply for a grant to help with some of the expenses she had incurred.  The paperwork was completed by our office, but our understanding was that the grant was for the owner to reimburse her, not the hospital as the hospital had already been paid.  The owner never spoke with our veterinarian or with the hospital management about our refunding monies to her should she get the grant.  We were informed on 1/26/2015 that the owner had been denied the grant.  On 1/30/2015, I received a letter from the grant group saying that they had elected to approve the grant and that the Owner had requested that they send the check to the hospital.  I contacted both the owner and the grant group and told them that the client had no balance with us, and not to send the check to the Hospital, but to send to the owner directly.  I never received a call back from either party.  I received the check around 2/29/2015 made out to the hospital.  I reached the owner and explained that as we did not have a balance, the check should be returned to the grant company and remade out in her name. I made several attempts to contact the grant group to see if they could re-issue a check in her name and cancel the one we had in our office with no response from them.   The owner requested that we refund her card and deposit the check instead.  I advised the owner that if we agreed to refund the amount to the card and apply the check to her balance she would be responsible for any processing fees we incurred in so doing.  We would much prefer to return the check to the grant group  and have them re-issue the check in her name as we had originally requested before the check was actually issued. The owner declined that option and elected to have the amount refunded to her card, and agreed to pay fees we incurred, requesting only that we find out what the fees would be before we actually processed any transactions.  It took me approximately 5 days to get in contact with the appropriate person at my merchant services so that I could give the owner an expectation as to what the charges would be.  The charge, $21.00 seemed nominal, and I called and advised the owner that if she agreed to this, we would go ahead and deposit the check and then refund her card minus the $21 once the check cleared out bank.  The owner had changed her mind about paying our card feed at this conversation and felt she should get the full amount.  She claimed that our staff had told her that we would be able to do this, however, I have no noted to this effect in our medical record, and I had been the one in contact with her since the grant paperwork was completed with respect to this matter.  My message had been consistent that we expected the owner to receive the check and be reimbursed directly. I discussed the situation with the business owner and she was not comfortable either signing over the check to the client or depositing the check and re-issuing a check to the client for the full amount. I advised the owner that I could still return the check to the grant group and she could work with them to have it re-issued in her name.  She declined this option and elected to have us return the charge to her account minus our fees.  After the check cleared the account (~10 days) we contacted the owner and completed the transaction as described.  As far as I understood, at this point the matter was closed.  At all times throughout the owner was given options as to how they wanted to proceed within the framework of what we were able to do on our side.  I want to be clear that the grant was not something that was offered or recommended by the hospital, and no arrangements were made by the owner with respect to this payment at the time services were rendered.  The hospital agreed to complete paperwork for her as a service to her and at her request a full two weeks following the date services were actually rendered in an attempt to assist the owner in recouping some of the expenses and with no intention of receiving any funds ourselves as we had already been paid for our services.   I am sorry that the client is dissatisfied with the situation, we did our best to accommodate her requests and she ultimately did receive 98% of the funds granted through the request minus a nominal processing fee equal only to what we were actually charged by our Merchant Services Processor.