Western PA Humane Society

Review: I am writing today for an explanation to why I am being denied services for my dog [redacted] and new pup! I have called in the past without a return call. Finally I received a call Monday March 3, 2014 at 11:39am saying that I needed to pay a previous balance of $28.50 before I could schedule any new services. I had no idea that there was a balance until 3/3/14. Once I returned the call I was told that you all were not receiving payments from [redacted]. Our arrangements are that I bring my pet in and [redacted] is invoiced for services rendered. I nor [redacted] was not notified as to a prior unpaid balance! I came in Wednesday March 5, 2014 at 9:05am to pay the prior balance of $28.50. Once I paid I was given another excuse by [redacted] and [redacted] that I could not schedule because [redacted] no longer wants to accept payments from [redacted] since they are not being paid. I then told the ladies oh thats no problem I will pay upfrontI was then informed from [redacted] that since [redacted] is not spayed that I was not permitted to schedule without speaking to [redacted] the manager! I dont have a problem getting my pup spayed so I am not understanding what the real issue at hand is here. When asked to speak to [redacted] I was told that she wouldnt be in until 10:00 am this morning, I have called to leave a message and am waiting on a return call.[redacted] has since informed me via representative [redacted], that two payments (checks) were in fact mailed to the Humane Society on the following dates; July 26, 2013 #[redacted] for $28.50 and August 21, 2013 #[redacted] for $28.50 As a result I request to be reimbursed for the over payment of $28.50 that was paid via credit card on March 5, 2014 to your organization. Again I am requesting an explanation of why I have been denied services.Desired Settlement: Refund of over payment. I request that the Humane Society honor their original agreement due the fact that [redacted] has fulfilled their obligation.

Revdex.com

Response:

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MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS:

Note: The message is either below or you may find it as an attachment.

04/07/2014

In early July 2013, the Client initially brought her pet in for a pre-surgical exam and vaccination appointment at the Western PA Humane Society (WPHS) Low-Cost Clinic. At the completion of the appointment and during the check-out process, Client informed us that her bill would be paid through a trust. Also at this point, Client informed us she was not interested in having her pet spayed at this time or anytime in the near future.

As per WPHS policy, all pets that use the WPHS Low-Cost Clinic either must have their animal spayed or neutered or be in the process of having their animal spayed or neutered. This policy is integral to our mission to help better control the pet population, and it incentivizes owners to be responsible pet owners. At this point in time, Client was informed that she could use the Clinic to complete the vaccination series, but after that, she would not be able to take advantage of the Low-Cost Clinic until she had her pet spayed. After the appointment, the bill was sent to the trust and the trust sent the payment within 2 weeks of the appointment.

Several weeks after the first appointment, Client brought her pet to the Clinic for the booster appointment. After completion of the appointment, the bill was again sent to the trust. However this time, several weeks went by and the Clinic did not receive the payment for the boosters. The bill was faxed to the trust on 7/22/2013 and 8/15/2013 requesting payment for the services, with no response.

In addition to the faxes, a phone call was made to the trust on 9/4/2013 inquiring about the payment. We did not receive a response to either the phone message or the previous faxes. At this point, as with any client that has an unpaid balance, it was noted in her file that the Client had an open balance and would have to pay the balance before being seen again.

On 3/5/2014, Client visited the Clinic to schedule an appointment for her pet. She was made aware of the outstanding balance and again about the spay policy. The Client paid the balance and was told she needed to speak with a manager prior to scheduling her pet for an appointment because the pet was not spayed. The Clinic Manager called the Client within the day. They spoke at length about why the Western PA Humane Society had the policy regarding spay and neuter, and the Client now indicated her interest in having her pet spayed. Client was told she would be able to schedule her pet for an appointment if she paid for the spay procedure in advance as good faith that she would follow-up with the surgery. During this phone conversation, the Client presented proof of the payment for the boosters dating back to July. Apologies were given and the client was told we would investigate where the payment was and why it was not applied to her Clinic bill.

A quick internal investigation revealed that the trust had indeed sent the payment in, twice. Unfortunately, the payment was not clearly marked for this client and since it was coming from a trust, the income was processed as a donation to the WPHS Shelter. Furthermore the trust is not directly in the client's name, further making it difficult to apply credit to the proper bill. When we contacted the trust back in July 2013 inquiring about the payment, it appears that instead of calling us back, they sent another payment to the Shelter and this is why we received two checks for $28.50. Once the discovery was made, we again apologized and refunded the customer's money $28.50 x2 for both checks that

were mailed, plus an additional $28.50 as a good faith gesture; basically giving the Client the boosters and booster appointment at no charge.