Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This issue occurred today, only b/c I missed an appointment (exam) today. From what i was told today, if you miss an appointment you have to pay the $90-dollar fee again, which I was never told IF YOU MISS AN APPOINTMENT YOU HAVE TO PAY ANOTHER $90-dollar fee. With that being said, they cannot prove that they told me about the additional $90 dollar fee b/c they didn't. I don't see on their site where it states this, and they did not send me anything in writing/email.

  Business response

  05/03/2023

  **************** called our office on 3/13/23 and spoke with ******** to schedule an appointment and established herself as a new client for her dog Kobe. Our business requires the $90 exam fee as a deposit for new clients and is taken at the time their initial appointment is scheduled. Before scheduling an appointment and taking the deposits by phone, new clients are informed of our policy that the deposit is required in order to schedule the appointment. This deposit remains on their account as a credit until the day of their appointment, unless they cancel with less than 24 hour notice or if they fail to show up for their appointment at which time their deposit is forfeited and retained. **************** proceeded to make the appointment and paid the deposit. The deposit invoice which included new client instructions and our deposit policy was emailed to ****************. Prior to her original appointment, **************** called our office and spoke with ****** and rescheduled her original appointment from 3/23/23 to 3/29/23 at which time her deposit remained as a credit on her account as she had provided ** with more than 24 hours notice. On March 29, 2023 **************** did not come to her 10:30 am appointment. ******* called **************** at 10:48 am regarding the missed appointment. ******* left **************** a voicemail  to please call our office to reschedule her appointment and that she would forfeit her deposit. She was informed that we would require another deposit. **************** called our office around 11:57 am and spoke with ****** and informed her that she was calling about missing her appointment, that she totally forgot about it and needed to make another one. At which time ****** informed her that she would be required to make another deposit since she did make her first appointment.  **************** responded by saying she would have to think about it and call back. **************** called back a little while later and after being placed on hold by ******, ******** picked up the call to assist her.  During that conversation **************** became upset and verbally aggressive at which point ******** placed her on hold and asked our Hospital Manager ***** to speak with *****************  Towards the end of the conversation with *****, **************** informed her that she would be telling her bank that the deposit was a fraudulent charge since the deposit is not being refunded to her. **************** did file a fraudulent fraud claim with her bank/visa provider. Her claim was denied through our payment processor after an investigation and found in our favor based on all the information provided. I am including her payment receipt for her new client deposit, proof of new client and deposit policies that were emailed to her with the deposit invoice. Also included is the no show appointment charge and invoice with deposit policy that was emailed to her, as well as all of our documented conversations. 

  Customer response

  05/03/2023

   
  Complaint: 19870472
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I was never left a voicemail or I would have never filed this complaint. This is a lie. I did a chargeback with my bank, not fraudulent, the service was never provided, I would love to hear a recording of this voicemail that was left. Also the one when I originally called. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  05/10/2023

  Halsey East Animal clinic stated that **************** filed a fraudulent fraud charge with her bank because she reported the chargeback as a fraudulent charge to her account. The charge was not a fraudulent charge because **************** paid the required deposit by telephone.  All new clients are informed that we require a deposit in order to schedule their first appointment. Our staff explains to each client why we require deposits. The deposit remains on their account as a credit and is applied toward their final bill the day of their appointment. If the client fails to provide at least 24 hours notice to reschedule or cancel their appointment they forfeit the deposit. They are then invoiced for the missed appointment and we email the invoice along with our deposit policy (this is the second time they receive the policy). **************** failed to keep her appointment for 10:30 am on March 29th.  Deposits are refunded to clients for cancelations who do not wish to reschedule if they provide 24 hours or more notice. ******************** initial appointment was originally scheduled for March 23, 2023 at 10:00 am. **************** called the morning of March 22, 2023 before 9:00 am to reschedule her appointment to the 29th. Because she called before 9 am on the 22nd to reschedule her appointment, her deposit remained on the account for the 29th. On the morning of the 29th **************** was called regarding her missed appointment. Our staff member left a voicemail regarding her missed appointment, to please call to reschedule, that her deposit would be retained and she would be required to pay another deposit. On March 28, 2023 **************** confirmed her appointment for March 29, 2023 at 10:30am by text via our reminder service that sends out the notifications. Once the client confirms their appointment via text their confirmation is time stamped into our software on their appointment notes.  Halsey East Animal Clinic does not record client phone calls. so their are no recordings to provide.   

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩