teamturner Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 One of our cats got attacked by something. I took her in to the vet because she started to smell and had an abscess near her rectum. The vet gave me an estimate of $271 which included her shots. When I called back later the vet said the wound was a lot worse than he thought and there was a lot of decaying flesh and infection was pretty established. They gave her 2 antibiotic injections and put in a tube that we have been flushing w/betadine. They never called me during the procedure to see if I was ok with additional charges. Now they had to put her under to take out the tube and give her 2 more antibiotic shots. The vet I spoke to w/the second procedure reduced the fee from the 2nd surgery by $290. However, I still owe $401 and I already paid $136, which puts my total paid for this at $537. I would not have agreed to spend this amount for a cat. We love her but she is a cat! Tell me what you think I should do? I told them I didn't think I should pay for what I didn't agree to. How does this work in the vet world? And thanks for reading my saga!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Unless I gave an advance okay to "do whatever you need to do" then my vet would have called to get permission before proceeding with treatment. You're certainly within your rights to protest the charges for things you didn't okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kbug Posted May 1, 2013 Share Posted May 1, 2013 Protest the charges and then find a new vet ASAP. Don't even continue treatments with this vet if care is still ongoing. I've never had a vet do something I didn't okay.....even when I had a dog in the critical care the vet always called me before doing anything above maintenance care for the treatments we agreed on. Kbug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamturner Posted May 2, 2013 Author Share Posted May 2, 2013 Oops. Just realized I put this on the wrong board. Should have been the Chat Board. Sorry! Since treatment was begun I felt like I had to continue, at least to take out the tube. So after protesting the charges, they did reduce the amount by another $100 but I still ended up spending close to $200 more than I agreeed to. The lady at the front desk said the first surgery should have been closer to $800 and that he already discounted it from the start. So I sort of caved and stopped fighting. I guess I didn't know what else I could do since they had already done so much at this point. Also, I felt like they were shocked that I wasn't just grateful that they had done so much to save my cat. And this veterinarian practice is cheaper than most in my area. My lesson learned is to specify upfront that I expect to be notified and will give approval for any amount over the estimate or I will not pay it. I'll even write it on the estimate that they give you to sign. Thanks for your advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamturner Posted May 2, 2013 Author Share Posted May 2, 2013 double post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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