Comments on: Comparing Pet Insurance And Banfield’s Pet Wellness Plans

By: Jaclyn

Jaclyn — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:29:50 +0000

My husband and I have used Banfied (WITH the wellness plan) since getting our dogs over 2 years ago. Here’s the summary, plain and simple.
We had a vet in our old town who was amazing. She knew our dogs’ names and was very helpful to make things affordable since I’m a student. For example, our dog often gets skin irritations due to allergies in the spring and she advised we buy benadryl to save money. Through the plan, the visit is free, so I felt comfortable taking him in for more minor things and a few times, we prevented a lot of potential issues. In this case, I didn’t pay anything, except for when I went to the drug store and my dog was feeling more like himself Knowing I had a set monthly payment was much easier than dealing with unexpected costs. When I decided to get one fixed, she gave me the name/# of a more affordable place to go, while explaining the differences in their practices/procedures.
I will soon graduate to become a Dietitian and highly advise preventative care.
No matter if the doctor is your’s or your pet’s, you MUST be your own advocate. Ask to meet their doctor, see how they act with your pet and perhaps go in a few times to ensure you’re making the right decision.
Don’t complain if you didn’t first study the advantages/disadvantages and if you didn’t first get to know the vet before signing up. Some Banfield locations work while other may fall though the cracks, things aren’t perfect for everyone and our perceptions are very different. Each pet’s needs are different.
Personally, I purchased the plan for my two dogs because it allowed me to give my dog preventative care and have a discount if something was very wrong. As a student (which means poor :) ), there were many times I didn’t have a lot of money but my dog received great care despite the difficulties. They offer great advantages so talk to an employee to get a clear view.
BTW, my awesome vet was in Bloomington, IN.
If you ask questions, your vet should always take care of your concerns, don’t settle for less but trust their education as well :).

By: Barbara

Barbara — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:45:55 +0000

The other day, I brought my dog in to Banfield for a scheduled Comprehensive exam, 1/2 hour before the Petsmart store opened (8:30 a.m.). They said it would be around 4 hours before I could get my dog, I also did not authorize any “extra” services. I called at 12:30 p.m. to see if my little dog is ready. “They had an emergency” come in and so, my dog had to wait, they hadn’t worked on her yet. Seems like it was going to be another couple of hours (nothing specific). I was told, “you have to understand, we had an emergency, walk-ins, and appointments have to wait.” Okay, I understand emergencies, happens all the time when I go to the doctor, but, “walk-in(?)” don’t you think it would have been nice to call and let me know? I was told, we don’t do that. Nice touch, makes me want to expound on their professionalism. Well, guess what? It’s been 2 hours later and, she still hasn’t been seen, guess I don’t get to do what “I” have to do today, I have to wait for phone call they will not make…so far she’s been with Banfield for 6 1/2 hours and nothing has been done. I am not happy with the level of customer service here in Middletown, NY.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:52:03 +0000

I have had my dog with Banfield for over 7 years now. I have save much more than I have spent even though in this tough economy its hard to come up with the monthly fee sometimes. I also have my newly adopted cat with them and everything seems to be going well so far. I would much rather take in my pets and either not pay anything for the visit or pay minimally for medicine. As far as getting the animal spayed/neurtered they are out of their minds charging $350-$400 when anyone can go to Altered Tails and get it done for $40-$50 or get a coupon for free at the Human Society. When our pet cat died last year, they let us out of our contract and the vet even cried with us when we held our kitty and talked to him as he passed. That made me impressed. Shot and preventative plans are a good thing.

By: Dennis Buchmiller

Dennis Buchmiller — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:35:38 +0000

Banfield in Chesterfield MO caged my 2 dogs for over 6 hours before doing the Wellness procedures. Both were overloaded with urine and feces when I picked them up. That was downright cruelty on their part. How can they get by with that?

By: Chris Freyer

Chris Freyer — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:35:50 +0000

There are good and bad comments about Banfield on plenty of blogs. Having been a customer of Banfield for nearly 10 years, I have plenty to say about them. Too much to write in this small text area. I created a wiki page to explain my point of view. If interested, you can visit
http://www.thefreyers.net/doku.....ield_plans
(and no, this isn’t a spam link)

By: MRod

MRod — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:32:37 +0000

I’m an unhappy customer with Banfield. I do not feel my puppy is receiving the best service she should be receiving. Money isn’t the issue here; it’s the service I have a problem with. I tried cancelling my contract after I filed a complaint with corporate and they refused to let me. The head doctor at the clinic I go to called me and basically talked down to me–per usual, which I knew was going to happen. I’m going to call them again and tell them if they charge my card one more time I will contact my lawyer. Let’s see if then they will cancel my plan.

Banfield–both corp and the clinic–is telling me I am still paying for services complete whether I continue my plan or not. I am not a fan of keeping my pup at the clinic for four hours while they’re supposed to be giving her shots. Come to find they do more than that–without my consent. The head doctor basically told me it’s My responsibility to find out what procedures will be completed on that day. Well excuse me Doctor but if you tell me to bring her in for such and such, then why are you doing other things? Idiot. I’m through.

Suggestions???

By: Kat

Kat — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:33:27 +0000

Banfield let me cancel my plan!!!!!

The banfield plan just wasn’t working for my shepherd. They were requiring she be muzzled whenever I brough her in cause she barks. She doesn’t bite but she has that big and bad shepherd bark so the staff was nervous around her without a muzzle. I thought I would have to muzzle her at any vet until she got injured. She needed bloodwork in order to be given a certain medicine but her levels were off. They wanted a urine sample. I knew she wouldn’t cooperate as she prefers to wait until we get home so I had them print out a quote on the price. it was almost $70 for the urinalysis. So I called other vets and got their prices. Just $20 for the actual test plus visit. Hmmmm something is fishy here aren’t the plans supposed to save money? Seems like they jack up the prices on services that aren’t covered. I ended up bringing her to the vet that spayed her for the urinalysis. They had to redo the heartworm test cause the paperwork banfield sent them said the wrong test was ordered, which reminds me i need to call about that. Anyways that vet did not require she be muzzled and did just fine with her. So from now on she will be going to that vet instead. She doesn’t need anymore shots anyways. I just need to pay banfield $70 and I can cancel the plan. That isn’t too bad of a deal seeing as she has all her shots now. They even waved a little too since I was unhappy with the service.

My other dog will remain on the plan for another yr and then i’ll evaluate whether or not I want to keep it as she is getting older and requires alot more testing as she has been having health issues lately. So for her the plan is worth it. She is also on a higher plan level.

So banfield isn’t the heartless people others are reporting they are. I didn’t call the clinic to cancel I called banfield directly.

By: Kara Bennett

Kara Bennett — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:35:56 +0000

Does this company have any benifits for its employees???

By: Katrina

Katrina — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:09:18 +0000

I’m happy with my 2 dogs that are on plans. I was quoted $1500 for VCA and $600 from my vet for a simple tumor removal. I put my dog on a wellness plan and they removed the tumors during her teeth cleaning. The removal cost only $250 with biopsy. She was injured by another dog and had to be stitched up and the treatment was about $200 to fix her up. All the visits after that were free with her plan. To date we have saved at least $1000. Her plan offers a 15% discount on other services not included in her plan. The plans almost pay for themselves in just 2 visits. My sister has her dog on the same plan and has saved just as much. I’ll probably put my new puppy on a wellness plan too, maybe the one that includes her spay. I’m still not sure when I want to spay her. I waited until the absolute last minute with my shepherd but I didn’t have her spayed by banfield. I just put her on a plan when she turned one year as she wasn’t due for any vaccines until now.

In the future I might look into affordable accident/injury insurance but I’ll stick with my plans. There is not limit on how much it costs for the covered care per yr and no deductables.

The question is how much care was given prior to the death of these animals. If they are less than the yearly fee you should be able to just pay for the services and cancel it. If they are more then it is probably worth it to just continue to pay for the services. Emergency care is very reasonable. It costs $150 just to sign into the emergency clinic. Emergency visits at my previous vets were $50-60 to examine my dog. Seeing as another person who posted here paid $2,000 for a similar illness, $700 was very reasonable. I’m sure she got her money’s worth with her plan based on that.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:02:40 +0000

I had the Wellness Plan with my cat Sabrina while she was a kitten. Man, did it save me a lot of money! I got another kitten and she was already sick with giardia. Thank God Sabrina was already vaccinated for it (due to the Wellness Plan). You will get bad vets no matter what. Check out your vet. My vet was nice enough to give me antibiotics for my other kitten after they had passed an upper respitory infection 3 times prior. I was honest and asked him what I should do. He said he would prescribe medicine for my other cat so this would stop. I don’t ever regret taking my Sabrina to Bansfield. They were great with her and I’m taking my puppy to them also. Also, I took my Sabrina to the vet numerous times because I knew something was wrong with her (she wouldn’t grow or gain weight). Guess what? She had tapeworms and you can’t really test for them. You have to look at their poop. So, thank you Banfield for keeping my animal family healthy!

By: Melissa Williams

Melissa Williams — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:18:01 +0000

Banfield’s plan in no way afre for emergencies but for preventive care. If you do have an emergency you get a discount depending on what plan you are on. Plus, they have an adult dog and cat plan that covers x rays. have you ever gotten yourpet x rayed? It cost at least $2000. They have found a way to help people and be nice and compassinate in the procise. Please do not bash a company because of something you hear, experience it for your self.

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