Emergency Veterinary Services of Roanoke

Review: On 2/4/15 I had transferred my very ill Golden Retriever to the Emergency Vet Svcs from my vets office to be monitored post-op after emergency surgery for a cancerous splenic mass. As there are no other options in the valley, we of course would take our beloved pet to were she could get the care needed that night. Upon arrival we were presented with an estimate of the charges and told we be required to pay a percentage. We paid this, no question on our part. We understand the policy (as we have been there before) and then we were told we would pay the remaining balance upon picking [redacted] up the next morning. The next morning I was presented with a bill, I paid it in full and my statement said I have a zero balance. I never gave it another thought until 4 weeks later I received a letter stating essentially they had audited their records and discovered I owed them more money for an EKG. Their website states they do not bill for services, they presented me a statement that says I have a zero balance due. At what point when does the potential for being billed end? 1 month, 6 months,2 years? I think this is poor customer service. I should not be penalized for their inability to audit and bill at the time of service. If they are inflexible with their billing practices and are unwilling to bill so that pet owners can afford to pay for the services then they too should have to adhere to their own policy. It should be a 2 way street. I did my part, I honored their policies and did what was asked. I should not have to cont. to worry that I will receive ongoing bills even after I assumed I have resolved my obligations to this entity. It is concerning that I tried to contact them to resolve this by requesting the mailing address and names of the owner(s). I was told by [redacted], office staff, that they were run by a Board of Directors but she had no idea how I could contact them. Then she stated they were owned by a couple of locals vets but she didn't know who they were.Desired Settlement: I think they should first make their business practices more transparent. Their staff should be helpful during calls with concerns.My first choice is to have this $48 removed from my bill since I have a statement saying I have a zero balance.( that is until they changed their minds)

Business

Response:

I received the complaint from the Revdex.com you filed and was surprised that this was the first I heard of this. I am sorry that you spoke with staff that did not direct your complaint to me and I have addressed the staff directly about this. I apologize that you feel like our services were not up to the standard that I hold them to. It is our new policy that we audit all medical records and charges at the time of discharge to make sure our billing is accurate. As you know, people make mistakes and we want to make sure that we are charging people appropriately for the services that we provide. We strive to provide the highest quality medicine that we possibly can. We want to make sure that we are being as accurate as possible. This is a practice that we adopted from the human hospitals and from other referral hospitals that have patients with extended stays. In your case, the staff did not go over our new policies or have you sign the acknowledgement of those so of course I am happy to refund your account for the missed EKG charge. I called you and left you a message today to try to speak with you. When you call back, please let the receptionist know and we can refund your credit card. I am happy to speak with you about this matter if you have further questions or concerns. I am happy to provide a copy of our new policy if you would like as well. I can be reached at the clinic at ###-###-####. Dr. [redacted], DVM Mrs. [redacted], I realized that you never paid the bill for the $48 that you received so I have adjusted your account to reflect a zero balance. I apologize for the error in my previous email.Dr. [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,