* We just shelled out over 800 bucks for our cat Nermal to get some tests done last month. They won't accept payments and I don't know what to do. If it was a kid, the hospital wouldn't just tell us basically to go to heck. This is our kid!
2007-07-19 05:48:50 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
All your answers were helpful,I appreciate all.
2007-07-19 23:43:10 · update #1
Unfortunately, I think most don't because they don't have to. Sad, but true. Doctors that treat people take an oath, vets do not.
The good news is that there are vets that are true animal lovers out there. Although they may not take payments, some good hearted docs out there work on a sliding scale. Others have even been known to work pro bono in certain situations. Personally, I would contact my local humane society. Often, they will use a low cost or sliding scale vet that they can refer to you. Good luck. I feel your pain. I too regard my cat as my "child".
2007-07-19 05:57:13 · answer #1 · answered by JLea 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I worked in 2 different animal clinics over the course of 8 years. Both would accept payment plans, but only for close friends or family. They would not do it for any regular client because of the high risk of the owner not paying or showing up again. Even $800 isn't really enough money to go through the hassel of hiring an attorney, going through collections, going to court, etc. Unfortunately, non-payment happens a lot in clinics that give owners the benefit of the doubt, and now very few still allow it - it's ruined it for the rest of us! I recently moved cross country and no longer work in a vet clinic. When my cat broke his paw, I ended up with a bill for $2000! I was in the same boat as you - thank goodness for credit cards!
Good luck!
2007-07-19 13:03:30 · answer #2 · answered by tiger_3leg 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why wasn't this issue sorted out before the tests were done?
The hospital I work at does not accept payments - if we did, our business wouldn't exist. On the rare occasions we have allowed people to pay their bill in installments, the bill usually ends up never fully paid. The business is already £6000 in debt from unpaid bills even with this strict policy. I would imagine your vet surgery has similar problems, but they should've made their policy clear to you before the tests were done, and directed you elsewhere if you were unable to agree to their terms of business.
Chalice
2007-07-19 13:34:54 · answer #3 · answered by Chalice 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hospital for people can recover a loss from the goverment, I'd imagine.
However, animal clinics cannot.
I'd bet that most hospital bills are not paid. The clinics need money to stay open.
2007-07-19 12:54:08 · answer #4 · answered by davidthought 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
they figure they won't get paid.
2007-07-19 18:17:42 · answer #5 · answered by beachy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋