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Class Action Lawsuit Says Banfield Pet Hospital Didn’t Deliver Promise
By Dominic Rivera
A class action lawsuit filed by lead plaintiff Gregory Pero against Banfield Pet Hospital alleges it does not deliver the promised discounts and savings under its “Optimum Wellness Plan,” which covers more than 1 million pets nationwide.
“Banfield aggressively markets, advertises and sells the plans that purport to offer deep savings and discounts for preventative pet care services and related pet care products,” class action the lawsuit states. Pero alleges that Banfield did not provide the promised savings and discounts, instead upselling unnecessary pet care to its clients.
Banfield’s Optimum Wellness Plan charges a one-time membership fee of $49.95. There is a monthly payment, which according to Banfield could come to about $32 for an adult dog under the cheapest plan. There are reports that pet owners are paying even more and racking up bills when they take their pets to Banfield, according to the class action lawsuit.
Pero’s adult dog is under the mid-level plan costing him $479.40 per year. He says Banfield promised a “minimum annual savings” of $1,008.61. He said that he would have never signed up for the Wellness Plan of he had known about its true costs. He also allege that Banfield “routinely inflates medication costs and tacks fees onto lab tests, further overstating the plans’ benefits.”
“In truth, many plan clients save nothing and others save far less than promised. The savings depend on Banfield providing bundled pet care products and services over the course of an entire plan year. However, Banfield does not actually provide all of the bundled products and services to plan clients and/or the clients do not need all the products and services, and as a result the purported savings evaporate,” the Banfield Pet Hospital lawsuit states.
“Importantly, if the client cancels during the plan year any savings may be wiped out, leaving the client with little more than a history of overpayments. The advertised minimum annual savings also ignore the costs of unnecessary pet care products and services upsold to clients, as well as bogus ‘hospitalization’ and ‘professional service’ fees that Banfield assesses on top of other charges for services supposedly rendered.”
Banfield outlets are located in PetSmart stores but is not named in the lawsuit. Mars, the maker of M&Ms, Twix and Skittles, as well as Pedigree and Whiskas pet food brands, owns the majority stake in the company.
In his class action lawsuit, Pero alleges that for the past four years, “Banfield has misrepresented — and continues to misrepresent — the nature and amount of savings and discounts to be realized through the purchase and use of the wellness plan.”
Aside from asking that the lawsuit be certified as a class action, Pero is seeking damages for unfair business practices, consumer law violations, fraud and intentional misrepresentation.
All class action and lawsuit news updates are listed in the Lawsuit News section of Top Class Actions
280 thoughts onClass Action Lawsuit Says Banfield Pet Hospital Didn’t Deliver Promise
I have this health plan on my cat you think I need to cancel it.
I worked for the company as a hospital leader i was forced to push the plan and make sales, if you think you are getting or are getting a deal you are so wrong.
Anyone know how you can jump on this class action lawsuit? I personally know 4 people who were ripped off by Banfield and would like to join it. Any advice is helpful.
Just like a crazy liberal dog lover to come on here and comment even though she doesn’t plan on filing against Banfield. You are crazy lady, go see someone about your problems. Next your going to tell us Obamacare is great and we should all be so lucky to lose the insurance we work so hard to keep. LOSER!!! Go Away doggy!!
Jeffrey, we know you dig holes for a living, so let it go buddy. The things you say will never matter, but you’re too stupid to understand this.
I purchased the puppy wellness plan and was told if I changed my mind about neutering him I would just have to pay the difference of the plan that included it. Every time I came in for visits they constantly kept mentioning it. They sounded like broken records. “You would just pay the difference, you would just pay the difference and make sure to do it before the year is up so the cost is less expensive. When I finally decided to neuter my 8 month old puppy I made my appointment and drop him of that day. The lady that checked me in said you will owe 451.00. I said no, I was told I would pay the difference. The she said ok and took my puppy. No miscommunication there right!….wrong! When I picked him that afternoon and was told again I owe 451.00. I said no, I was told I would pay the difference of the other plan that included it. She had to get the practice manager. The practice manager said your plan does not include neutering so this what you have to pay. I said your staff told me every time I came in If I changed my mind about neutering I would just pay the difference of the other plan. She told me my staff does not use words like that and there’s nothing I can do. And that she was sorry about the miscommunication. I told there was no miscommunication and I’m not paying 451.00. I should be paying 193.29. They just tell you what you want to hear. I will be battling with corporate now. Wish me LUCK!!!!
So far all of you sound like a bunch of EDIT. I have had the wellness plan, and have saved over $2300 this year. And they have been nothing but helpful and caring to my dog who has been sick. EDIT
I worked for the company, you are fool if you think you are saving money, the whole company is based on making profits and they don’t give a crap about your pets health. If they do something wrong they will settle right away that’s how they keep people quite. My boss told me to lie and coverup a pets death, that was my last time I worked for this company. All higher mangers don’t have any vet exp.
my Dog Died Because Of There Stupidity
Mine too! They killed my Missy!
Mine did too! :(
Hello John,I read your reply and I just came from Banfield. I took my dog for a spay and come out with a sliced spleen! The Dr I requested didn’t do the surgery, I wasn’t notified of the complication or that she was even finished. I called for a checkup aND I’m told she was ok. Come to pick her up and Dr tells me what she had done. Do you know the companies attorneys? I’m going full throttle on Banfield and taking them down. Jeffreygear1@gmail.com if you have any info
I purchased Banfield for my dog.I took him to a dog park every day.The dog came down with kennel cough,I thought banfield gave him something to stop this from happening.I called them to let them know my dog was diagnosed with kennel cough,they wanted me to bring him into their office which was well over an hours drive since we had moved from where we were the first time I purchased it.I just paid for the other vet to take care of it and told banfield to stick it.
I had the same plan and was fed up of their constant “additional feed” It was also very challenging to cancel it. Oh boy! I have stories about this guys!!
We had the banfield wellness it didn’t do anything every time they come up with a reason why it wasn’t covered . We had puppy’s that had to be fixed my wife Bonnie Mcclarren thought it would pay for it self we’ll at six months they got sick from the hospital ( banfield) some kind of skin eat flesh they charged us hundreds of dollars after a month of see my boys in pain and no money left I took to a vet with inn 10 minutes I was there the vet had to put both of them down I can’t give you the other vets name he did it on the side also cream matted them and did not charge me but promised never to give his or her name. But after my kids 2 young boys came home and found out the dogs we gone I called banfield . They told me on the phone no one is perfect. So about a month went by we started getting phone calls from banfield say we owed them for the last 2 months. Now 2 years later I tell every one I know don’t bring your best friend there it cost you there life and a hole lot of money. If you need any Moore info please call me or email and I’ll give all my info. It’s about time someone took the time to do something.
Last summer I purchased this plan from the Fort Collins location. The doctor asked me for an addtional $80 for heart worm meds for the dog even though they told me the plan covered everything the first year. I tried to pull out of the plan and was denied and then they bounced my bank account after billing me when they told me they wouldn’t bill me. I am very happy to see this class action in place!