Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.
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
Count me in! One of my dogs was on the plan for three months before I had to put him to sleep. I called banfield and told them I needed to cancel his plan and was told that I had to pay for the whole year because somehow in 3 months they had provided services that cost the same as what it costs for the whole year. Made no sense but I paid for the next 9 months until it expired. Now with my other dog I was coming up on the end of the plan but I had one more comprehensive exam to use. I made the appointment before the expiration and requested to both the tech at the desk and the nurse that I had to have a fecal done ( included in my plan). Got home and ready to board my dog, no fecal test showing. Called them and was told that for some reason they can’t explain it wasn’t done. Of course they will do it now but because my plan expired yesterday it would cost 113.00. What! I paid for the whole last year and you failed to do the test I requested and is included in the yearly plan I paid for in full and you’re going to charge me because my plan expired yesterday??unfair practices all around!
Every time I take my cat to Banfield it ends up cost us so much. We had a medical emergency and after 3 repeat visits the doctor finally said he might have FIP. This was after a blood test. Every other time we took him for blood work they told us they were not able to do it because he was not cooperating. They ended up charging us over 1000 dollars between all those visits even with the plan. They always end up doing unnecessary tests and end up stressing my boy out even more. They always comment about how he looks depresses. Of course he does, he hates being there by himself. They only offer me drop off appointments. How are they gonna do all these tests and up charge for services when the thing that helped him was some fluid injections? They offered the most expensive one. The ER I took him to after was way cheaper than any visit to Banfield.
My new 6 month old kitten got her first exam and vaccines at a Banfield location. They recorded her weight as 8.6 lbs and gave her vaccinations for rabies plus others. By the following morning my small kitten was limp and paralyzed, trying to crawl by only her front legs. I rushed her in for another exam, they recorded her weight now at 7.3 lbs!) and they couldn’t explain why she had such a severe reaction to the meds! How about incompetency? I think she may have been overdosed because they used the wrong weight when calculating the meds.
I too was convinced to get the wellness plan for her care but I don’t trust Banfield any more.
I would like to join this class action lawsuit. What steps do I need to take to join?
I love Banfield and think that my pets receive good care. The dental once a year and blood work twice a year with all office visits included is a bargain. My pets are healthy, up to date with all vaccinations and have regular blood work done with annual dental cleanings. I did have one cat that died because of Cancer, but since the dental cleaning was not yet rendered that year, I didn’t have to continue paying the monthly; it was just cancelled. I’ve had GOOD, caring doctors (veterinarians) and well-trained assistance taking care of my pets for about six years. I DO receive discounts on services and goods. It is always well documented on my receipts. I’m always happy with the price and the service.
Please add me to banfield suit ; my pet has a plan with heart plan and just recently had seisures in january this year ended up getting tests done on heart as banfield told me take him to urgent care – now seeing intenal meds vet less cheaper. Asking why not given heart meds but vet dr now seeing didnt speak on thoughts. He helped my dog and said what he needed. I asked him if he could help me see my dog agsin as know banfield cant help my dog as didnt even know test to take to follow up with next step. I comtacted banfield to not renew me and cancel . There charging me to cancel because i brought my dog in this jan 2024 renewal time . But couldnt help my dog he would of died.
My Cat, Maggie, passed in 2018 from kidney failure that they failed to diagnose until she was dying. I stayed with her, just like i did my beagle that had bowel cancer they failed to identify until it killed her. I loved my vet staff, until post pandemic. Now most of them are kids with terrible attitudes looking to cash a check. Banfield also allowed a security breach giving my ex partner access to my personal info, financial info and pet records. Which, she deleted without permission leaving my pets without coverage. Meanwhile, banfield pocketed ALL of my premiums! It was also impossible to schedule appointments and their online tools were kind of a ‘suggestion’ according to one person. The tens of thousands Mars has taken from me should be returned and Banfield strictly regulated by the federal government going forward. I would like to join this class action.
I was ripped off by Banfield and they tried to make me pay after cancellation and reported it to collections
I am a former employee. I can attest that these claims are soo true! I cannot begin to describe the ridiculous amounts that were taken. Not to mention how badly they treat other employees, including if you do have a “break” it’s basically laughed at and most of the employees had to ask permission. If you don’t fit into a “click “ you don’t fit it and you become the “do this, clean that kennel, do the laundry, etc if you cannot fit in a click you are bullied out. I was bullied out. I cried every day going to work and back home because emotionally and mentally exhausted of being a “joke “ or “stupid “ that hospital and the entire experience of being a vet assistant, pretty much ruined any chance of being successful as I did resign the practice manager even said i could come back. I fell on financial hard times and hit a brick wall and needed a job desperately. I reapplied again after they contacted the practice manager she basically said that she fired me and that I’m unemployable by Banfield. The entire brand is just not worth it.
I called previously and actually started using another vet only to find out I am being charged. I asked for a refund and they refused. I tried to get my two other dogs off the plan and of course they want to charged a huge amount of money. One of my dogs had two visits and they are saying the bill is well over$1000.