vet went 150 bucks over estimate for gunea pig!

[smaug]

What would you guys do?My wifes guinea pig had an infected eye and it had to be removed yesterday.She was given an estimate of 165 dollars and when she picked it up today she was hit with a bill for 305 bucks.She only paid half when she picked it up but told them she would pay the rest in a month.We would never have aggreed to do the surgery if they would have told us 300 dollars and the vet was aware that we had a limit as to how much we would pay.I am sorely tempted to not pay the rest even though they may win in court.Here is a poll for you all.Leave comments as well.

[Gayle]

I can understand completely how you feel. The thing is sometimes, things appear unexpectedly, or further effort is needed especially with surgery. You never know exactly what needs to be done, until you have the animal excuse the term "opened up" and can actually see the entire problem. Sometimes the animals require further anesthesia, or meds. I have no idea if this is what happened or not. Did the Vet offer any explanation at all? If any of these were the case the Vet is put in a bad situation, do the work and charge more, do not do the work and have to perform surgery again, or have the animal die. It is a tough call, and I am sure if you spoke to them about it they would agree to half the overrage.

[Dave66]

The vet kind of has you over a barrel on this one, I'm afraid. Estimates are just that, estimates; nothing written in stone. Offer to split the difference. If they decline, you'll have to take them to circuit court. More than double the estimate is bad business, so it would behoove them to work with you for a more equitable solution, as alienating a customer is never a good idea.
More people know about their price gouging the more people will use a different vet. If they have any sense, they'll make this right.

Dave

[Red]

Yeah i would try to deal with them..
I am sorry smaug :/

[smaug]

I just talked to them a few minutes ago.They agreed to accept 185.To clear a few tings up my wife was verbally assured that the 160 est was probably a bit on the high side.The vet informed me that the estimate was a mistake,I informed her that is not my fault or my problem,they agreed.Ive been going to this vet for nigh on 25 years and just within the past 3 years they have gotten very money hungry,Im loyal,which keeps me there.The fact that they worked with me will keep me there just a bit longer.Seeing as how this poll is kind of solved already maybe we could all share our thoughts on the vet business,good and bad.Im game.Thank you all very much for your input.

[Sounguru]

Where's the selection to have the Vet put to sleep... :-)

[Mvjnz]

I would ask for an explanation of why it cost so much more. Maybe there were complications. But if it was a straight forward surgery with nothing unexpected happening I'd refuse to pay more than what they quoted. I don't know how it is over there, but over here when you get a quote, they have to stick with it, even if it ends up costing them more or taking longer than what they first thought.

[Northernguy]

I've been there, payed half over. The rest is a sad story and I cannot go there!

[MeganL3985]

You cannot tell me that you can get an animal spayed for $150 but they can't take a guinea pigs eye out for less than $300? Sorry to be so blunt, but I wouldn't pay it. I could see a little bit over the estimate, but not twice as much...thats just ridiculous. I do agree however to find out why the estimate nearly doubled. I would want a detailed and itemized reciept of everything that was done and what it cost..then go from there. Lawyers often give free consultations...so if you feel the bill isn't justified...I would atleast go to see what the lawyer says. There might actually be something more to it than just your situation...they may want to contact others that might have had similar problems.

[cocoa_pleco]

I voted split the difference, they did go over, but the work had to be done

[Lady Hobbs]

Glad he come down on his price. An estimate is supposed to be at least near what was quoted. Better than the $750 I paid for a cat once only to have to have him put to sleep when it was found he could not be saved.

[smaug]

The final deal we reached was 180 bucks vs the 160 they estimated.I suppose I should be happy with that ,but if I wouldnt have had the nerve to stand my ground on it they certainly would have taken the xtra 150.

[Holyvision]

There sure are some stupid people in the world...

...looks like it's time to purge the gene pool again.

[Sharon]

After owning two dogs, both who have passed due to old age, I've come to the conclusion that a lot of vets take advantage of the love we have for our animals. It's a VERY lucrative business!

[Lady Hobbs]

Sure enough. Like that stupid $750 cat! Vet said he would medicate and keep him overnight. Probably cost $60. That didn't work, he'd have to keep him a couple more nights and more medication. Oops. That didn't work and now he'd have to do this and that, take xrays, try more new medications. Had I gotten anywhere near that price as an estimate first trip there, I'd have said forget it! Especially when I ended up having to put it to sleep anyway.

[Kuli_Loach]

I had a dog 2 days for parvo that passed. All they did was put him in a cage with an IV and it costed 250$.