ComplaintsforVetIQ Smarter Pet Health

• Initial Complaint

  11/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid the wellness plan for my dog with VetIq, it included minor illnesses, vaccination, nail trim and some tests. I had locations close to me. It worked great for a short time but they started closing for days and weeks and it was very difficult to bring my dog there. They finally closed one location permanently and the other one was working very irregularly and finally it closed permanently today. I called customer service today because I cant continue paying for a service that I cant get. They asked me to pay ****** to cancel the membership because what I have paid since the renewal doesnt cover the services already received. I paid even I wasnt agreed because I was already paying for months for a service that I wasnt able to use regularly. How do I need to pay if it is not my fault they have closed all the locations around me? How do I have to pay when they have not been able to offer the promised service?

  Business response

  11/11/2023

  We completely understand the disappointment and frustration that the recent closures have caused. For ****, we did offer to take off the Oct payment from the amount due. Even though the centers are closing, we do ask that the owners pay for the services that have already been received. This is outlined in signed contract that is attached. Due to the amount of services received before the closure, we did ask that the owner pay for the services. Being a plan member allows you to spread payment for your pets care over a 12th month period. If the plan is cancelled before 12 months, the full cost for any services already provided must be collected. The difference between your monthly payments and full cost of services received is due upon cancellation.
  
  

  Customer response

  11/13/2023

   
  Complaint: 20855810
  
  I am rejecting this response because

  I had options for my dog wellness program like Petco, Chewy, **********************, etc but I picked VetIq because it was convenient for me. You promised a service that I wasnt able to get because either the office in ************** or the one in New Albany were closed mostly all the time. I had to drive multiple times to both to check if they were open because no one answered the phone and the information in the website was not accurate. The business hours were Tuesday to Saturday but 90 percent of the time it was closed (short of staff,  no vet, flooding). It was each time more difficult to have access to the services that I was paying that included unlimited wellness exam, nail trims, minor illnesses and vaccinations. It worked great for a short time but for over 1 year I had to try multiple times before I had the luck to find the business open or accepting more appointments. The staff itself was great, the veterinarian was wonderful but the business was terrible. If I knew that it would be so difficult I would pick a different place to have a wellness program for my dog.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  **************************** ********

  Business response

  11/14/2023

  We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Although this was a difficult decision, we believe this action will ensure that we are able to sustain our mission of providing accessible and affordable veterinary care well into the future. If the plan is cancelled before 12 months, the cost for any services already provided must be collected. This is the difference between your monthly payments and full cost of services received due upon cancellation. As stated in the contract, in the event the provider has to end the plan we will issue a refund of one month in which the cancellation occurs. When we spoke with you 11/10/23 we took that amount off what you owed for previous services.

• Initial Complaint

  09/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased the Adult Dog Smartcare plan with the location in ********, **. We have been repeatedly charged monthly for this plan. In the past 6 months, we have taken our dog to the location to be seen and each time the website says they are open, and we get there and that is not the case. When I can finally reach someone by telephone, we are told there is a Vet shortage and we must travel an additional 20 to 30 minutes (with a dog that gets car sick) to be seen. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. When we purchased the plan we did enter a contract with them, now we have called customer service to cancel since they are not available for the promised services at that location. We were told there is a fee of $130 to cancel. I explained we would have not chose that company if the location was not so very convenient. They did not hold up to their end of the contract, got rude with me when I called, and I explained the situation and how frustrated we were with all of it. Again, ****** told me the fee was necessary to cancel. They broke the contract!!!!! Not me. This is a horrible way to treat people and I am trying to have the account cancelled, and I believe a refund of monthly payments are due considering we have paid for 6 months without being able to have our pup seen by their vet.

  Business response

  09/03/2022

  We are not charging a fee to cancel the plan. We are asking that the services rendered are paid for per the contract. In this case the owner has used $395.00 in services. The total cost of the plan for 1 year is $335.88. We never charge more than the cost of the plan. We take the $335.88 minus the payments that have already been made, $195.93. The total cost we are asking be paid is $139.95, the remaining amount of the plan since it is less than the cost of the total services provided. The client can keep making the monthly payments and not renew at the end of her contract term, but we would either need to keep receiving the monthly payments, or the $139.95 to cancel the plan. 

  The contract states: 

  Cancellation:

  Either Provider or Member may cancel this Agreement at any time, but there may be monies due upon cancellation. In the event that
  cancellation of this Agreement results in monies due from Member, such monies shall be paid in full at the time of cancellation.

  In the event cancellation
  results in monies due to Member, such monies will be paid by Provider within 6-8 weeks. If Member cancels this Agreement for any reason within 4
  business days of initial enrollment, the initial enrollment fee is non-refundable. If Member cancels for any reason after 4 business days including but not
  limited to, the death or loss of Pet or transfer of ownership, whether before or after Provider has rendered services, Provider shall be entitled to receive, retain
  or recover from Member all monthly installments that have previously been paid or that become due prior to cancellation, including the installment for the
  month in which the cancellation occurs, regardless of the cancellation request date. In addition, upon cancellation prior to the end of the **** Period, if the
  total undiscounted retail value of **** services provided exceeds the sum of monthly installments collected for that **** Period, Member shall be obligated
  to do one of the following:
  a) Immediately pay full retail fees for all services provided (with all discounts reversed as if the **** had not been in effect for the **** Period) to the
  extent such fees exceed the total of monthly payments received by Provider; or
  b) Continue making the monthly payments as they become due for each remaining month until the first anniversary of the first day of that **** Period.
  In the event Provider chooses to cancel the **** except following Members default, Provider will refund a prorated portion of the initial enrollment fee (for
  cancellation in the first **** Period only) and waive any monthly payments that shall have otherwise become due under the **** for the month in which
  cancellation occurs and for all future months in the **** Period, and Provider shall be discharged from any further obligation to provide services under the
  ****.

  Customer response

  09/19/2022

  I would like to reopen the complaint. I do not feel that I should have to pay that amount when there is never anyone in that office. My dog has only been seen there twice and I have been paying this monthly amount.  Everytime I need to take him to the vet they are never in contrary to what they put as their office hours. I have had to take him to another location before bc when I took him to the ******** location it was closed even though they were supposed to be open. When I complained to their customer service I was told their is a shortage of vets and that is why I had to go to another location. It is not my fault that they don't have enough staff but the main reason I chose this vet was bc of the location. It's hard to use the benefits I'm paying for when nobody is ever available. I am not going to keep paying for something I have not been able to use. 

• Initial Complaint

  01/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  we took our dog to get a 3 year rabies shot -- because of my having covid the shot was 2 months overdue from the last shot -- the vet told me the rabies shot was good for 3 years but would only give a 1 year tag because the visit was 2 months overdue -- the said it was the law -- I checked with 3 other vets, the county and state who all said it was NOT the law -- I have tried to resolve this with VETIQ but they have given 3 versions which have changed 3 times moving from it's the law to the shots are different moving to It's just our policy.I believe they just want to force me to over medicate the dog and charge me to do so.I believe them to be (and they have proved to be) dishonest.

  Business response

  01/12/2022

  We have explained that the pet was past due for a 1-year vaccination. Due to being passed due we cannot guarantee the vaccine will cover the pet for 3-years, as this is the industry standard set by the manufacturers of the vaccines.
  
  We have offered the information for the manufacturer multiple times, and this owner refuses. We cannot modify the documents to state the pet is protected for 3-years because the pet is not. 
  
  Behringer-Ingelheim is the manufacturer of the vaccine and the vaccine information from their website reads as the following:

  https://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/animal-health/companion-animals-products/rabisin-imrab#:~:text=Rabisin%C2%AE%20%2F%20Imrab%C2%AE%20Indicated%20for%20Rabies%20%7C%20Boehringer%20Ingelheim
  
  "Rabisin / Imrab is used for the active immunization of dogs and cats to reduce mortality and clinical signs due to rabies infection. Immunity has been demonstrated one month after vaccination and has been shown to persist up to the first booster dose, (one year after primary vaccination) and up to three years following booster vaccination. "
  
  The immunity lasts for 1-year and 1-year only, not even a day late. 
  
  While it may be frustrating, this is for the safety of the pet.
  
  Thanks,
  
  PetIQ Supervisor

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩