Over Billing Woes?

[Bumpkin]

I have experienced NOT from my Trainers but from my ex Vet and my Farrier some real suspcious over charges, double visits etc…

I am starting to think this sort of thing is rampant in the Horse industry and if I had not been involved in horses earlier in my life and worked for Veterinarians for 8 years I would be paying thousands more in the last 6 months than I should be.

I have learned to comb through these charges and check dates on my calendar, question procedures and call them on these errors or judgements, that are definately errors, or experiments that I will pay dearly for.

After this past week of finding out I did not owe the ex Vet several hundred dollars more and having a go around with the Farrier.

I started to think just how many people are taken, (paying way more), because they trust the Vet and Farrier to make the right decisions or billings?

Am I in the right to question the farrier when he is asked to come put on a shoe the Vet took off, he shows up a whole week later charges me 45$ to reset the one shoe, then starts calling me within 10 days wanting to make an appt to reset all the horse’s shoes? Of course for another 125$!
Why didn’t he just reset the horses full set on the first visit?
His excuse when I told him I was not happy with that arrangement, was that his clients want to stay on their shoeing schedules.

Is anyone else finding these sort of problems or even know they are going on?

The above is just one example of the frustration I have been dealing with finding errors etc… in just the past 6 months!

[Laurel]

This has been a real “hot topic” with my family for several years over various things. I have no problem paying someone for thier services (when they have actually been received) and I agree that when you buy something from someone, they have to mark it up in order for them to make a living, but not 1000% markups!!!. I have never had a problem with farriers, but vets and trainers are another subject
Example A- vet charges $15.00 to worm my cat or dog. The vet school down the street charges $1.75 during their wellness clinics for the exact same product. GRRRRR!
Example B- same vet charges $11.00 for a single benadryl capsule when my dog gets stung by a bee.
Example C- the old barn we were at charged $15.00 a month for a daily dose of electrolytes. $15.00 worth of electrolytes will last a single horse a loonnnggg time.
O.K. I feel better now that I have gotten that off my chest.

[Coreene]

I am so fortunate. I just leave a check in my shoer’s box and it is done. If he can reset the existing shoes, he charges for a trim only. Never charges to replace a shoe.

[Bumpkin]

Congratulations Farfel!!

[OnceAThief]

At an old barn, they would be happy to Bute your horse for you… for $1.25 a gram. If you wanted Bute paste instead, that was $2.00 a dose. I kept trying to tell other boarders that it was very easy to ask the vet for a bottle of Bute (100 for $23) and have the barn give that (which was free) but no one seemed to catch on. Amazing…

Swift’s Injuries: 4 Major, 12 Minor, 9 XRays

[Bumpkin]

Farrier who reset one pad/bar shoe for 45$ came out last week and reset both front shoes and took off back shoes and did not put them back on . The bill was a whopping 130$!!
When the front bar shoes were made he charged me 125$ for them and the back shoes, and these are the same shoes!
I am waiting for him to phone me back, and I think I am definately going to be looking for a new farrier!!!

[Ghazzu]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Ok, what if a referral vet, say, for instance, did nuclear scintigraphy on both legs, instead of just the one specified, but billed you for both.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Quite often the opposite limb is scanned in order to provide a comparison of the isotope’s uptake.

[Tin]

Thankfully I don’t have a problem with over charging anymore. The only case I can think of is with my last farrier who was very heavy with his pen (would charge everyone ridiculusly for crappy work). He obviouly didn’t last long with me

We now have a great farrier who I’ve known since I was 15, way before he stared into the bussiness. He writes out a bill immediatly and we pay him before he leaves our property he’s NEVER overchared us for anything, he’s VERY fair in his wages and is the best/most requested in the area.

As for our vet, lets say that I’ve still haven’t seen a bill for my horse’s tooth surgery which took place a year ago and honestly don’t expect to see one. I’ve used him for the last 6 years and I’ve seen maybe 6 bills. I co-oped with him during school and if he doesn’t write down what he did, he forgets; result is no bill.

[CTT]

I have been blessed with some darn good and honest fariers and vets. David who did the farier work for many years for me has been a saint. With my fathers job he knew that money was tight when dady was home for a few months so instead of paying upfront the bill it was pay when you can. Although my horse goes barefooted now he is the only person in this town I would call for a shoeing or for a question about something. My Vet That I curently use is a practiceing small vet Dr. but also does his own horses. His wife Trish is a genious and never is there a moment I half to wory about my retired one. My stable vet Dr. Wells (when I boarded horses) was a kind man. I remeber when one of my tikes got sick from the heat when we first moved and he had to spend many hours out there. the bill got enormous and he turned to me and said Ill do an exchange you help me after school for a few weeks and we call it even. Since then he had beome one of my most liked vets.

[Flash44]

My trainer can shoe, and the blacksmith comes once a week anyway.

The barn has a fee schedule, so everyone is aware of what costs they may incur during the month. I’ve yet to be over charged (to the best of my knowledge!).

[SuaveReno]

She used to buy supplies and have the vet charge them to me saying they were for one of my horses.

What a creep!

Fortunately we are no longer with her

[Cactuskate]

Well call me spoiled. I am so fortunate to have a great farrier. He is the only one in the county I would trust to shoe for me, so it was a good thing he took me as his client years ago.

When my horse was a gangly 3yr old, he would gallop out of a shoe with great regularity. No matter how many pairs of bell boots he had on.

All I had to do was call the farrier, tell him Bud had a “flat tire” and he would be out, usually the next day, to tack the shoe back on. No charge for fixing flats!

Now vets are a different subject, I used to use one that was great for emergencies. She did a wonderful job on a gelding I had owned with a bad heart. She got me throught that ordeal with great professionalism and compassion. But her “billing” system stunk. I hadn’t received an invoice for some work long after the fact and when I finally called for a balance due, they somehow missed a $300.00 payment.

I asked for itemization and left it in their hands to show me how they came to this number. My records were fairly intact. I never heard another word.

I still use her for emergencies, but not beyond that. If only these people would realize they are great professionals, farriers or veterinarians, but not always good business people. Hire someone to keep their books and everyone will be happier.

“The older I get, the better I used to be.”

[Broken_Line]

Ok, what if a referral vet, say, for instance, did nuclear scintigraphy on both legs, instead of just the one specified, but billed you for both.

[MarcyW]

Laurel - Your veterinarian is charging you for their time, professional advice, and facilities, as well as accepting some liability for your animal. You are not paying for just a pill or whatever. Try to walk into your doctor’s office and get a benadryl pill for $11. Wellness clinics can de-worm your animal for a fraction of the cost because their services are limited and profit is generated from high client volume. More is better. A full-service facility has much more overhead. When offering comprehensive care, it is impossible to have the high patient volume wellness clinics can accomodate. If you have money/time constraints, go to the wellness clinic. If you want continual care a la family physician, go to your regular vet. One is not better than the other. Please don’t use this disparaty as an example of price gouging. thank you.

I’ve had the opposite problem recently - new barn, new farrier. The guy looked at my horse’s hooves which hadn’t been trimmed in 3 months and were a little long and flared, said “they look great ecxept for a little white line” barely filed a little, and charged me $5!! In this case, I got what I paid for!

All is well with a new farrier. No white line

[Ghazzu]

The nuclear scan may have been done on both legs for purposes of comparison.

[Bumpkin]

I have experienced NOT from my Trainers but from my ex Vet and my Farrier some real suspcious over charges, double visits etc…

I am starting to think this sort of thing is rampant in the Horse industry and if I had not been involved in horses earlier in my life and worked for Veterinarians for 8 years I would be paying thousands more in the last 6 months than I should be.

I have learned to comb through these charges and check dates on my calendar, question procedures and call them on these errors or judgements, that are definately errors, or experiments that I will pay dearly for.

After this past week of finding out I did not owe the ex Vet several hundred dollars more and having a go around with the Farrier.

I started to think just how many people are taken, (paying way more), because they trust the Vet and Farrier to make the right decisions or billings?

Am I in the right to question the farrier when he is asked to come put on a shoe the Vet took off, he shows up a whole week later charges me 45$ to reset the one shoe, then starts calling me within 10 days wanting to make an appt to reset all the horse’s shoes? Of course for another 125$!
Why didn’t he just reset the horses full set on the first visit?
His excuse when I told him I was not happy with that arrangement, was that his clients want to stay on their shoeing schedules.

Is anyone else finding these sort of problems or even know they are going on?

The above is just one example of the frustration I have been dealing with finding errors etc… in just the past 6 months!

[cbv]

While I have had some incredibly complicated vet bills in the last two years…and I admit to not going through them all with a fine tooth comb…I am sure under-charges equalled any unintentional over-charges. And the small kindnesses and knowledgeable care I can’t adequately repay.

And I am crazy about both my former and my current farriers.

No one would call me lucky that knows my animal related woes these past few years…but I do feel that the professional help I have received has been just that…and a little more.

[AAJumper]

Suave, that is absolutely absurd! Thank goodness you got away from the evil ex-T.

[Merry]

We don’t have billing problems with our farrier because I sit right down with him at every single visit (we even have a little patio table with an umbrella!) and he writes up individual slips for each horse and I write out the check.

As for the vet, the only errors have been in our favor.

I think the problem is worse when clients are at the mercy of a big equestrian center and their trainer makes the vet/farrier appt’s. and then passes on the charges to the clients. My girlfriend once got billed 3 times in four months for her horse’s teeth being floated!

[Smiles]

Well I think sometimes our shoer over charges. Instead of putting on four new shoes he’ll just reset the old ones, and you’ll get charged for the new ones. We do know how much he charges for everything because he leaves a price list, but over charging is over charging whether you know the price or not!
As far as vets go you need to call them on it if you think something is up with their billing. If they are wrong they should fix it. I’ve not really had a problem with the vet. DELIGHT the problem with having your own bottle of pills is that if you give them to your barn they may use them without your knowledge on others. I think if you horse has problems on given days you give them the pills you want them to use in a plastic baggy, and if they new more then they just ask! Of course if you horse only needs one tab the could just give you a freebie.