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| - Why won't Yelp let me give zero stars?!?!?
The Animal Emergency Clinic of Champaign is a scam. They charge exorbitant fees and do a very poor job. They prey on people whose animals need after hours vet care and take advantage of pet owners who are already in a tough situation. I shudder to think of how many animals go untreated because the AEC is more concerned with taking advantage of owners than taking care of pets.
The first annoying thing is that they charge about $40 for an office exam and another $40 for an emergency fee. So it's $80 just to walk in the door, without any actual medical treatment being rendered. Right there, a lot of people probably decide to risk it and wait for their regular vet to open. Then, after you've racked up $80 but before they do anything to actually treat your animal, they give you a written estimate of how much it will cost (bet on being charged the high end of the range they give you), so that you can leave without treatment if the prices are too high. I can understand why they do this, but I found it very crass the way the whole experience focuses on the money, not the animal.
I brought my dog in after she pulled out some stitches. Very minor stuff. The AEC charged me well over $200 to put in three staples!!! The original surgery itself wasn't much more than that! The itemized charges were more than twice what I would expect to pay my regular vet for the same treatment. I'm already paying a $40 charge for the emergency nature of it, so to double the going rates of everything else is really taking advantage. But they knew they had me cornered, and they ran with it,
Most concerning is the fact that they did a terrible job on this very simple procedure. The wound was not aligned correctly when they closed it, so it's now going to take longer to heal and will leave a bigger scar. Not a life or death problem by any means, but I expect top notch care (especially for what they charge), and my dog didn't get it. The portion of the incision where they put in the staples is an absolute mess.
They also charged just shy of $25 to clean the wound (!), but gave us back a dog that was covered in blood. We asked about it and were told to just wipe her down with a damp cloth. Excuse me, but I just paid you more than $200 for five minutes of substandard treatment and you can't even clean up after yourself?!?!?
This was not by any means my first experience at the AEC. In the past, they've done a very good job and charged reasonable fees. Until now, I'd been very happy with their services. Something here has changed drastically, and not for the better They were doing some renovations this time (the place was a construction zone - not very sanitary!), and I suspect that the charges we incurred weren't for the purpose of treating the dog, but to help the AEC buy more construction supplies.
I will not take my animals back to the AEC if I can help it. The pricing at AEC is insulting, but is nothing compared to the issues I have with the quality of care (or lack thereof). I've heard some negative things about the after hours care at the vet school, but I'm going to give them a try if my animals need emergency care in the future.
I think anyone affiliated with the AEC should be ashamed of themselves. Overcharging and taking advantage of people in desperate situations is inexcusable. Sick animals unquestionably end up suffering because their well meaning owners cannot afford the fleecing being done by this clinic. I expect to pay more for emergency veterinary care than a regular visit to the vet, but the fees charged at AEC are ridiculous. It is clear that the priority at AEC is maximizing profit, and that when they look at an animal in need, all they see are dollar signs. They could care less about your pet.
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