Confused about vet's policy concerning Care Credit.

[Germanshepherdlova]

I switched vets because of my GSD being unhappy with his old vet-I have a thread from a few months ago that explains that situation. So far the new vet is great-except for one thing, their policy regarding Care Credit. At my previous vet's office you may use your Care Credit Card whenever you choose to-and they will run it through as six months interest free. With all the skin problems my GSD has that was really great for us.

At the new vets office I was informed that Care Credit could only be used if you were paying for a surgery and only if the cost of the surgery exceeds $300. Doesn't the credit card company pay the money to them right away? And if this is correct then why should the vets office care if I use my Care Credit Card or not? Anyone know-because I am confused.

[Emoore]

Maybe the vet gets charged a percentage by Care Credit, the way credit card companies charge merchants a percentage of the sales?

Just thinking out loud here.

[crackem]

don't know how it works for vets, but i'm sure it's similiar to those of human providers. You get to set the limits you accept in your office because CC charges you based on the amounts charged. It's not worth it to allow it to be used as a simple credit card becuase you just pay more in fees as a provider.

[arycrest]

Why not talk to your vet (or the owner of the clinic) and see if you could pay their CC fee if they charge anything for you that's under their $300 CC limit?

[Germanshepherdlova]

Perhaps that is why, but if that is the case then I wonder why my previous vets office has no problem with it. And the receptionist at the vets office said something to me along the lines of-if there is a surgery then we need to get our money within the six months no interest period because we aren't going to wait longer than that. I was like what? This is when I was discussing a surgery for my cat with her. What does she mean-we need to get our money-I am sure that the credit card company pays them right away and that is why I'd owe it to Care Credit and not to them. I don't understand this-I think this receptionist may be more confused than I am. lol

[Germanshepherdlova]

Originally Posted by arycrest

Why not talk to your vet (or the owner of the clinic) and see if you could pay their CC fee if they charge anything for you that's under their $300 CC limit?

I am thinking that I most certainly will not pay their fee-I am going to take my cats and other dog back to their old vet. GSD can stay with this one for now-but I may also look into finding somewhere else for him. Receptionist is a bit snippy and if the other vets in my area are letting you use Care Credit without a problem, I don't understand why they are making an issue of it at this particular office.

[Emoore]

You have no idea how many businesses I've been associated with where the doctor, mechanic, veterinarian, trainer, etc was an excellent professional and the receptionist was a clueless, idiotic short-timer who got hired because she's related to Marge in billing and they're both on the way out.


Please don't judge a business by the receptionist.

[Germanshepherdlova]

Originally Posted by Emoore

You have no idea how many businesses I've been associated with where the doctor, mechanic, veterinarian, trainer, etc was an excellent professional and the receptionist was a clueless, idiotic short-timer who got hired because she's related to Marge in billing and they're both on the way out.


Please don't judge a business by the receptionist.

I know but the problem is that she is the one that you have to talk to when you schedule an appointment, call with a question regarding one of your pets, speak to upon entering, and speak to on the way out. The first and last person-a representative of the business. I met a neighbor who told me that she used to go to that same vets office but left because of the rude receptionist. I do, however, understand what you are saying but as a business owner-they need to understand the important role their receptionist plays with the customer and how an ill behaved receptionist can cost their company customers-perhaps that is the reason that this vets office can't afford to allow their customers to use Care Credit-maybe this receptionist has chased away too many of their customers. Just a thought.

[Emoore]

I definitely hear what you're saying there.

[Liesje]

Originally Posted by crackem

don't know how it works for vets, but i'm sure it's similiar to those of human providers. You get to set the limits you accept in your office because CC charges you based on the amounts charged. It's not worth it to allow it to be used as a simple credit card becuase you just pay more in fees as a provider.

Maybe this is the case. Same reason why some large stores let you use a debit or credit card for *any* transaction, some have minimum amounts, and some smaller stores can't do it at all. If you're WalMart, you can afford the marginal fee even if 100 people come in and charge a 50 cent candy bar, but if you're the stand alone "mom and pop" ice cream shop, maybe you can't. I'm really not sure how Care Credit works, but just because some vets allow it for everything doesn't mean they aren't getting charged or loosing a little bit, maybe they can afford it and make up for it with the amount of business being done while others can't.