Gripes over fees that bite at some veterinary clinics

Pet owners are reminded to clarify the fees and treatments with veterinarians before taking their pets to clinics and making payments.

The Consumer Council has received 28 vet-related complaints in the first nine months of the year, twice more than last year.

Around 16 complaints were related to fees charged for general vet services, where the final cost ended up at almost double the amount quoted.

Some clinics also set a minimum charge for each drug item without clarifying the terms and conditions on the receipt.

A complainant, Choi, said he had taken his dog to a clinic and told the fee was HK$65,000 for a cholecystectomy. But he ended up being charged almost double. He added that the clinic had not notified him of the extra charges.

The clinic told the council that since Choi had signed a hospitalization and surgery consent form, which outlined the estimated cost of all possible treatments, he would not be further consulted about the treatment.

The council recommended Choi follow up through other means, such as lodging a complaint to the Veterinary Surgeons Board.

Council chief executive Gilly Wong said the 28 complaints revealed a poor communication between pet owners and clinics, adding that clinics need to improve on transparency for fees.

"Not every customer can afford the treatment plans. Clinics should consider the most effective remedies that customers can afford," Wong said.

The council also said there have been 19 complaints related to the "buy now, pay later" platform so far this year - a sharp increase to the nine received in 2021.

The platforms often tout interest-free payment in installments, usually with a repayment period of three months.

However, after reviewing the overdue payment terms, the council found that the terms varied across platforms or involved charges under various pretexts, such as deferred payment administrative charges and account reactivation handling charges, ranging from HK$50 to HK$300, or calculated as annual rates.

The interest-free installment period of some platforms was limited to the first three months. Some would even commission a third party to collect debts as well as reject, suspend or terminate accounts.

"Many jobless people, housewives, students or freelance workers do not have a stable income and may be rejected by the bank when applying for a credit card. So they are drawn to online purchases through BNPL platforms," said Nora Tam, chairman of the council's research and testing committee.

The council recommends that BNPL platforms not operated by banks apply for a money lender's license, as well as reference the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's recent guidelines to banks in order to safeguard the rights of consumers.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com