Please, do not go to Sploot’s Veterinary Care (specifically Platt Park). You risk getting scammed from constant curveballs they throw at you and getting billed for unwanted services.
After taking my 2 cats in for initial exams, 2 different recommendations (and verbal estimates) were given by 2 different Sploot doctors. 2 doctors were involved because one left days after the 1st exam. What I was told I was coming in for was not what I got. During the 2nd visit, Dr. Dawsey proceeded by trying to charge me for another 2 initial exams, then took both cats to the back room and performed unwanted and expensive bloodwork.
When I addressed these, Dawsey went on to explain how he’s “fighting Colorado state law” to prevent the need for another initial exam when a doctor leaves (yet, he still charges YOU for it). When I reached out to Shelby Little (Sploot COO), she later claimed these were actually “dental consults.” Yet, both invoices (1 + 2) say “Exam fee.” Not dental consults. This is only the 2nd visit and I’m already being charged twice for the same service, then lied to about what the service is.
To add to confusion, Dr. Dawsey’s new recommendations were roughly $1800 more than the previous estimate and involved dental work for both cats. The bloodwork alone was $299 per cat. In the midst of confusion, Dr. Dawsey took both 2 cats to the back for $598 bloodwork. A roughly $3,000 written estimate was sent via email a few hours after the bloodwork was done.
Shelby discounted the first estimate because it was “verbal.” Yet, Sploot does not require patients to sign approval contracts. Which means Sploot’s doctors can perform unwanted services. This happened even when I repeatedly requested the original doc’s recommendation.
After all this, here’s the response I got in a Google review:
Files
- Invoice for initial exams + Rabies vaccinations (6-28-2023)
- Invoice for 2nd initial exams (waived during visit) + bloodwork (7-12-2023)
- Estimate for cat 1 (7-13-2023)
- Estimate for cat 2 (7-13-2023)
Sploot used “proactive” 3 times in their response to my review. But as you can see:
- The invoices show 4 initial exams for 2 cats (due to Sploot’s doctor leaving). Had I not argued with them in their office, they would have charged me twice for the same service.
- The 2nd invoice included more initial exams, not dental consults.
- During the 2nd initial exam, Dr. Dawsey took both cats to the back room for $598 unwanted bloodwork.
- The estimate for the full procedure was sent hours after the bloodwork was completed.
Why does Sploot have such great reviews then?
I’m guessing because they flag bad reviews and have a relationship with Yelp. But when responses aren’t censored, you get quite a bit more people sharing similar experiences.
Sploot’s Highlands location has similar stories.
Sploot’s COO Refuses To Acknowledge Wrongdoing Or Change Their Policies
In an email, Shelby Little went on to say “we do pre-op bloodwork before generating the estimate for the procedure just in case we find something abnormal and need to take a different route.” But while Sploot goes by written estimates, they do not use written approval contracts.
Lies From A “Premium” Yet
I was willing to pay more with Sploot as I wanted a good vet. In the beginning, they drill how “transparent” they are into you.
But when things go wrong, Dr. Dawsey and Shelby Little start lying out of their teeth. Talking about how the 2nd exams were actually “dental consults.” How they proactively communicated the financial information in writing. And how they proactively waived the 2nd initial exam fees.
Don’t support people who do business like this, please.
I also filed a ripoff report. Based on NextDoor comments I’ve seen, there seem to be quite a few Sploot customers who got ripped off. Please, share your experience and help put this to an end.
Tom
