Full Show: Clark Gets a 'Sleazy' Sales Call and The Outrageous Cost of Vet Bills Right Now

After switching internet providers, Clark received a “sleazy” sales call that made him do a double take. Clark explains his experience and what he learned after some digging so it won’t happen to you. Also, we love our pets but vet bills can be incredibly expensive. There are a few things you can do to save money before your next visit with your fluffy friend.

Plus, Christa shares your #AskClark questions and Clark gives his take. All this and more on the May 16, 2024, episode of The Clark Howard Show.

00:00 - Intro
01:10 - Clark Gets a "Sleazy" Sales Call and
07:07 - Ask Clark - Best and Safe Home Security
09:08 - Ask Clark - Renting Car via Turo
10:47 - Ask Clark - Passive Income to Make Up Cost for Cleaning Up Large Area
14:27 - The Outrageous Cost of Vet Bills Right Now
19:25 - Ask Clark - Moving 529 Plan to Fidelity
22:29 - Ask Clark - Linking Insurance Information to Credit Karma after to Mint Dissolved
24:12 - Ask Clark - Locker at Ceder Point Prices

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Our Promise to You:

[TeKnoVKNG]

The problem with emergency vets is that you usually wind up having to go to them when your own vet isn't open on the weekends. We had some issues with one of our cats and it was a life and death situation on a Saturday/Sunday when our normal vet wasn't open so we were basically held hostage by the one emergency vet in our area. They did the same thing, brought out a clipboard with a sales pitch and then they got taken aback when I didn't react kindly to this and just said, do what you need to do to keep the cat alive/fix the issue. After the procedure they wanted us to allow them to send him to a vet hospital to stay overnight, when it was pretty clear he was out of the woods and just needed monitoring at home. The bill would have been insane if we had allowed that and they tried to hard talk us into it by telling us how irresponsible it was to not give him the overnight monitoring. I asked the sales person if the vet hospital was staffed overnight and she told me that it wasn't so I just turned it back around on her by saying I'd stay up all night with my cat to make sure he was fine, but what good would it do if he was in a cage in some strange place and there was no one there if something happened to him? I was met with stunned silence. They were so upset with us not falling for their extra services and fees, that they refused to take the catheter out that they had put in to help with his urinary tract infection, and told us their doctor was "on vacation" when we called back the next day to see if they would do the removal. It was just a giant hassle overall and instead of acting like they were concerned/wanted to help our cat in the emergency situation, they acted like car salesmen with zero empathy.

[lisaholt-adamec]

I brought my cat, Little Richard to emergency for an injury to his paw. $1, 265 to patch him up and they said he would have to have his arm amputated which they could do for another $7, 000. They gave me the option to take him to a regular vet but the procedure would have to be done within a week. I opted for that and the vet I took him to said he disagreed about the amputation and it took 6 weeks of regular visits @ $125 per visit, but that was significantly less expensive, and Little Richard is fine and dandy on all fours!

[AthaLO]

How unfortunate to be preyed upon during an emotional time with a pet at an emergency room. Shame on those people!

[crazykat]

Clark, I continue to be amazed by your exceptional communication skills, presentation, thorough knowledge, and solid advice! Thank you so much 😊

[MsVictory]

The soulless private equity vultures have discovered that pet owners will pay a fortune to save their beloved pets. I am in cat rescue in WV and almost every vet clinic has been bought out and all require basically full payment up front before care (not only emergency vets). The average cost of basic spay for cat is $150. We get calls begging for help with these costs every day! The costs are just plain insane and immoral (just like human medical care)!

[MW-greatteacher]

I feed my dogs (both rescue mutts-excellent alarm systems) the Costco dog food dry with a small amount of wet. They get healthy snacks. I don't take them to dog parks or anywhere where they might get diseases or other dogs who might hurt them. They have a huge yard, get lots of outside time and they sun for their vit d. They stay healthy and we stay safe. We've been through all the high vet bills for naught.

[ricardodavila]

Either you get robbed by burglars or you get robbed by trashy scamy companies like ADT. It was extremely easy to get into (like stepping into a hidden hole) but extremely difficult to get out of my ADT contract. No contracts for me I rather live as free as possible.

[codgerjim]

Always follow the money. AT&T like most companies will do anything to increase income. Most businesses have no morals. Trust no one who calls you.

[donna-nh]

Great show Clark & Christa ! I’m wondering what your thoughts are on pet insurance. Have a wonderful day!

[upperechelon]

Private Equity firms = Plague of locusts. A good one.😅😅😅

[SJR-ox]

Yes corporations have been taking over veterinary clinics/hospitals for 20+ years. They started by saturating big cities like Seattle and LA due to those owners statistically spending large amounts on their pets. It’s truly disgusting the things I saw due to veterinarians being paid essentially on commission. Clients being told their pet will just suffer without euthanasia just cause the doctor doesn’t want to take the time to explain what would be required for the pet’s extremely complicated treatment and they are judging that they won’t do it. Time is money out of the doctors pocket. Get ‘em in get em out. I also saw a doctor let a kitten (very obviously with a congenital heart condition) suffer for an entire 8 hour shift and then right before his shift was done tell the clients there was no hope and perform euthanasia. The euthanasia was extremely obvious upon initial exam. The kitten never would have survived surgery. Extremely tiny, underweight, exhausted and gasping for breath to the point where he couldn’t even sleep. The doctor just wanted the oxygen and critical care payout for the full 8 hour shift. Now the veterinary field is slowly adopting having all staff earning bonuses and commissions based on how well the hospital does each month. It’s disgusting. The only thing protecting patients in the human and vet field is nurses who aren’t blinded by $$$. They make an hourly rate, so they tend to take more time, have more integrity and advocate for patients when corporate greed is impacting patient care. I expect that this model will be fully adopted by human medicine in no time. Also get ready for tons of Clark stinks telling you corporations have only bought like 8% of clinics. That gaslighting with the same % has been going on for 20year😂. Retiring vets don’t want to sell their practices to other vets anymore. Why would they when they can get at least double selling it to corporate 😂

[kati-ana]

It's very unfortunate that this is happening with the veterinarian business. Who it's hurting are all those animals who need to be adopted but most who want to adopt can't afford the vet bills so they pass on saving an animals life. My vets have hiked up their rates so much it's crazy and worse the care is mediocre. They are gouging us with a nasty attitude. It's everywhere. I've tried four different vets now. My dog is very ill and I have one other dog and this will be it for me sadly. I just can't afford having more pets even though I'd hoped for at least two more rescues. I've decided to foster.

[kenfrank]

I had my cat euthanized 5 years ago due to cancer. I was charged $225 and it was done by a tech, not the vet.
4 years ago I brought my other cat in for a physical exam, teeth cleaning, and shots. Total cost was $737.

[daninraleigh]

I used to work for a parent company of ADT - Everyone hates them.
Story #1. If your home burns down because the fire/burglar system did not notify the fire dept, they will take no responsibility for the failure AND you are still responsible for paying the monthly fee for remainder of the contract on your home that burned down!.
Story #2. My brother's company had a regular weekly false door alarm signal that required a programming change to solve it. ADT would not fix it because the person who signed the contract was not available to agree to the change (because he died 3+ years earlier).

[brettsorge]

I am a big fan of Ring in two homes. They give you lots of options and are very dependable. Plus if you do monitoring with them they will replace any defective equipment. I am grandfathered in monitoring for $ 100.- per year thru 2025.

[christinao]

The best vets will give you a quote of services with prices before treatment and give you cost of care options.

[stevencole]

Spent over 10 grand for my dog 15 years ago when she became diabetic. . Lifespan max normally was 3 years . She live 11 extra years and the disease did not interfere with her lifespan . Best money spent

[WryMeee]

We always had dogs but we can’t afford the vet any more so since the last one died we have been pet-free. 😢

If it's a Cedar Point ride, you'll need the locker for 3 hours

[DSC]

What about Cove monitored security system? I chose it because the reviews showed good and it was under $200 equipment cost for 10 windows/doors & 1 motion detector and costs only $18/month. It has a nice, easy to use, wall mounted tablet too.