Three times at two different Lake County dog boarders I have been overcharged for time my dog was not even there. For example, once Molly went in at 4 p.m. on a Monday and was picked up on Saturday morning before the 12 noon checkout time to avoid another days fee.
But being charged 75.00 meant I was charged for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. when she wasn”t even there.
Actually, the bill should have been 60.00 because from 4 p.m. Monday to 4 p.m. Tuesday is one day, and so forth. Isn”t it unfair business practice to charge for service or time you do not receive?
Personally, I trust you know your business and I should not have to worry about her. Two of them said “It”s just like a hotel”. Well, that only tells me that hotels overcharge too.”
And one said “I have bills to pay also.” Fine. We all have bills but that doesn”t justify overcharging everyone regularly.
Lets see, at 15.00 per day divided by 24 hours that”s 62.5 cents per hour. To charge for eight unused hours is 4.96 and even though a mere five bucks is nothing to stress over, all those fives add up over time with many people.
Further calculations show for ten kennels at 15.00 per day thats 150.00 a day or 4,200 per month. If two people a day bring their pet at 4 p.m. instead of 8:01 a.m. and are charged the whole day, that”s $240 a month in overcharges (some kennels only operate six days a week).
Is even $100 a month in overcharges that important to their well being? I am not begrudging anyone a living here. The issue is overcharging. Is it so difficult to determine she came in in the afternoon and charge properly for half a day ?
And if you have two or more pets the fee goes up slightly. This really is more a question of principles and ethics. Do we just keep our mouth shut and frustratingly pay it for fear of not finding a boarder if we protest ? I guess so. They win, you lose.
Danielle Holliday
Kelseyville
