Minneapolis, MN asked in Animal / Dog Law for Iowa

Q: My dog had a medical processor done. I was told by the third party surgery would be done if half was paid and monthly

The following month come I gave a payment to the third party to pay the hospital. I did say in the beginning I would make a direct payment they said they didn't want the vet to know it wasn't there dog and it was someone else dog she's housing. So I made the cashepnt to her. Then the next month come I didn't have cash but told her I could pay with my credit card. I call the vet and I was informed there isn't a bill. I contacted the third party I added who am I making a payment to. She then said the hospital. I told her no i wasnt because they said it paid off, she then said when I made my payment last month she paid it off. I confronted her with the truth. And told her that's not true the vet said it was paid in full day of surgery. She said she forgot. I then said I agreed to pay off the bill to the hospital. I did not make no arrangements nor agree to pay youOnly thing I agreed to was to pay the vet hospital bill. And I was told that's who I'm paying and where my payments are going

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: Alright, here’s how I’d respond:

You’ve got a tricky situation, but it boils down to this: you agreed to pay the vet hospital directly for your dog’s surgery, not the third party who was involved. From what you’re saying, the third party had you believing there was an outstanding balance with the vet, but now you’ve found out the hospital bill was paid off the day of surgery. That means any payments you’ve been making after that weren’t going to the hospital like you thought.

This could be a miscommunication or something more questionable, but the key here is that your agreement was to pay off the vet bill, not to pay this third party. If they’re asking you for more money when the vet has already been paid, they might be trying to pocket that cash. At this point, I’d recommend gathering all your documentation—receipts, texts, or emails with both the third party and the vet—and confront the third party in writing. Let them know that you’re aware the bill has been paid, and you won’t be making further payments unless it’s directly to the vet for any outstanding balance.

If the third party keeps pushing for money or things get messy, you may need to involve a lawyer to help recover any payments you’ve already made that weren’t for the vet bill. Iowa law generally protects people from being misled about financial agreements, so you’ve got options if it comes to that. The main thing is you don’t owe the third party anything if your agreement was strictly about paying off the vet hospital.

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