I dislike leaving bad reviews as I know my terrible experience isn't reflective of the entire business... but my terrible experience was EXCEPTIONALLY awful. Customer service from the doctor is terrible at best, but her employees (receptionist, phone operators, and dental assistants) are exceptionally great.
Let me tell you my story:
I was approaching 26 years old and it was time to enroll in a dental plan on my own. I selected an insurance company, found a doctor that was near my home, and open late and weekends (good things). In June 2017, I went in for a same-day appointment because I was having a toothache. The doctor took x-rays and offered services I needed and made another appointment with a specialist at their Torrance office (again, good things). However, this is where things took a turn for the worst. Their secretary asked me for my Social (which I did not fill out on the application because what does my Social have to do with dental work?) and after I filled out that section of the application, she proceeded to open a CareCredit account for me at this location (with insurance in case I defaulted on payments - a headache!) after they reviewed only a PORTION of the ledger to me. I signed thinking I had only paid for the services that were done that day. A month later, much to my surprise, I see a $5,000.00 balance on my statement. I freaked out! I called to get a receipt of what was charged as I did not think that a deep cleaning and x-rays were that expensive. It took TWO WEEKS and four phone calls to get a full receipt of what was charged. Somehow, all the services she offered me and had provided me with that day conveniently totaled $5,000.00. I think she divided the services by whatever I was approved for that day and broke it up that way. I decided I would no longer be a patient of theirs, asked for a refund, and took my business elsewhere.
In October 2017, I had a day off work and decided to pop into their office to inquire about my refund. The doctor said she would review my file and provide me with a refund in 2 days. "Cool," I thought. Two days later, I saw a refund for $2,400.00-ish AND an additional charge for $2,600.00. This put me over my cap and my credit score took a hit. I pestered and pestered and no change there. I filed a complaint with the Dental Board of CA and was prepared to sue.
It's now 2018. Since I hadn't heard back from the Dental Board, I decided to give them another call and let them know that I was ready to sue if I did not get my refund. The person on the phone said she would leave a Post-It on my file so the doctor could address it. I didn't hear back the following day, so I called. I was told by a different employee that it'd be best if I showed up in person and scheduled me for an "appointment". I went in and FINALLY received my refund of $4,300.00 (mind you, it is now March 2018). I ended up paying $2,387.00 (for principal, interest, and that pesky insurance I mentioned earlier) for a ~$700.00 deep cleaning (I should also mention that my insurance covered a portion of the work that was done, but I was charged the full amount on the CareCredit account)... Had I known how much it really was, I would have just paid cash.
PROS: Nice receptionists, dental assistants, and phone operators. "Open late" (in quotations because of the con)
CONS: Doctor is hard to find (leaves at ~5PM and lets her assistants do the work for her); business practices are not patient- or pocket-friendly
Essentially, please take your business elsewhere to save yourself the headache and lost money as this doctor's shoddy business practices are probably illegal. I was only seen by her as a patient one time (the initial visit in June 2017) and I went to see her as a customer who wanted my money back about 3 times. Additionally, I was informed that this location is not approved for opening a CareCredit account; only their Torrance office is - buyer beware! read more