I went to see this dentist for the first time on the recommendation of a good friend. I called ahead to give all of my insurance information and to make sure they accepted my insurance and was told that they did. On the day of my appointment I received excellent care from the fantastic hygienist and a kind followup exam from the dentist. I would have given them a 5 star review, until later events followed.
I later received a bill for the very expensive full amount of services, and much to my relief noticed it had been filed to the wrong insurance company. I called the office and the receptionist was apologetic and assured me she would take care of it. I thought nothing of it. Mistakes happen.
A few weeks later I again received a very expensive bill for the full amount and called and was told that they were not providers for my insurance and that she couldn't have checked anyway until the bill was sent out so had just guessed! When I reminded her that she had told me that they were, the receptionist became rather rude and told me it was too bad, but I owed them the full amount. I spoke to the dentist, the business owner, and she said "You received the services and owe us the money." I inquired if they would come to any compromise since they had misled me. Again she repeated, "You received the services and owe us the money."
They even tacked on an "account aging current fee" which the receptionist said was for late charges which she would remove (since it had taken time to rectify her mistake of sending the bill to the wrong company then sending it to mine) and the dentist later told me it wasn't late charges it was taxes...(even though the amount does not resemble accurate taxes in our area)...and that they would remove it. At this point I became suspicious.
They charged my credit card the full amount including the extra fee which they both had said they would not add on. I am not a wealthy person and this was all a lot of money to me which I will be paying off on my credit card.
I left this situation feeling like I had been through a bait and switch scam and the smoothness with which they bilked me might indicate that this is not a unique situation with this office.
I also spoke to my insurance company and was told they had heard of offices doing this kind of thing and it was "highly unethical", and that they could have easily called with my insurance info (that I had provided them at the first phone call) and would have learned that I would not be covered for the services. That they did not do this one simple thing indicated their lack of care and ethics.
Hard lesson learned in trusting doctors' offices.
I am writing this to warn others of this unethical practice. read more
