These are two slick used car salesmen; while the sole reason for my visit was to address my excruciating tinnitus, somehow I suddenly needed a pair of $5,000 hearing aids! There are many firms that make tinnitus maskers, very reasonably priced ($350 to $850), and that is what I needed. But these slick willies concentrated on my hearing loss (which, I later found out, was perfectly normal for my age, and wasn't much to be concerned with). Instead of focusing on my concerns and needs, they were focused on their own commissions, by selling me a pair of high-priced Starkey hearing aids.
Starkey also makes inexpensive tinnitus maskers, but I was never informed of option of going with the maskers. Just that I "needed" a pair of awfully expensive hearing aids. I opted to try the Starkey Livio hearing aids with tinnitus masking technology, on a "free" 30-day trial. This was very misleading, as they immediately charged our credit card 1/2 for a deposit. The balance due after 30 days. This didn't sit well with me, as a 30-day free trial doesn't involve paying 1/2, and when the trial period is over, then I had to wait for those funds to be refunded back to our credit card.
I was told that after I returned the "free trial" hearing aids, my deposit would be returned within a week, two at the outside. I waited, and one week passed without hearing from them, then I waited some more and two weeks passed, again without hearing from them, then I waited some more and now three weeks had passed, again without hearing a word from them about the refund of my deposit. After a few more days, we decided that we'd had enough waiting, so we contacted them and told them flat-out, if the money was not credited back to our credit card, then we would file a complaint with both the credit card company and also the Department of Health, Consumer Services Unit, and the Florida Society of Hearing Aid Professionals. The receptionist stated that she would do it that week, and we politely informed her that we had waited long enough, and she should start processing our refund that day. Well, that seems to have lit a candle under their butt. because the credit was indeed processed that day.
As long as they have your money, and think that you're a customer, you will get superb service and treatment. Once you opt out of the "free" trial period, then you cease to exist to them. I have never encountered such phony people in my entire life. Which is really too bad for them, when you consider that I had already drawn up a list of acquaintances with hearing-loss related issues that could have benefited them. But after my experience there, I couldn't in good conscious send someone there, thinking that they might hustled into buying something that was unneeded and exorbitantly priced.
My advice is to listen to their sales pitch, take copious notes, and compare what they're offering to at least two other hearing centers. You'll be very glad you did.
Finally, when we called to make our initial appointment, I told them that I carried Care Plus insurance. I was told "we work with all insurance companies". That was only one of the many untruths I was told. When I brought up the insurance again when they were quoting prices, they told me that no insurance pays a thing, and that they all pass the cost off to Medicare, which made no sense at all to me.
When I used my vision benefits, the first thing the optometrist checked (by computer) was what exactly my benefits were, and he applied those benefits to the cost of my exam, frame and lenses. At this Hearing Center, they never once checked what my benefits were, and instead of coming right out and saying that they don't take insurance, they applied a fictitious AARP discount in the amount of $600, AFTER raising the quoted price by $600. So there was no discount. And my insurance benefits afforded me an aural exam, plus $1,000 per ear in coverage. These supposed "experts" knew up front that I had insurance coverage, but never told me that they don't accept insurance, instead handing me a line that "the insurance never pays" and since you belong to AARP (we did not), we'll apply the AARP discount (wink, wink).
It does not get more unprofessional than this, ladies and gentlemen. I'm sure they might be good at helping people with hearing issues, but I went there for tinnitus relief, and they were determined to make their commissions by selling me a pair of hearing aids. Check out other hearing centers, and do some research before doing business with these experts in double-talk. read more
