Charges for being 2 minutes late at dentist when dentist was 20 minutes behind.

paddedjohn

how do you know the dentist was running late and had not just brought the next patient in early because you werent there on time?

Hintza

kazzah60 wrote: »

well I would quite simply send them an invoice for a set amount for them "running late" into my appointment time -why is their time more valuable then mine?

These ideas sound good but in reality you might get some money (unlikely) but you will certainly be without a dentist.

Maybe this is what the person with the dislocated jaw did........:eek:

vyle

I'd look around for an independant dentist... NOT private. I don't really know what the difference is, but my dentist is independant, is brilliant, charges the same as the NHS for a basic checkup, but does it on time, thoroughly, and doesn't charge extra for a clean and polish.

When one of my teeth cracked, I went to my old NHS dentist and they put a big blob of stuff in my tooth which I noticed every time I tried to speak (it gave me a bit of a lisp) and was quite obtrusive.

It fell out a few months ago and I went to my new independant dentist. It was his day off, which I didn't realise at the time, but he only charged £15 and rebuilt my tooth perfectly. It feels no different to my other teeth.

My old NHS practise was both NHS and private, so if you saw the NHS side, they had almost victorian equipment, giant needles, goo that tasted of earwax, and people who kept messing up.

On the private side, you got discrete needles, a DVD player and screen above the chair, lovely tasting goo, and someone who possibly knew what he was doing, but liked to charge extra for everything.

So in summary: NHS sucks, private sucks, go independant if you can.

Toothsmith

vyle wrote: »

I'd look around for an independant dentist... NOT private. I don't really know what the difference is, but my dentist is independant.....

It's not really different at all.

It's just a different word.

It was basically thought up in the 1990s when dentists were leaving the NHS.

Back in those days when virtually every dentist was contracting with the NHS, and offering most of their patients NHS treatment most of the time, 'Private' was thought to be a very high priced very exclusive thing that not many people would want.

So - taking your practice away from the NHS and 'going private' was thought by some to be a huge scary thing that would cause most of their patients to run for the hills.

This is when the term 'Independent' was coined.

It was meant to be a more reassuring phrase that told patients that although the dentist wasn't NHS anymore, he wasn't going to be charging the earth for his services and that it would still be 'affordable'.

Nowadays the term is still used, but not really as much.

Patients generally realise that if you're not NHS then you're private - and there are patients who still pack up and leave if it's not NHS treatment they're getting - even without looking at the actual prices a dentist is charging!

From the dentist's point of view - you may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb, so why not call your service what it really is.

There is also a bit of a problem in going private, but trying to compete with NHS prices. In that a dental surgery still costs the same to run whatever system it operates in. Those costs need to be met - so if you're charging the same as NHS prices, you'll still have to work at NHS speeds and still have in place all the other compromises you need to operate on the NHS and still stay in business.

It sounds like your dentist has got the balance right for you - but he's 'private'.

What I recommend is spending some time going round a few practices and looking at the services on offer and the prices charged.

There is no one word, or system that absolutely guarentees a good place. There are some very good NHS places, there are some very good private places and there are even some very good places that call themselves 'Independent'. In general, I would say that most dental practices in this counrty are pretty good - but it's only by going and having a quick look at the place before you book an appointment that you will get an idea of what sort of place it is.

If you just do it by a phone call, then you're taking pot-luck.

Laz123

I'll only wait 25 minutes top whack then I'll tell the receptionist I've got things to do and then I go. Dentists aren't gods, even if they're arrogant asses. It's us that pay their wages so I expect to be treated as a client not as a dogsbody.

kazzah60

Hintza wrote: »

These ideas sound good but in reality you might get some money (unlikely) but you will certainly be without a dentist.

Maybe this is what the person with the dislocated jaw did........:eek:

not here in Coventry - we have loads of NHS dentists - they are always advertising for new patients in the local press
mind you - I'm not sure WHY they'd need to advertise for patients!
:rotfl:

Toothsmith

kazzah60 wrote: »

not here in Coventry - we have loads of NHS dentists - they are always advertising for new patients in the local press
mind you - I'm not sure WHY they'd need to advertise for patients!
:rotfl:

Because there has been a monumental c*ock-up in dental provision!

All the reports about numpties pulling out their own teeth and 'only' 50% of the population having access to an NHS dentist brought about the change to the NHS dental contract in 2006.

In that ACCESS was made king. Anybody who wanted an NHS dentist could have it. Dentists were incentivised to see new people.

The thing that was sacrificed was the ability to actually DO very much.

Patients needing long courses of treatment and complex work are now told 'We can't do that on the NHS'.

So - NHS dentists need to see lots of people, and are paid well for seeing lots of people. But if they actually have to provide much DENTISTRY - then they start loosing money! Hence the need to advertise. That conveyor belt must keep turning!

noyb1234

Refuse to pay the fine saying it is not mentioned anywhere. If that doesn't work get yourself another dentist.

Macdexter

Mark_Hewitt wrote: »

I guess it would come under the unfair contract terms. They are entitled to get back from you any loss they may have suffered due to you not turning up for your appointment, or not turning up on time. Since they were already running late that loss was zero, and hence that's the amount you're libable for.

I agree with him! Doctor is also responsible for the same. It's unfair.

Oopsadaisy

noyb1234 wrote: »

Refuse to pay the fine saying it is not mentioned anywhere. If that doesn't work get yourself another dentist.

!!!!!! read the post...OP wasn't actually fined.