Shoud we pay for the dentist bill for treatment we didn't get

jsukyn

My partner received a letter from his NHS dentist saying that he has not paid the fee which was supposed to be for his treatment. But he actually refused that treatment and went abroad to get the same treatment done when he was on holiday. Now the dentist claims that it doesn't matetr if he has received the treatment, he has to pay the fee as he went for the initial consultation, even though he decided later not to go for it.

Should we pay for the bill or not? Will that affect his credit rating? Will it also affect his future NHS treatment if he doesn't pay the fee?

Thanks!

josephine82

It depends whether the fee is for the consultation or the treatment. Can you ask the tentist for a breakdown of the money owed?

Trajal

Find out what you are being charged for in an itemised form.

Also, were any finance contracts etc signed at the time of initial consultation?

If so, was a cooling off period advised?

Were you told that you would need to pay for a consultation fee if you did not elect to undertake the treatment?

I think that while a reasonable fee might apply for a consultation, if you then choose to not undertake a service, it's ridiculous to expect to have to pay for it, unless you signed some kind of agreement. If this is indeed the case, ensure that you determine the type of agreement, and get back to us.

Much more information needed I'm afraid.

jsukyn

He didn't sign any agreement. It was simply that he went to the dentist when the filling in one of the teeth fell out and the dentist advised that he needs something more done and told him that he needs to book another appointment to get the treatment. We considered the cost and thought we were going to China for holiday soon anyway and it's cheaper to do the treatment there. So he called the dentist to cancel the follow-up appointment. Now after three months, the dentist sent him a letter requesting the remaining payment. He called and refused to pay, but the dentist threatens him by saying that if he dosen't pay he will be put on a some sort of blacklist and will affect his future NHS treatment.

jsukyn

He paid a fee after the initial consultation and was supposed to pay for the second instalment after he received the treatment which he didn't go for in the end.

josephine82

I would then write back to the dentist saying that as far as you are concerned, there is no fee to pay.

He had no treatment apart from an initial consultation which he paid the fee for, therefore there is no further fee to pay.

As for the blacklist- I'm sure this is just him trying to threaten you. I highly doubt that this exists!

jugglebug

A NHS dentist can refuse to see you again if they decide there has been a breakdown in the professional relationship.
Not paying a bill would fall into that category, so you are not blacklisted from the NHS but from that particular practice.
NHS fees are set centrally, and fall into 3 bands. (This isn't the case in scotland btw)
If you have received any item that falls into Band one (In this case the consultation then you have to pay band one fee, currently £17 in England)
If you have received any single item that falls into band two then that fee becomes payable. (£47 in England) So that is a filling, extraction or periodontal treatment. If you have not had any item in band 2 then you don't need to pay it.

jsukyn

Many thanks for everyone's reply!

And thanks, jugglebug. He definitely paid the first fee after his first visit at the spot. He always pays the fee at the dentist after every visit, so he knows he can't have any unpaid bill if he didn't even go to the supposed second appointment (which he cancelled).

The bill he received is not of these set values. We don't know what that's for but they insist we have to pay for it. It's not a big amount (just under £40), but we fell we shouldn't pay for any service that we didn't receive.

He doesn't like the dentist (bad service, his filling used to fall out only a couple of days after he got it) and was going to change dentist anyway, if the only blacklist he will be on is for that particular practice, then we are fine with it.

But we are worried if his credit rating will be affected and if the dentist will ask a debt angency to go after the bill.