Groupon Order

mizzrai

Hi there,

Would appreciate some advice on what to do.

Three months ago, in July bought a Groupon for Invisible braces at 700.00 for one arch with additional 400.00 if I wanted both arches done.
This was with the Aesthetics and Dental Clinic in Shrewsbury, 8A College Hill, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY1 1LZ.

I went for my first appointment in August first week, had assessment and they adviced its best to do the lower arch first and then upper arch, so the full 1100.00 it would cost me in total. The lower teeth were crowded, so they decided its best to grind them on the sides in order to make extra space, so they can be puched back in.
I thought that sounded okay, as generally they are about 2k plus.
So went for several appointments and they took impressions five weeks ago, saying they'll send me the first aligner in the post in a week's time with a follow up appoinment made five weeks down the line. Its nealy been five weeks now, still not received it. Each time I ring/text the clinic, they say that the packet has gone missing and lab is remaking them and i'll recieve them in a week's time. This has been on going for four-five weeks now.
Im getting very frustrated as Ive not received anything. No point in even attending the follow up appointment, as ive not recieved anything.

Whats the best course of action, I'm going to complain to Groupon as this is a joke.

I have a family of dentist (not necessarily specialising in alighners), but theyve told me, the lab doesnt generally take too long, its a simple procedure to make aligners.
I feel I've been badly ripped off.

I also want to take it further, can someone advice me, what I can do. Dental body?

Would appreciate it.

Toothsmith

I wouldn't not turn up for the follow up appointment, as that would give you a chance to go and see the dentist again and share your concerns face to face.

If the gaps between the teeth have already been made, and yet no appliance has arrived to move the teeth in a controlled way, then my worry will be that the gaps might just have drifted closed by themselves. I think that in itself should be checked.

If you want to complain, the first port of call is to make it to the practice and activate their in-house complaints system. That would give you details of where to take the complaint further if you were unhappy with the practice's response. I would ignore Groupon's complaints system, which seems pretty useless from other stuff I've read.

missile

I hope you paid Groupon by credit card? Only way I could get their attention was to raise a charge back on my credit card.

brook2jack

Actually it may be simple to make the alligners but depending on which system is being used they may be being sent from the US or other countries. There have been big problems with the supply of certain alligner systems with delays of many weeks.

My big problem with these sorts of offers is that the lab fees would be almost the total cost of treatment so it's difficult to see what sort of service could be provided for this sort of money.

Agree you need to speak to the practice first but I would always advise people choose an orthodontist on recommendation preferably from a dentist and not just on cost.

mizzrai

The payment was on debit card. I raised a query with Groupon and awaiting to hear back.
I cant believe certain clinics do this. It's disgusting.
I'll make sure I review this clinic fully online, so people are aware of them.
Legally, how can I deal with it. Who do I go to? Can I complain to the General Dental Council, for a practice/clinic ripping their patients off?
Any extra advice would be good.
I dont think I'll ever be using Groupon again.

Toothsmith

mizzrai wrote: »

The payment was on debit card. I raised a query with Groupon and awaiting to hear back.
I cant believe certain clinics do this. It's disgusting.
I'll make sure I review this clinic fully online, so people are aware of them.
Legally, how can I deal with it. Who do I go to? Can I complain to the General Dental Council, for a practice/clinic ripping their patients off?
Any extra advice would be good.
I dont think I'll ever be using Groupon again.

What is your priority here?

To rant and rave and kick up a fuss until you get your money back (and maybe a bit more if you're lucky?)

Or to get the treatment done for the price you've already paid?

If they have started treatment and already had some tooth shaved off to 'make room' then to rant and rave at this place and put yourself in a position where they can't make amends and finish your treatment - then you will have lost tooth tissue for nothing, and it might make it impossible for this sort of treatment to be done anywhere else.

This place looks like a proper dental practice with a proper registered dentist and proper professional responsibilities to you. It is not, by the look of it, some fly-by-night pop up tooth whitening booth run by numpties.

I'm guessing that in the appointments you had with them up until recently, you were quite happy with how things were progressing? It seems that you have been properly consulted and informed and the treatment plan has been properly arrived at. The fact it's a Groupon offer has nothing to do with the professional responsibility they have to you.

Something has obviously gone wrong with the delivery of the first appliance, but it is possible that factors outside their control are going on here, and if this is one of the systems that requires labwork from a lab in the States, then a delay like this is certainly possible. (And I notice they have an on-site lab of their own - so this probably is a specialist lab they need to use).

So - I would complain first and foremost to the practice itself, and see what they have to say. I would also go along to this 5 week review so that the dentist can see things and reassess the treatment if necessary.

You can always jump in the deep end and write bad reviews and shout and rant to your heart's content should it turn out it is some sort of elaborate con - but at the moment I don't think it is.

I think if you go off on one too soon you will not gain anything, and by making it impossible for them to carry on treating you, you will find yourself in a very weak position.

GrouponUK_company_representative

Hi @mizzrai, we're very sorry to hear that you did not enjoy your Groupon experience with the Aesthetics and Dental Clinic. We'll pass on your feedback to the relevant team now. In the meantime please email our customer service team (sm.support@groupon.co.uk) so they can look into this right away. We want to make sure all of our customers have the best possible experience in their city so please do not hesitate to get in contact. Have a lovely day, Groupon UK

Toothsmith

Ohhh - I didn't know we had a Groupon rep on the board!

Can you tell me whether the new laws on tooth whitening coming into force on 31st Oct, will Groupon now stop promoting illegal (Non-dentist) tooth whitening services?

GrouponUK_company_representative

Hi @Toothsmith, we have fully prepared for the new law which states that any teeth whitening procedures involving hydrogen peroxide must be carried out by a dental professional, which may be a dentist or a dental nurse or hygienist with appropriate training. Please be rest assured that all deals which adhered to the previous law would have expired before October 31st. Thank you for your comment! Groupon UK

brook2jack

Actually this is somewhat misleading.
Regardless of what material is used it has ALWAYS been illegal for a non dentist (except a hygienist or dental therapist working to a dentists prescription) to assess someone as suitable for/ or provide tooth whitening. Indeed the recent prosecutions have been for illegal practice of dentistry and have nothing to do with peroxide. eg this case http://www.gdc-uk.org/Newsandpublications/Pressreleases/Pages/Court-imposes-fine-for-illegal-tooth-whitening-.aspx

Therefore all tooth whitening provided by non dentists always have been illegal. The GDC bring forward prosecutions for illegal practice of dentistry.

Trading standards bring prosecutions for peroxide infringements which have also been illegal for many years and are present not only in "salon" treatments but also home kits http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/content.asp?nav=2874,5852&parent_directory_id=2865&id=13458&Language=

So this has been a major safety concern for many years and not just from October 31st 2012 and it has been illegal for many years but still advertised on many group selling sites.

Indeed it is fascinating that the above link from Cardiff trading standards warns people of the illegal and dangerous nature of non dentist provided tooth whitening in a press release dated sept 2012 yet there are still multiple offers from groupon in Cardiff for such services.

GrouponUK_company_representative

Hi @brook2jack, whilst we respect the GDC’s interpretation of the law, we’re confident we’re operating within the parameters of current legislation in ensuring all teeth whitening deals that run on Groupon comply with the recently implemented EU directive. We carry out specific checks on each teeth whitening deal that runs on the website to ensure the products used do not contain unlawful quantities of hydrogen peroxide or related substances and are ready to adapt our policies as and when required to do so by further statutory or regulatory developments.