Dental Treatment whilst Unemployed ..Mistake made

annie_cardiff

My sister was recently made redundant , this was the first time in 40 years of working she had to claim unemployment benefit. She went to her dentist and had to have treatment, she told the receptionist she was on jobseekers and was duly asked to sign the form in 2 places which she did. She has now had a letter stating she was not entitled and on top of the cost of treatment she is being fined £140 ! She wrote and explained why she signed and that his was the only time in her life she has ever had free treatment but to no avail. This was a genuine error as she was not made aware that only one form of jobseekers entitles you to exemption from payment, should the receptionist have clarified this at the time ? She has had no experience of the benefit system at all as she has always worked. Is there anything she can do ....:(

Toothsmith

Dental staff aren't trained in the complexities of the benefits system - and it's not really up to them to challenge a patient if they tell them that they're exempt from charges, but to take it on trust.

There is a place where the staff can tick if they have seen 'proof of exemption' - or at least there used to be, not sure now. But this was a bit cumbersome as well, and put the responsibility with the practice so many places just refused to do it.

I think the best bet would to play the "very sorry" card and hope you manage to get through to someone with a bit of humanity within the system!

j.e.j.

It might be worth asking about this over on the benefits board?

I usually have to provide an up-to-date letter or documentation proving that I am in receipt of a means-tested benefit when I go to the dentist or optician.

Perhaps the receptionist wasn't aware that there are two types of JSA.

I think if I were her I would point out to the people chasing her for £140 that she did not know and it wasn't made clear to her. Meantime there is a certificate you can get if you are on low income, I think it's called HC2, which would entitle your sister to free treatment.