Scammed by Q Clinic Orthodontists

Petajura

Hello, I've got exactly the same problem as you all. I've paid in full for my Invisalign , which was then change by the dentist to orthocaps as apparently it was more suitable for me. I've completed about 5 months of the treatment and I was suppose to have another 3 months, but I have never received the last set of aligners and have been waiting for it for more then 6 months. I got the odd email from them apologizing for the delay, but no direct answers. I've lost my patience with the clinic now as I never get any answer back, no emails, it's impossible to contact them on the phone. I want to claim my money back, but I've paid with my debit card, have you got any advice on how to claim my money back, who to contact? Thank you

Fletchasketch

Oh no! I wish I could help, but I paid with a credit card and so was able to do a chargeback. Perhaps there's a body or ombudsman for this type of thing? If not then perhaps the small claims court? I believe the process is now simpler and cheaper. Good luck!

Toothsmith

Individual dentists are registered with the General Dental Council. If the actual dentist who started the treatment is still working in this country, then it might be possible to make a complaint against him using the GDC's private complaint system.

http://www.gdc-uk.org/sites/dcs/Pages/default.aspx

Getting your money back will depend on the relationship he had with the management of the clinic though. If it was his clinic, and he's gone bust but then set up something very similar, the GDC might well take a dim view of this. If he was simply an employee, and maybe even wasn't paid properly by the management of the clinic - then it will probably be harder to take direct action against the dentist.

Looking to see if he's still registered in this country, followed by a letter of complaint if he is will get the ball rolling though.

Fletchasketch

searching for Dr Tapeshwar Anand on the GDC site provided the following info. I would say if you raised a complaint they would take it very seriously.

1. He must notify the GDC promptly of any post he accepts for which GDC registration is required. 2. He shall not accept any new patients and must limit his practice to completing the orthodontic treatment of his existing patients. Any such work undertaken must be essential to the completion of and part of orthodontic treatment for his existing patients. 3. If employed, he must provide contact details of his employer and allow the GDC to exchange information with his employer or any contracting body for which he provides dental services. 4. He must inform the GDC of any formal disciplinary proceedings taken against him, from the date of this determination. 5. He must inform the GDC if he applies for dental employment outside the UK. 6. He must work with a Postgraduate Dental Dean (or a nominated deputy), to formulate a Personal Development Plan, specifically designed to address the following areas of his practice: - orthodontic diagnosis; - treatment planning; - radiography; - complaints handling; - consent; and - record keeping. 7. He must forward a copy of his Personal Development Plan to the GDC not later than 14 days before any review hearing. 8. He must meet with the Postgraduate Dental Dean (or a nominated deputy), on a regular basis to discuss his progress towards achieving the aims set out in his Personal Development Plan. The frequency of his meetings is to be set by the Postgraduate Dental Dean (or a nominated deputy). 9. He must allow the GDC to exchange information about the standard of his professional performance and his progress towards achieving the aims set out in his Personal Development Plan with the Postgraduate Dental Dean (or a nominated deputy). 10. a. He must develop and monitor practice protocols in respect of complaints handling. b. He must provide evidence to the GDC of the steps he has taken to develop and monitor practice protocols as outlined in (a) above, within 3 months of the date of this order. 11. a. He shall maintain a reflective log detailing every case where he receives a complaint from a patient from the date of this order. b. He must provide a copy of this log to the GDC prior to any review or alternatively, confirm that there have been no such cases. 12. He must inform promptly the following parties that his registration is subject to the conditions, listed at 1 to 11, above: - Any organisation or person employing or contracting with him to undertake dental work - Any locum agency or out-of-hours service he is registered with or applies to be registered with (at the time of application) - Any prospective employer (at the time of application) 13. He must permit the GDC to disclose the above conditions, 1 to 12, to any person requesting information about his registration status.


Registration Number: 76522
Registrant Type:

Toothsmith

I agree. I think they would be very interested.