Will I be chased over £5 of debt?

hackneysteve

The dentist says I owe £5 for treatment and I am disputing it because the treatment never happened, she is wrong

But she said on the phone she will pass it on to a debt collector

For £5?

justcat

What dental treatment costs £5?

hackneysteve

I went for what I was told was a free check up and they took an xray without telling me it wasn't included and at the end of the appointment the receptionist said that will be £5

tripled

They could do if they could find a debt collector willing to take it on - if they do, the debt collector would be unlikely to pay for than a few pence for that though. The debt collector would hope to make their money by adding some charges on and trying to scare you into paying them.

My advice would be to you ignore them from now on, even if you get any letters from them or from any "debt collectors". Only respond in the the unlikely event you receive letter before action, in which case point out that you were advised the check-up was free and were not notified of any charges, and unless they can demonstrate otherwise you consider the matter closed. Then ignore them again.

fatbelly

I didn't think dentists did anything for £5.

Reya

fatbelly wrote: »

I didn't think dentists did anything for £5.

My dentist certainly doesn't. They offer both private and NHS services. Their private fee for a small x-ray is £9.50 and for a large x-ray it's £22.75.

The basic NHS charges for all dentists are:

Emergency dental treatment – £18.80

Band 1 course of treatment – £18.80
This covers an examination, diagnosis (including X-rays), advice on how to prevent future problems, a scale and polish if clinically needed, and preventative care such as the application of fluoride varnish or fissure sealant if appropriate.

Band 2 course of treatment – £51.30
This covers everything listed in Band 1 above, plus any further treatment such as fillings, root canal work or removal of teeth but not more complex items covered by Band 3.

Band 3 course of treatment – £222.50
This covers everything listed in Bands 1 and 2 above, plus crowns, dentures, bridges and other laboratory work.

[ Source ]

So I've no idea where the OP's dentist is getting their scale of charges, but it's certainly a weird one.

glentoran99

hackneysteve wrote: »

The dentist says I owe £5 for treatment and I am disputing it because the treatment never happened, she is wrong

But she said on the phone she will pass it on to a debt collector

For £5?

hackneysteve wrote: »

I went for what I was told was a free check up and they took an xray without telling me it wasn't included and at the end of the appointment the receptionist said that will be £5

Either it happened or it didnt

Delia_Cardei

So an xray has happened? I think it's their responsibility to notify you before they offer a charged service to you.

Jeff_winter

I can't imagine they will chase too long you for this. In my experience they will send a few letters and then write the debt off internally. I wouldn't worry about it.

glentoran99

Delia_Cardei wrote: »

So an xray has happened? I think it's their responsibility to notify you before they offer a charged service to you.

They would have asked, "is it ok if we do an x-ray"

ceh209

glentoran99 wrote: »

They would have asked, "is it ok if we do an x-ray"

Which doesn't imply that any form of payment would be due. I'd be assuming they were asking in case you were pregnant or something (sounds like it wouldn't apply to the OP though!)