Consent & Medical Bills

Sandtree

jsf595 said:
Citizens Advice told me this is a breach of contract, as there was nothing signed, and no terms and conditions was given.

CAB mean well but often get it very wrong... how can it be a breach of contract for the contract to have no terms? If there are no terms there is nothing to be breached. Contracts do not require signing either... how many times have you been given a contract to sign when you get your weekly shopping from Tesco's or a pack of polos from the corner shop? A contract requires offer, acceptance and consideration aka payment or promise of payment (though not in scotland)

You've not explained why you felt it necessary to follow your friends advice of seeing this person? If you say they charge twice the going rate then that'll be why no insurers accept him (rather than the other way round). Surely you do your own checking into the Dr before booking an appointment and incurring costs.

I concur with others, clearly you have an issue with the NHS service (and who goes to A&E for "general ill health"?) and therefore it seems more than reasonable logical next step is for tests to be repeated at the "better" private facilities (though many NHS tests are analyzed privately too). 

That said, I do have some recollection that there is supposed to be a requirement for testing and costs to be advised up front where practicably possible and so despite the fact you let them take the blood without thinking to ask how much it was going to cost you there may be some grounds to contest it. 

jsf595

Sandtree said:

jsf595 said:
Citizens Advice told me this is a breach of contract, as there was nothing signed, and no terms and conditions was given.

CAB mean well but often get it very wrong... how can it be a breach of contract for the contract to have no terms? If there are no terms there is nothing to be breached. Contracts do not require signing either... how many times have you been given a contract to sign when you get your weekly shopping from Tesco's or a pack of polos from the corner shop? A contract requires offer, acceptance and consideration aka payment or promise of payment (though not in scotland)

You've not explained why you felt it necessary to follow your friends advice of seeing this person? If you say they charge twice the going rate then that'll be why no insurers accept him (rather than the other way round). Surely you do your own checking into the Dr before booking an appointment and incurring costs.

I concur with others, clearly you have an issue with the NHS service (and who goes to A&E for "general ill health"?) and therefore it seems more than reasonable logical next step is for tests to be repeated at the "better" private facilities (though many NHS tests are analyzed privately too). 

That said, I do have some recollection that there is supposed to be a requirement for testing and costs to be advised up front where practicably possible and so despite the fact you let them take the blood without thinking to ask how much it was going to cost you there may be some grounds to contest it. 

The reason I went with a private GP was because I developed serious complications post vaccine and my NHS GP wouldn't even accept initially to do a blood test but after a week of chasing him finally did and then left it at that. I had to visit A&E twice as well in between where they dismissed it despite having seeing abnormalities in sample. I was extremely dizzy and couldn't hold my balance at the time, hence the reason really out desperation I went ahead with this friends recommendation. The issue really comes from the fact that he never gave me any test results despite my multiple attempts in writing and couldn't even produce a lab invoice to match my profile. I contested the fees as soon as I received the invoice, as he never told me of the costs involved and I told them have I known that you will be repeating the same tests that I had already provided you with and at this price, I wouldn't never agreed to it. The other strange thing is, the initial 50% discount and the subsequent discount thereon. If their first claim is true and they have the paperwork to back it which I doubt they do, why offer a discount?

Torry_Quine

I think it's perfectly reasonable that the Dr wanted to repeat the test themselves. They should have volunteered the tests they would be doing on the blood taken and the cost but I don't understand why you didn't ask. Either way you're liable.

bris

So you went to the NHS got tests but decided they wern't good enough for you and went private, this about sums it up.

Now you are surprised private health care is expensive? You Took the tests you pay the price.

sheramber

You are not going to get any results when you haven't paid or them.

Sandtree

jsf595 said:
couldn't even produce a lab invoice to match my profile

I wouldnt expect them to be able to... businesses, which what private doctors are, typically have lines of credit and payment terms. So at month end they get one invoice covering every test/patient sent and then 28 days to pay; it'd be highly inefficient for the lab to be sending 100+ invoices a month to the same company and each be settled individually.

Murphybear

p3ncilsharpener said:

jsf595 said:

He said a blood test, but charged me for 12 separate tests. Legally I believe he had to tell me that there will be these many tests and whether I would be ok to go ahead with it. That's the normal practice with medical space I believe. I didnt have any issue for paying for a basic blood test but not duplicates of what I had already provided him with.

I've had blood tests and I don't think they've ever specifically told me how many tests they were doing or what specific tests they were doing.

I wouldn't expect them to, it's going to go over the heads of the vast majority of the population anyway.

There are dozens of tests that can be carried out on blood.  What the clinician, usually GP or hospital Dr, asks for will depend on what they need to find out.  

I always discuss my blood tests and look at the results online but having worked in the NHS laboratories understand them.  

sheramber

The discount is probably the cost for them to pursue the debt or the amount they would sell it for to a debt recovery company.

CardinalWolsey

68ComebackSpecial said:

Not strange at all as I've never heard of a medical insurance policy in this country which includes cover for consulting with a General Practitioner. 

My private health cover includes private GP access - via phone / video consultations.

Undervalued

jsf595 said:

jon81uk said:

jsf595 said:

He said a blood test, but charged me for 12 separate tests. Legally I believe he had to tell me that there will be these many tests and whether I would be ok to go ahead with it. That's the normal practice with medical space I believe. I didnt have any issue for paying for a basic blood test but not duplicates of what I had already provided him with.

I don't think there is such thing as a "basic blood test". Certainly when I've had NHS blood tests the phlebotomist has had to use several containers for different tests, just for simple tests, but that may have still be 8 different tests just around liver function and similar.
By presenting your arm for blood to be taken you must have accepted there will be something to pay, so the question before leaving the site would be how much is there to pay?
What did you sign on entering the GP practice? What did you sign before leaving?

Thank you for this. I paid the consultation fee fully which he charged me double the normal rate he has for consultation. The issue here is that I provided the my GP's test result to him which was done 2 days before and his invoice is for the same set of tests which he hasn't provided me a copy of despite my three attempts to obtain them. I never signed anything with him before, during or after. Citizens Advice told me this is a breach of contract, as there was nothing signed, and no terms and conditions was given.

Well they are wrong or you may have misunderstood what they told you.

With very few exceptions there is no requirement in English law for a contract to be in writing, let alone signed, to be valid. Obviously it is easier to prove what was agreed if it is but a verbal contract is every bit as binding as a written one.