Booked appointment- price rise

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Alderbank said:

This sounds like it is to do with The Department of Health's announcement that from 24 April 2023, dental patient charges in England would increase by 8.5%.
This meant that a band 2 course of treatment has increased by £5.50 from £65.20 to £70.70.
If so this is not a contractual matter but a statutory change approved by Parliament and not really open to negotiation.

Is the dentist obligated to charge that or like an MOT can they charge less if they wish? 

Changes in law are an example of the trader being able to vary terms but such variations should still be laid out so the consumer can know what to expect. 

Alderbank

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Alderbank said:

This sounds like it is to do with The Department of Health's announcement that from 24 April 2023, dental patient charges in England would increase by 8.5%.
This meant that a band 2 course of treatment has increased by £5.50 from £65.20 to £70.70.
If so this is not a contractual matter but a statutory change approved by Parliament and not really open to negotiation.

Is the dentist obligated to charge that or like an MOT can they charge less if they wish? 

That's a great question!
I think a closer comparison, since they are both NHS, would be the prescription charge.
Does Boots have to charge £9.65 or can they do 2 items for a tenner?

user1977

Alderbank said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Alderbank said:

This sounds like it is to do with The Department of Health's announcement that from 24 April 2023, dental patient charges in England would increase by 8.5%.
This meant that a band 2 course of treatment has increased by £5.50 from £65.20 to £70.70.
If so this is not a contractual matter but a statutory change approved by Parliament and not really open to negotiation.

Is the dentist obligated to charge that or like an MOT can they charge less if they wish? 

That's a great question!
I think a closer comparison, since they are both NHS, would be the prescription charge.
Does Boots have to charge £9.65 or can they do 2 items for a tenner?

Unless the system has changed (or I have misremembered) - dentists need to collect the NHS charges from patients according to the official rates and pass the money on to the NHS. And some time later, they eventually get paid (on a completely different tariff) by the NHS for the work they did.

I think prescription charges are similar (for those who live in the backwards part of the UK which still has them...).

If the OP is talking about NHS treatment, I would think it implicit that the rate they'll pay is whatever the NHS is charging on that day.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

user1977 said:

Alderbank said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Alderbank said:

This sounds like it is to do with The Department of Health's announcement that from 24 April 2023, dental patient charges in England would increase by 8.5%.
This meant that a band 2 course of treatment has increased by £5.50 from £65.20 to £70.70.
If so this is not a contractual matter but a statutory change approved by Parliament and not really open to negotiation.

Is the dentist obligated to charge that or like an MOT can they charge less if they wish? 

That's a great question!
I think a closer comparison, since they are both NHS, would be the prescription charge.
Does Boots have to charge £9.65 or can they do 2 items for a tenner?

Unless the system has changed (or I have misremembered) - dentists need to collect the NHS charges from patients according to the official rates and pass the money on to the NHS. And some time later, they eventually get paid (on a completely different tariff) by the NHS for the work they did.

I think prescription charges are similar (for those who live in the backwards part of the UK which still has them...).

If the OP is talking about NHS treatment, I would think it implicit that the rate they'll pay is whatever the NHS is charging on that day.

Does that mean they must do so at the rates imposed or if they were to charge the customer £10 less could they make up the shortfall themselves? 

user1977

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

user1977 said:

Alderbank said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Alderbank said:

This sounds like it is to do with The Department of Health's announcement that from 24 April 2023, dental patient charges in England would increase by 8.5%.
This meant that a band 2 course of treatment has increased by £5.50 from £65.20 to £70.70.
If so this is not a contractual matter but a statutory change approved by Parliament and not really open to negotiation.

Is the dentist obligated to charge that or like an MOT can they charge less if they wish? 

That's a great question!
I think a closer comparison, since they are both NHS, would be the prescription charge.
Does Boots have to charge £9.65 or can they do 2 items for a tenner?

Unless the system has changed (or I have misremembered) - dentists need to collect the NHS charges from patients according to the official rates and pass the money on to the NHS. And some time later, they eventually get paid (on a completely different tariff) by the NHS for the work they did.

I think prescription charges are similar (for those who live in the backwards part of the UK which still has them...).

If the OP is talking about NHS treatment, I would think it implicit that the rate they'll pay is whatever the NHS is charging on that day.

Does that mean they must do so at the rates imposed or if they were to charge the customer £10 less could they make up the shortfall themselves? 

I suppose in theory they could, but I've never heard of it happening. It's not similar to a garage where they can do a cheap MoT on the assumption they'll probably make it up on the profit for labour and parts if there is work needed. If there is dental treatment needed following an NHS examination, it's probably also going to be at NHS rates.

DullGreyGuy

Alderbank said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Alderbank said:

This sounds like it is to do with The Department of Health's announcement that from 24 April 2023, dental patient charges in England would increase by 8.5%.
This meant that a band 2 course of treatment has increased by £5.50 from £65.20 to £70.70.
If so this is not a contractual matter but a statutory change approved by Parliament and not really open to negotiation.

Is the dentist obligated to charge that or like an MOT can they charge less if they wish? 

That's a great question!
I think a closer comparison, since they are both NHS, would be the prescription charge.
Does Boots have to charge £9.65 or can they do 2 items for a tenner?

The money paid for prescriptions is passed on to the NHS... could a business decide it wants to fund that themselves and not charge the customer? Legally I've no idea if they could choose to cross fund that from other activities and not actually charge the patient?

For some painkillers recently prescribed for me, the pharmacy would get £1.59 for the medicines themselves plus a £0.90 dispensing fee. From that they obviously have to buy the medicine from their suppliers, pay their staff and all their other operating expenses. The modified release version of the same the NHS pays £14.95 for so you can see why the doc prescribes the cheap ones and says to take them with food instead!

As to the OP's original question a lot will depend on any T&Cs they have advertised or if its a statutory charge for NHS work. Typically you'd expect a service booked in advance to be at the price stated but terms can allow it to be varied and it may give rise to a right of cancellation if the variance is significant. 

sheramber

I think a hygienist  appointment will be private treatment so they will set their own charges.