Refund For Dental Work

TheTypicalForumUser

Short story: I have recently had a crown fitted by a dentist that is ill-fitting I would like a refund for. What recourse do I have here? And what is the correct channel for this?

Long story: I was experiencing pain in some teeth, and the dentists theorised that this was being caused by a hairline fracture on one of my teeth (caused by teeth clenching/grinding). No crack appeared on the x-ray, but I trusted their opinion at the time.

I paid for the procedure in full (close to a grand) and they made mold for the tooth.

A week later, the dental practice called me to say the lab messaged them to say that another mold was required and could I come in tomorrow. I was away abroad on a trip (and had told them I would be) so I said it would be tricky. I asked if it would be possible for me to have the work completed where I was abroad (and I would compensate the original dentist for the work they had done).

The dentist then got noticeably angry (first warning sign), and said that they had spoken to the lab, and a new mold was no longer required.

When the day came to fit the crown, it did not appear to fit, and the crown had to be shaved down considerably. The dentist was very dismissive, and even hostile regarding any questions I had or concerns I had about pain.

I went to another dentist to get a second opinion at a separate practice, and they did x-ray and found that there was a clear gap between the tooth and the new crown, meaning it would definitely need to be redone.

The new dentist said that I would request comment from the original dentist that did the bad work and proceed according to their complaints procedure.

So far I have emailed the original dentist asking for comment on the x-ray. They have tried to avoid giving comment, instead asking for me to come in to see them for an appointment. But I have requested their response via email instead.

I don't want to get any follow up work by the original dentist because they have been very rude, unprofessional, and heavy handed when doing the work, causing pain.

I paid by debit card, not credit card, so I cannot do a charge back.

What recourse do I have here to get a refund? What would be the legal means to do this?

If they refuse, which I think they will, given their hostile attitude, do I have a leg to stand on?

Is small claims court an option?

Aylesbury_Duck

It sounds as if you have the independent view you need that says the original work was sub-standard.  Do you have that in writing?  If not, get it.

Usually you should give the retailer a chance to correct the problem, but I can see why you don't want to do that.  I would write to the dentist (not email or phone call), enclosing the second dentist's report that says what's wrong, and ask the first dentist to pay the second dentist's bill for the remedial work.  See what they say.

Ultimately, you may have to give the first dentist a chance to at least inspect the problem.  Only then would I suggest considering small claims court as an option.  If you jump straight to court action, the dentist has a reasonable defence and I could see your claim failing.

DullGreyGuy

This is basically a medical negligence allegation which can go into the Small Track (aka small clams court) however the personal injury limit in Small Track is £1,500 (where as non-injury is £10,000) and so depending on the total value of the claim it could end up in Fast Track instead and then the loser is liable for limited legal fees of the winner. 

You need to get a report from the second dentist, not just an x-ray, and present it to the original dentist along with your demands and give them a reasonable timeframe to respond (businesses tend to work in weeks not hours or days). If they fail to then you can file your claim. 

SiliconChip

I'm surprised neither of the other posters has corrected your misunderstanding: you can request a chargeback, it's available for both debit and credit card payments. It should certainly be your first course of action before going down the legal route, although if the dentist disputes and the chargeback (assuming the card issuer agrees to it in the first place) is reversed then that's where you may end up.

[Deleted User]

SiliconChip said:

I'm surprised neither of the other posters has corrected your misunderstanding: you can request a chargeback, it's available for both debit and credit card payments. It should certainly be your first course of action before going down the legal route, although if the dentist disputes and the chargeback (assuming the card issuer agrees to it in the first place) is reversed then that's where you may end up.

What would be the basis for the chargeback?

SiliconChip

[Deleted User] said:

SiliconChip said:

I'm surprised neither of the other posters has corrected your misunderstanding: you can request a chargeback, it's available for both debit and credit card payments. It should certainly be your first course of action before going down the legal route, although if the dentist disputes and the chargeback (assuming the card issuer agrees to it in the first place) is reversed then that's where you may end up.

What would be the basis for the chargeback?

No idea, I'm just pointing out to the OP that they were wrong to think that using a debit card meant chargeback is not possible.

RefluentBeans

Hello OP.

I hope the pain is okay, I can only imagine how miserable it is currently. As this was a private medical appointment the NHS complaints procedures are largely irrelevant, but practices still should have a (published) complaints procedure for private patients. Normally this isn’t as robust or detailed as the NHS ones, but in practice, many practices will follow similar sort of procedures as they deal with both NHS and Private patients (except big firms like Bupa who will largely deal with private, but are big enough to have a robust policy). 

As for what to do - I would look for the complaints procedure. Normally it may be to tell the dentist, and then escalate to the practice manager if you feel that your issue isn’t solved. The practice manager is normally the administrator for the practice records, as dentists will normally want to be practicing for as much of the day as possible, and not be filing paperwork, managing employees and contractors etc. So look to make a complaint to the practice manager and see what happens. 

Ultimately - the complaints procedure doesn’t just exist to help disgruntled patients, it’s to catch near misses. The practice should see what went wrong in your case, and how they can avoid it in the next time. It may be the practice manager is unaware of how bad it was. A complaint will bring it to their attention. 

Finally the medical professions are highly regulated, and this would probably be a complaint that the dentistry licensing people would want to hear about, especially if the practice doesn’t have/follow a complaints process. You can find more information here:  https://www.gdc-uk.org/raising-concerns/raising-concerns-about-dental-treatment/can-gdc-help-with-your-concern/dental-complaints-service 

As others have said there are socialist lawyers who may help with it. No win no fee can be appealing, but equally an action in court (which you can file) may prompt the practice into action, but only do that if they have really stopped engaging with you. 

Hope that helps! 

DullGreyGuy

[Deleted User] said:

SiliconChip said:

I'm surprised neither of the other posters has corrected your misunderstanding: you can request a chargeback, it's available for both debit and credit card payments. It should certainly be your first course of action before going down the legal route, although if the dentist disputes and the chargeback (assuming the card issuer agrees to it in the first place) is reversed then that's where you may end up.

What would be the basis for the chargeback?

Presumably V/M53 - defective or not as described products or services

Not sure if the bank would entertain reviewing medical evidence to determine if the dentist showed reasaonable care/skill in providing the service for it to be considered defective... tends to be more of a blunt instrument than that