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Can I make a chargeback claim?
baileysonice72
Posts: 12 Forumite
I had a quote for dental work in September and have had the treatment (root canal)
On paying the final appointment I was charged an additional £190 - I asked what this was for and they said it was for the filling. When I asked what filling I was told rather flippantly "well you have to have something to seal the tooth"
I said I understand that but would have assumed this would have formed part of the whole root canal treatment. (You wouldn't order a wedding cake and then expect to pay for icing)
Back in January I had a check up and needed a filling so the quote was £190, however I did not have the filling done for one reason and another which has resulted in the whole tooth being completely destroyed hence why root canal treatment was necessary. They advised me this was from the January quote.
I am with a private dentist and have been with them for 16 years. They are a family business and the daughter is the receptionist, wife is the practice manager and husband the dentist.
I paid £145 on treatment 1, £450 on treatment 2 and then finally £335 though quote said £145 as they hadn't actually put the filling cost on this last one.
Everyone I speak too has told me I'm nuts for paying it and many have said it's an obscene amount of money, but I have never had anything to compare it too.
Would you say I just have to suck it up and move on or could I complain to my card company. I have approached the dental practice but they just said it was their error they missed the £190 off the quote and they apologised.
On paying the final appointment I was charged an additional £190 - I asked what this was for and they said it was for the filling. When I asked what filling I was told rather flippantly "well you have to have something to seal the tooth"
I said I understand that but would have assumed this would have formed part of the whole root canal treatment. (You wouldn't order a wedding cake and then expect to pay for icing)
Back in January I had a check up and needed a filling so the quote was £190, however I did not have the filling done for one reason and another which has resulted in the whole tooth being completely destroyed hence why root canal treatment was necessary. They advised me this was from the January quote.
I am with a private dentist and have been with them for 16 years. They are a family business and the daughter is the receptionist, wife is the practice manager and husband the dentist.
I paid £145 on treatment 1, £450 on treatment 2 and then finally £335 though quote said £145 as they hadn't actually put the filling cost on this last one.
Everyone I speak too has told me I'm nuts for paying it and many have said it's an obscene amount of money, but I have never had anything to compare it too.
Would you say I just have to suck it up and move on or could I complain to my card company. I have approached the dental practice but they just said it was their error they missed the £190 off the quote and they apologised.
0
Comments
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One thing to immediately consider is that you will probably no longer be welcome at the dental practice were you to pursue this... So it would be helpful to see what alternative options are in your area. If there aren't many options then I'd err on the side of taking the loss.... Not great at all, but if you are a bit more streetwise (get every invoice on letterheaded paper + retain it) then should have less instances of this sort of thing.
I got conned by a dentist a few years ago... They double charged a consultancy fee (about £25) because their dentist left the practice (within a week of having the initial appointment). Not my fault that your dentist left! And certainly not my fault that their replacement can't read the action plan from the previous dentist.
I ended up paying it (easy life) and just never went there again. But yea, yours is a lot more money so I don't blame you for seeking money back.
I would suggest:
- Approach your credit card company and ask for a chargeback.
- If the above fails (ie the dentist disputes it) then send the dentist a Letter Before Action to request the overpayment
- If they do not reply to your letter then issue a small claims court case against them. Retain all of your evidence (receipts, CC statements, any invoices provided, any current documents relating to the dentist's pricing plans etc) and present them to the court.0 -
Out of principle I won't go back there, sadly NHS dentists are few and far between here but I have now registered for a dentist which would involve a longer journey, but so be it.
I'm not looking to ask for all the money back, simply the £190 but they've made it clear it was an error on their part and they feel an apology is acceptable. But I am not happy.
Thanks stuartJo for your reply though.0 -
Chargeback will fail because they will defend it with invoices.
This leave the small claims court which you can take your case too.0
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