Eric S. Hans, D.M.D.-Dentistry for Children

Review: I was billed $75 for a missed appointment. When I emailed the office manager to discuss the fact that I am unemployed and cannot pay at this time and asked about a payment plan I was told that they didn't have a payment plan and that I could pay over time but that I would not be allowed to schedule another appointment for my daughter until I had paid in full. I have received several bills from them since then and I emailed them to ask if I had signed anything or if they had anything in writing that stated that I would be charged $75 for a missed appointment. They never responded. Moreover, it seems they have sent me to a collections agency even though I had been in contact with them about my financial situation. They are now charging me interest so the total that I owe is close to $80.Desired Settlement: I would like them to waive this fee completely. If that is not possible, I will no longer be using them as my child's dentist and I will not pay the fee that they supposedly also charge to my daughter's chart and health information to another provider. If I had known that they used such unethical business practices, I would never have used them.

Business

Response:

October 1, 2014Dear [redacted]:We have received the complaint filed by [redacted], and are not willing to make any adjustments to her account. The fee in question is a charge for a missed appointment from 5/1/2014. Statements were sent to [redacted] showing this balance due on 5/1/14, 6/2/14, 7/7/14, 8/8/14, and 9/8/14. Phone calls were made to [redacted] and messages were left on 6/30/14, 7/7/14, and 7/16/14. The first response we received from [redacted] was in response to an email I sent 7/23/14. In her response on 7/29/14 she stated she was experiencing a financial hardship and would appreciate some kind of payment plan, and also wanted to re-schedule the appointment for her daughter. I emailed her back 7/31/14 stating that we do not have any type of payment plans in place, however as long as Some payment is coming in monthly, the account will show current, and once the balance is paid we would be able to re-schedule the appointment. As of 8/28/14 still no payments were made to the account so another email was sent. On 9/3/14 a delinquency notice was mailed out. Then on 9/15/14 a Registered Letter was sent out. To date there has been no payments made on this account. The outstanding balance is currently $89.58.Additionally, we do realize that things happen and not every appointment can be maintained. We did waive a missed appointment fee for [redacted] on 1/25/2013 and did send her a little note reminding her of our office/financial policy. Additionally, her daughter was scheduled for an appointment 10/27/2010 and no-showed, [redacted] was sent statements for that appointment and they were paid.Enclosed please find copies of corresponding emails, an account history, and a copy of the signed financial agreement. Please not: Financial agreement reflects the then current fee for a missed appointment of $50.00. January 2014 we increased all fees, the missed appointment fee was increased to $75.00.Sincerely,Eric H