Harbor Behavioral Health

A therapist with this company put me on her schedule for an appt that I NEVER authorized her to make and then charged me a fee for not cancelling.At the beginning of May, the therapist ([redacted] and I exchanged a few emails stating what each of our schedules would be over the next month and a half so that I could tell her which days worked for me. I did not have time to look at all of the dates, so I just looked at the one for the coming week and told her a day for that week that would work for us. Well, [redacted] took it upon herself to add me to her schedule for the week following on a day that I had not confirmed would be good for us. When I did not cancel the appt that I never scheduled, this company charged me a $125 to my credit card for not cancelling an appointment that I never even made! They refused to rectify the situation so I told them to take my card off file and not to charge anything else, as we were cancelling our service. I then receive an email the following day from the same company stating that they would be charging me $45 because they had been charging me the wrong copay and then they would close out my account. They immediately processed the payment, after I had already told them no more charges to my account. I am getting nowhere with these people and would really like some help.Desired SettlementAt minimum, I would like the $150 put back to my account and I would like assurance that my account will no longer be charged without my permission.Business Response It is unfortunate that this matter has occurred although our policies and procedures are outlined prior to a consumer's initial appointment, as well as during the consumer's initial appointment. Our policies regarding scheduling, late cancellations, and no-shows are emailed to our consumers prior to their initial appointment. Consumers have the opportunity to ask questions during their initial appointment regarding our policies prior to signing our consents and service agreement. Our policy regarding cancellations, is a 48 hr cancellation is required in order to avoid any late cancellation fees. We also have an automated text and email reminder system in place, to assist consumers in adhering to this policy. Each consumer will receive a text reminder two days prior to their appointment as well as an email, for every scheduled appointment. For this particular consumer, two appointments were cancelled late (4/27/16 and 5/2/16), on the day of the scheduled appointment, within an hour of the scheduled appointment time. We have confirmed with our automated system that text and email reminders were sent to the cell phone number and email address provided on the intake form completed by the consumer, therefore if the consumer could not attend the scheduled appointment, the consumer had an opportunity to cancel the appointment to avoid any fees. In addition, We also have on record an email obtained on 5/8/16 between the consumer and assigned therapist, confirming the proposed treatment schedule. Credit card consent was obtained on 3/14/16 in order to charge any co-pays or fees that may have been applied and remain on the account at the conclusion of each business day. Consumers have the opportunity to pay cash or check at time of service and therefore the card on file will not be charged. This consumer was only charged one late cancellation fee for the 5/2/16 appointment. The late cancellation fee associated with the appointment on 4/27/16 was waived as a one time courtesy. With regards to the co-pays associated with this consumer, $39 was the co-pay amount provided to us from BCBS following submission of claims. Our records had indicated a co-pay of $30 had been made so the account was updated accordingly. This consumer has requested to be discharged from services. We have updated the account and proceeded with discharge and no further fees will be charged.Consumer Response This email is inaccurately implying that the email between the therapist and myself on 5/8 was confirming an appointment, which was not the case. That email was just requesting proof of scheduling the appointment in question. I do understand the guidelines for late cancellations and I think they are completely necessary when you make an appointment and you don't show up or you cancel last minute. However, I NEVER made this appointment. I have thoroughly went through all of my emails and even asked for proof that this was scheduled with my permission. I was out of town when I recieved your confirmation email, so I apologize that I did not respond. Are you to tell me that I am to be charged for not cancelling an appt that I never made? Imagine if all doctors offices just put us on their schedule and then charged when we didn't show up... I hate that this is going this way, as I really did enjoy the sessions that my son had with this therapist. I am disgusted that this company will not be honorable and admit to a very simple mistake on scheduling. If they had charged me for the first appt that I missed on 4/27, I would have understood, as I requested to be seen on that day but time and unforeseen occurrence did not allow us to make it. But the appt on 5/2 was not an appt that I made or was I even aware of. It's bad practice that they should not provide a refund, as they also do not have proof that this was scheduled.