Lawrence N Cooper MD

Review: I had the most awful experience with this office today. I called to ask why they billed me $25 dollars for a "No Show" Fee when I had canceled within the parameters of their cancellation policy and I was rudely spoken to by the receptionist and the Doctor regarding this manner. I was called rude and a waste of their other patients time because it is a "miniscule $25.00 fee, and time is money." I was insulted by both the receptionist and the doctor by being in the hospitality industry and "having worse policies than them so I shouldn't be complaining." It was a horrifying customer service experience and I am appalled that I was hung up on BY THE DOCTOR and had no resolution to this billing issue. This is not the way a doctor's office should be ran in this economy. While I appreciate the care he gave me regarding my eye injury everything else from billing to customer service was absolutely dreadful. This needs to be resolved or I'm afraid they might treat other ailing patients the same.Desired Settlement: I want the this ridiculous fee taken care of because I called and cancelled my appointment within the parameters of their cancellation policy. They flat out LIED to me today and said they didn't receive a phone call from me. While $25 dollars may be miniscule to this practice it is not their place to charge unnecessary fees and judge what exactly $25 means to people.

Business

Response:

October 19, 2012

[redacted]. [redacted], M.D. F.A.C.S.

Diplomate American Board of Ophthalmology

Fellow American College of Surgeons

Eye Treatment Clinic Bldg.

233 Lewis Street

San Diego, CA 921 03

(619) 501-9050

Fax (619) 501-9054

Revdex.com of San Diego

5050 Murphy Canyon, Ste.110

San Diego, Ca 92123

FAX 858-496-2141

Reference ID [redacted]

This letter

is in response to a patient's complaint about our office. His name is [redacted]. He called our office

for the first time on the morning of October 2, 2012. He said he had an

emergency. [redacted]r

answered the phone and told him he could come in that same morning. He showed

up with a friend and

waited in the reception area, after filling out the necessary forms. [redacted]

saw him and he was given a

return appointment on October 4th at 9:15AM. When he didn't show up for his appointment,

[redacted] called him because she knew he had a corneal ulcer and really needed to

be seen in follow-up. She left him a message on his voicemail. He

called back and said that he was needed at work because they

were short-staffed. She told him he should come in. He should have been charged

a no show fee for

that date also, but [redacted] waived it because after calling him, he came in. He

showed up at 10:45AM that

day and was seen. On his first visit,

since he had a high deductible, we told him to pay us $100.00,

which he did. On the second visit, he paid us $50.00 for his capay. He had a

return appointment

on October 11th at 8:05AM. He didn't

call and didn't show up. We have an office policy of charging

$25.00 when an appointment is missed and there is no cancellation on the part

of the patient.

He was

called by our receptionist, [redacted] on October 10th to remind him of his

appointment. We do that every day to remind patients of their appointments. Our

computer system has a way of tracking if we spoke to the person or left a

message. We never heard from him. The office sent him a no show letter on

October 11. He called us rudely on October 15th to say that he was not paying a

no show fee and that he spoke with a female here. There are only two females

that work here and neither one of them spoke

with him. He continued to be rude and told [redacted] that he would contact his

attorney for the $25.00

charge. About an hour later, his insurance company, [redacted] called

and spoke with [redacted].

His name was [redacted]. He said that he had gotten a phone call from [redacted]

complaining about us.

[redacted] spoke with [redacted] and said that she would return whatever overcharges

were due him. Since we got

paid for his first visit, we refunded the monies owed him and also $10 for his

copay, which was $40, not $50. We sent him a check that day, along with a copy of his signed

agreement to pay a no show fee of

$25.00, which we have enclosed for you to see. We made every effort to be

supportive of his issues

and speak respectfully to him. We have been in business since 1977, and if you

look at our file, I am sure

you won't see too many complaints, if any. When he became rude with [redacted], she handed

the phone over to [redacted], who spoke with him for quite a while.

Please see attachments. This patient has an anger management problem and seems

to have a lot of time on his hands

to call different authorities to complain about us. His letter to you was pure

lies. Our office NEVER said

the things that he said we did. Most of them don't even make sense.

We thank you

for your time and hope that this gets resolved in a favorable manner for us.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

To say this office doesn't have customer recovery or customer service skills is an understatement. Just read their response! To say I have anger management issues is such a offhanded and insulting comment. I have complained to as many agencies as possible because I felt they have wronged me. This isn't about a $25.00 fee. This is about how you treat people when you are running a business. I tried to resolve this dispute in house with them but I was treated with disrespect and was hung up on. Their response saying that [redacted] called me on Thursday October 4, 2012 to remind me of my appointment is a flat out lie. My letter to return to work didn't say I should return until Friday October 5, 2012 and [redacted] told me that I could return to work AFTER my appointment that morning at 8AM. I never received a message or a call from her being concerned about my eye on Thursday morning. They are obviously charging this $25.00 no show fee without correctly givng information to their patients. Also, to say that I didn't call 48 hours in advance of my appointment is also a blantant lie. I have never been in such shock at reading a letter full of falsities from people who call themselves professionals. On Friday October 19, 2012 I received a letter from their office stating they would no longer see me as a patient (as if I would ever go back) as well as a refund check of $45.00 when my refund should have been $70.00. My insurance company has filed a appeal with the amount refunded. They can say they have been in business since 1977, however the huge sign outside their office says they just opened up on October 1, 2012. If they had closed down before perhaps that was what was best for the public. If they have been treating people like this for 30+ years, I have a heavy heart for their patients.

Regards,

Business

Response:

-----Original Message-----

From: [redacted]

Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2012 12:41 PM

To: [redacted]

Subject: ID [redacted]

[redacted],

I am acknowledging a rebuttal letter from our

dissatisfied patient.

Our position remains the same. All of his accusations are

downright lies. I don't have any more time to invest in this preposterous

claim.

Thank you.

[redacted]