Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  04/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  About December 14 2022 I paid for a procedure for three areas of my body IN FULL. I paid from my personal checking account in the amount of approximately $3800. Company had to reschedule because company made error in not telling me what medicines I should not take before the procedure. Because they did not tell me this they rescheduled & apologized & said they would provide a treatment for me for free but never provided this treatment. The reason they never provided the complimentary treatment is because they blamed me for being in too much pain after my first procedure which makes no sense because they are the ones administering the pain medicine and it is not my fault that their procedure caused pain. It's wrong to blame me for them not giving me a free procedure which they promised. In early February I had the FIRST procedure done and was told i could book the second TWO procedures ( which I already paid for ) in the next 6 to 8 weeks.I schedule the last two procedures for April 27. The week prior I realized that they did not give me the anxiety prescription that they gave me before the 1ST procedure which is again to me another unprofessional mistake that they made like forgetting to tell me about what medicines not to take. I called & asked for the prescription. I could not pick up the prescription until Monday April 25th. The receptionist said to come on that date. No one answered after I knocked many times. I called and the receptionist who came out said they were closed but gave me the prescription. I took the prescription to *************** & neither pharmacy would accept the prescription because it was not written on the proper paper. I had to reschedule app because of other medications i take. Although I already paid for my entire procedure in full they want me to pay $500 deposit or they will not complete my procedure which i already paid for in full. 1/3 of procedure complete. I want half of my money back because they did not finish.

  Business response

  05/04/2023

  To whom it may concern,
  
  Patient presented to our office on 12/14/2022. A consultation and evaluation of the patient was performed, along with a discussion of liposuction procedure, and cost.
  During the discussion patient did not want to do any post care which was an additional fee that included Morpheus 8 for skin tightening, and 5 lipolight therapy sessions,ultrasound and massage cupping to help reduce inflammation. Patient did not want to follow standard protocol and do post care, she only wanted to do the liposuction. Patient agreed to the payment of $3,825, this included the abdominal region and upper back area.
  At that time patient was given all of our pre and post instructions, medication precaution list, consent form and financial contract. All of this information was copied and given to the patient and all paperwork was gone through with the office manager.  Patient paid for ******************* and an appointment was scheduled for 1/18/2023.
  Patient arrived to the office on 1/18/2023 late, and frazzled. We started reviewing and prepping her for surgery, when she revealed to ** that she had taken Ibuprofen,the entire week. We told her we are unable to perform the surgery, due to fear of causing complications or problems. She stated that she did not receive the medication list. We told her she signed the information and a copy was given to her of all the pre and post procedures, along with what medications to avoid.She was very upset, and was pushing ** to proceed with the surgery.  To handle her upset, we told her we did not want to risk any complications and for her inconvenience we will give her an additional complimentary treatment, which is the Morpheus 8, which helps with skin tightening.

  Her appointment was rescheduled to 2/01/2023. She arrived late to the surgery. She also arrived without her Faja. She once again said that she was not told that she needed it.Even though we clearly went over all the instructions. We immediately got on amazon and ordered one, that could arrive to her office by that evening. We were able to perform the surgery. During the surgery she was in a lot of pain,and we had to stop the procedure several times to give her a break. At that point we asked if she would be able to continue. She said it is enough for her.We finished the frontal abdominal section and said that we would reschedule the second half of the surgery due to her having too much discomfort. She agreed and said that would be better. We asked if she would still like the Morpheus procedure, she said yes, she could handle that. We did about 300 micro needle points, before she said it was too unbearable and that she could not handle the procedure. We offered to give her more pain medication, she said it was too unbearable and did not want any more. We stopped the procedure. We cleaned her up, went over post instructions, and made a bandage for her to help keep things tight. We scheduled her for a follow up appointment the next day.
  The next day she arrived to her appointment several hours late. She had a fresh Faja, that was not even wet, meaning that she did not put it on immediately when she got it.We asked if she wore it through the night as instructed and she said no. She did not follow instructions again. She insisted on having another procedure for the upper back area since she had paid for it.

  
  She was scheduled for 3/8/23. The office manager went through pre-procedure instructions again, stressing the Faja to be ordered and worn as directed, and medications to avoid before she left the office. She canceled her appointment due to personal reason, and did not follow our 24 hour cancellation policy. She was re-scheduled again for 4/26/2023. She left a voice message at 6:55 am canceling her appointment, she stated that she forgot and took ibuprofen all week and was cancelling the appointment.
  
  After multiple cancelations which restricted income and patient care, the office manager stated we would gladly give the treatment but due to multiple negligent cancellations, a non-refundable deposit of $500 was asked of the patient to secure her spot which would  be returned to her upon arrival to her procedure. The patient became extremely upset and said that it was unfair and was not going to do that. We did not hear back from her after that call, and instead received a letter from the Better Business Bureau.
  We have on file in our office, intake and medical forms, financial forms and agreements and medical notes. The forms all indicate her signature for pre and post instructions, and financial responsibilities including point number 3, patient cooperation. All of these points have been addressed with the patient numerous times and yet they have been violated. The patient has been completely non-compliant.  Her missed and last minute cancelled appointments have cost ** time, and money, and have taken away the ability for other patients to get treated.
  

  We are **************** the treatment for this patient as we had promised.  However, because of her non-compliance and history of missing multiple appointments, we are requiring her to make a security deposit to hold her appointment time which will be fully refunded when she comes to her appointment, to ensure that she is not wasting the valuable time of our medical staff.

  Customer response

  05/04/2023

   
  Complaint: 19993164
  
  I am rejecting this response because: this company did not complete the service that I paid for in full. $500 was Never required in the contract. Please refund half of my money. I am not paying  $500 for services that was NEVER a requirement. I find this to be very unscrupulous and dishonest. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Business response

  05/09/2023

  When this patient came to our office, she signed a financial agreement that she fully agreed to.  These terms were explained to her and she had the opportunity to read the financial agreement before signing it.

  I have attached a copy of the financial agreement signed by the patient.  It clearly states as follows in paragraph 3:  This Agreement assumes full patient cooperation. This cooperation includes Patients agreement to remain active in the recommended treatment program, including post-op instructions.Failure to do so may result in an incomplete treatment program. Hence,compliance to recommended schedules is equally important and Patient agrees to keep appointments. Patient understands that additional treatments may be necessary due to lack of cooperation, failure to keep appointments, failure to follow post-op instructions, engaging in activities outlined to be injurious or which may cause additional trauma to the body. Additional treatments due to Patients lack of cooperation as outlined above would be in addition to treatments provided by this agreement.

  As we have shown in our previous response, the patient did not comply to this agreement.

  The patient also understands that the treatment is non-refundable, as stated in paragraph 4 ("Refunds") in the same financial agreement.  There will be no refund.

  We are willing to deliver an additional treatment, as we had promised to this patient all along.  However, because of her frequent cancellations and missed appointments, we are requiring a security deposit of $500 to be paid to hold her appointment.  When she arrives to her appointment, ready to receive her treatment, this will be fully refunded to her.  If she misses her appointment or does something that violates our compliance policies that cause her to not be able to receive the treatment on her scheduled appointment day, this security deposit will not be refunded to the patient.

  The patient should realize that an appointment for this treatment blocks significant time from the provider's and medical staff's schedule.  When the patient misses a liposuction appointment or does not follow the pre-treatment requirements, as this patient has done several times, this time is lost, which causes significant financial losses to the company.  This patient has done this several times, which is why we are requiring this deposit.

   

  Customer response

  05/12/2023

   
  Complaint: 19993164
  
  I am rejecting this response because NO WHERE ON THE AGREEMENT DOES IT STATES THAT YOU WILL CHARGE $500  deposit to do work,  The agreement clearly states that I not only paid in full but i paid for three areas. You only did one area which was my stomach. Your company did not c complete the job as per the contract you were supposed to also do my back which you never did. Again, i did not sign to a $500 deposit fee in the contract and so for you to add this later in order to complete the work is THEFT  pure theft. I will not pay $500 deposit because I never signed an agreement for that. Therefore, based on the fact that your company did not complete the work that I paid you for in full I want half of my hard earned money back else this is pure theft. By the way I kept my contract as well and I know exactly what it states. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

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