Dentist harassing me for payment!

samsemtex

My dentist called me at the end of last year/start of this year to arrange an appointment saying i was entitled to a free appointment under my PRSI entitlements. I think this was because they have changed the system and in future i wont be entitled to have my PRSI cover my dental work. Anyway, i was told this is 100% covered under the old scheme and invited in. I went in and got my teeth cleaned anyway nothing major.

Went home, nothing was said about a bill and now they are calling me and sending me bills saying that i wasnt actually covered by the scheme because the appointment had been rescheduled. Now since it's their mistake should i tell them to take a hike? Ive been ignoring them so far.

Banned Account

Was the dental nurse hawt?

PICs or you're in the wrong forum.

petes

Depends. Do you want to go back to this dentist?


Me, I'd ring them up tell them it was their fault and they weren't getting anything.

Oh and because it's AH called them a bunch of cunts while doing so.

_feedback_

samsemtex wrote: »

My dentist called me at the end of last year/start of this year to arrange an appointment saying i was entitled to a free appointment under my PRSI entitlements. I think this was because they have changed the system and in future i wont be entitled to have my PRSI cover my dental work. Anyway, i was told this is 100% covered under the old scheme and invited in. I went in and got my teeth cleaned anyway nothing major.

Went home, nothing was said about a bill and now they are calling me and sending me bills saying that i wasnt actually covered by the scheme because the appointment had been rescheduled. Now since it's their mistake should i tell them to take a hike? Ive been ignoring them so far.

He must be pulling your tooth leg.

Kiera

Ring them and tell them that you were told it was free and that you are 100% not paying for it. Unless you are the one who rescheduled, then it could fall on you.

Itsdacraic

Just reply telling them that trying to get money out of you will be like pulling teeth.

orourkeda

Just pay him will you?

Trashbat

Burn the place down. Serves them right for thinking that people should pay for non essential services and treatments.

emanresu

samsemtex wrote: »

Ive been ignoring them so far.

Don't ignore them. Tell them the reason why you won't be paying, ie.
that they re-scheduled the appointment, not you, so it is their mistake they said it would still be covered.

samsemtex

orourkeda wrote: »

Just pay him will you?

Why? I dont feel like giving them over half a days wages for arranging an appointment i didnt need after they told me it'd be free.

johndoe99

orourkeda wrote: »

Just pay him will you?

you must be the dentist

emanresu

samsemtex wrote: »

Why? I dont feel like giving them over half a days wages for arranging an appointment i didnt need after they told me it'd be free.

Because you posted in the "After Hours" forum
(by the way it has just been moved to the "Dental Issues" forum in the last few minutes).

btkm8unsl0w5r4

If the appointment was made for before the PRSI was cut you should be covered. If you changed the appointment it may not be. I suppose the dentist is out of pocket now so maybe he or she can cut the staffs wages or reduce their hours ? Its not the dentist fault the PRSI are not covering you anymore, you had the treatment and took up the dentist, and staff time. Take it up with you TD.

ballsymchugh

i'm sure you'll find that once you actually talk to them, that they're human and open to discussion, and if you feel that they made a mistake that they'll take it on the chin.
duncan bannatyne said that you should never have debts with the taxman or your gp. i'd add your dentist to that.

samsemtex

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

If the appointment was made for before the PRSI was cut you should be covered. If you changed the appointment it may not be. I suppose the dentist is out of pocket now so maybe he or she can cut the staffs wages or reduce their hours ? Its not the dentist fault the PRSI are not covering you anymore, you had the treatment and took up the dentist, and staff time. Take it up with you TD.

No, the dentist called me and said you have a free appointment. He took up my time and I would be out of pocket a lot more than her. €70 is sweet f.a to a dentist but constitutes 7 hours work for me. I didnt ask for an appointment and would not have gone at all if i wasnt offered it. I got my mam to reschedule it for me but she asked at the time if it was still covered and she was told it was.

Anyway the dentist earns my daily wage in about half an hour yet I should feel bad for taking up his offer of a free appointment which she said was definitely free?

ballsymchugh

samsemtex wrote: »

Anyway the dentist earns my daily wage in about half an hour yet I should feel bad for taking up his offer of a free appointment which she said was definitely free?

turnover =/= wage

cojomo2

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

If the appointment was made for before the PRSI was cut you should be covered. If you changed the appointment it may not be. I suppose the dentist is out of pocket now so maybe he or she can cut the staffs wages or reduce their hours ? Its not the dentist fault the PRSI are not covering you anymore, you had the treatment and took up the dentist, and staff time. Take it up with you TD.

Clearly a biased opinion from another dentist.

Fitzgeme, did read what the Op stated?

samsemtex wrote: »

My dentist called me at the end of last year/start of this year to arrange an appointment saying i was entitled to a free appointment under my PRSI entitlements.

The dentist is the one who rang the OP, agreed an appointment and made it clear that it would not cost a penny as it was being covered under PRSI

If the OP did change the appointment, which caused it to no longer fall within the time frame of the PRSI scheme, then it was 100% up to the dentist at that point to make the OP aware that the appointment would no longer be covered.


The dentist failed to do this, and actually indicated to the OP, when the appointment was being rescheduled that it would still be covered.

samsemtex wrote: »

I got my mam to reschedule it for me but she asked at the time if it was still covered and she was told it was.

It's clear, if what the OP has stated is accurate, that the dentist is at fault and should just suck it up and get on with it.

ballsymchugh

cojomo2 wrote: »

If the OP did change the appointment, which caused it to no longer fall within the time frame of the PRSI scheme, then it was 100% up to the dentist at that point to make the OP aware that the appointment would no longer be covered.


The dentist failed to do this, and actually indicated to the OP, when the appointment was being rescheduled that it would still be covered.

actually not true. it was never up to the dentist to inform you that you were entitled to treatment under the prsi scheme. it's up to the patient to inform the dentist. the fact that most dentists did the chasing for the patient doesn't change that.

the last part is between the dentist and the OP's mother, and it's only going to be sorted if someone actually speaks to the receptionist/dentist instead of ignoring it.

samsemtex

ballsymchugh wrote: »

actually not true. it was never up to the dentist to inform you that you were entitled to treatment under the prsi scheme. it's up to the patient to inform the dentist. the fact that most dentists did the chasing for the patient doesn't change that.

Yeah that would be true...if I went looking for an appointment. I didnt and never even realised that i would be covered by PRSI in the past. I just assumed it was like going to the doctor where i have to pay their charges and i didnt think PRSI ever covered it. They told me otherwise and said i was entitled to a free appointment which i never wanted or asked for. So because a dentist offers me a free appointment i am supposed to go and educate myself on the ins and outs of the PRSI system in case he wants to screw me?

I think the fact the dentist went chasing me changes everything to be honest.

PCPhoto

ballsymchugh wrote: »

actually not true. it was never up to the dentist to inform you that you were entitled to treatment under the prsi scheme. it's up to the patient to inform the dentist. the fact that most dentists did the chasing for the patient doesn't change that.

the last part is between the dentist and the OP's mother, and it's only going to be sorted if someone actually speaks to the receptionist/dentist instead of ignoring it.

so.... if someone phones me saying I can get something for free ..... I say.. "cool no problem, bring it on ".... then they send whatever it is and a bill saying I owe them money.

you expect someone to pay the bill ....funk that !!

Dentist shouldnt have been touting for business - now that the government changed their mind saying they are not gonna cover the treatment ...the dentist should claim from the government ...not the patient.....its the dentists fault, dentist needs to suck it up and move on.

(no offence intended to dentists - but in this case - assuming all facts are correct - dentist is at fault)

EDIT: Why did most dentists do the chasing ? because they were getting money from the government for simple procedures ...I doubt some of these dentists have their patients teeth at heart when making appointments...its all about the bottom line, dentistry is an expensive profession to get into and keep, with the government removing funding, dentists no longer have the cushion of support - like the rest of the working population they experience a drop in income

cojomo2

ballsymchugh wrote: »

actually not true. it was never up to the dentist to inform you that you were entitled to treatment under the prsi scheme. it's up to the patient to inform the dentist. the fact that most dentists did the chasing for the patient doesn't change that.

the last part is between the dentist and the OP's mother, and it's only going to be sorted if someone actually speaks to the receptionist/dentist instead of ignoring it.

Perhaps, but as the dentist took it upon himself to ring the OP specifically to inform him that he was entitles to free treatment, it was then up to the dentist to inform the OP if this was to change before any chargeable work was done.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

I will not let this turn into a dentist bashing thread.

The fact is that you attended for a checkup and cleaning which you received. You should have gotten this for free with your PRSI benefits but they were cut through not fault of yours or the dentists. The dentist is out of pocket and the bills for the time you were there have to be paid, staff, rent, utilities, insurance, indemnity materials, wear and tear on equipment and of course the opportunity cost. So even if the dentist decided to work for free, the cost of your visit is still around 40-50 euro.

Has the dentist communicated with you property - sound like not, but ring the practice, air your concerns and come to an arrangement. If not you will just become another bad debtor of the practice.

If I go into hospital and claim to have VHI insurance they will treat me and claim later, if it turns out I dont have VHI cover I will get the bill.

ballsymchugh

PCPhoto wrote: »

so.... if someone phones me saying I can get something for free ..... I say.. "cool no problem, bring it on ".... then they send whatever it is and a bill saying I owe them money.

you expect someone to pay the bill ....funk that !!

Dentist shouldnt have been touting for business - now that the government changed their mind saying they are not gonna cover the treatment ...the dentist should claim from the government ...not the patient.....its the dentists fault, dentist needs to suck it up and move on.

(no offence intended to dentists - but in this case - assuming all facts are correct - dentist is at fault)

it depends what exactly was said between the dentist and the patient's mother. the scheme was stopped pretty abruptly at the end of 09, giving patients 2 months after to get the treatment completed. i assume the original cancelled appointment was within the 2 months, and you saw the dentist after when the whole thing was withdrawn?
anyway, highlights the issue of PRSI again. you're getting no benefit to paying it anymore. remember that when your local TD calls around again looking for a vote.

cojomo2

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

I will not let this turn into a dentist bashing thread.

The fact is that you attended for a checkup and cleaning which you received. You should have gotten this for free with your PRSI benefits but they were cut through not fault of yours or the dentists. The dentist is out of pocket and the bills for the time you were there have to be paid, staff, rent, utilities, insurance, indemnity materials, wear and tear on equipment and of course the opportunity cost. So even if the dentist decided to work for free, the cost of your visit is still around 40-50 euro.

Has the dentist communicated with you property - sound like not, but ring the practice, air your concerns and come to an arrangement. If not you will just become another bad debtor of the practice.

If I go into hospital and claim to have VHI insurance they will treat me and claim later, if it turns out I dont have VHI cover I will get the bill.

This is by no means a 'dentist bashing thread'... the person at fault here just happens to be a dentist. If an 'bashing' is being done, it is being aimed at this particular dentist, and not dentists in general.



Yes, the PRSI benefits were cut. The dentist would have been informed of this through the HSE. It was then up to the dentist to inform the patient of same before work was carried out.

He failed to do this. His fault, he has no grounds to look for payment.

PCPhoto

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

I will not let this turn into a dentist bashing thread.

The fact is that you attended for a checkup and cleaning which you received. You should have gotten this for free with your PRSI benefits but they were cut through not fault of yours or the dentists. The dentist is out of pocket and the bills for the time you were there have to be paid, staff, rent, utilities, insurance, indemnity materials, wear and tear on equipment and of course the opportunity cost. So even if the dentist decided to work for free, the cost of your visit is still around 40-50 euro.

Has the dentist communicated with you property - sound like not, but ring the practice, air your concerns and come to an arrangement. If not you will just become another bad debtor of the practice.

If I go into hospital and claim to have VHI insurance they will treat me and claim later, if it turns out I dont have VHI cover I will get the bill.

depends on if you gave them your correct name/address !! .... and chances are they check it on the computer before you are treated anyway.

the dentist offered a free service, the OP took up the service thinking that the government are picking up the tab (dentist also thinks this) ..... government decide to not take the tab so dentist tries to get money from patient....patient is 100% (legally) entitled not to pay ANYTHING, dentist only recourse is against the government.

ideally dentist and patient would agree a nominal fee (50-50 split of bill) .... but the OP is under no obligation to do so - especially after being told the entire thing was covered.....the OP has already stated that he/she wouldnt have gone to the dentist prior to dentist phoning and claiming he/she has a free appointment.

OP I would suggest that you phone and talk to dentist regarding this and explain the situation as you understand it, and see if you both can come to some agreement.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Indeed....this treatment used to be free, you can vent over dentist fees all you but free was pretty good value. You pay PRSI "insurance" from your wages and get practically nothing in return. Why is this let slide, the response from patients to these cuts has been mostly apathy and resignation. Because the Dentist is the contact point for patients receipt of this benefit the dentist gets the brunt of this scorn. Contact your TD and insist that the PRSI benefit is reinstated.

davo10

Something does not ring true with this, OP are you giving us all the facts. If the dentist checked that you were covered under PRSI with Dept of Social welfare then they would have to honour that and you would not have to pay for a checkup and clean provided you turned up for your appointment and had the treatment prior to March 31st, the end date for dental treatments under the old PRSI dental scheme. If your original appointment was before this date and you rescheduled after this date then you missed the cut off date and would have to pay for the treatment as you did not take up your entitlement in time.
Just to clarify, patients were entitled to PRSI treatment if they recieved approval before Dec 31st and completed before March 31. I wrote to all my patients before Xmas explaining the changes and asking them to contact us asap if they wanted treatment under old scheme, those that did not contact us were private from January 1st.
If it happened the way you are telling it, your elegibility was confirmed, you had treatment and there would be no need for dentist to bill you, you are leaving some details out, I suspect you didnt go dentist on the date you were supposed to and rescheduled after the cut off date.

samsemtex

davo10 wrote: »

Something does not ring true with this, OP are you giving us all the facts. If the dentist checked that you were covered under PRSI with Dept of Social welfare then they would have to honour that and you would not have to pay for a checkup and clean provided you turned up for your appointment and had the treatment prior to March 31st, the end date for dental treatments under the old PRSI dental scheme. If your original appointment was before this date and you rescheduled after this date then you missed the cut off date and would have to pay for the treatment as you did not take up your entitlement in time.
Just to clarify, patients were entitled to PRSI treatment if they recieved approval before Dec 31st and completed before March 31. I wrote to all my patients before Xmas explaining the changes and asking them to contact us asap if they wanted treatment under old scheme, those that did not contact us were private from January 1st.
If it happened the way you are telling it, your elegibility was confirmed, you had treatment and there would be no need for dentist to bill you, you are leaving some details out, I suspect you didnt go dentist on the date you were supposed to and rescheduled after the cut off date.

I dont remember the date i went on and it probably was after the cut off date but thats not really the point. It was confirmed beforehand and while on the phone his assistant stated that it would still be a free appointment.

I'll give him a call. I might offer to pay half just to have it out of the way and still have a dentist to go to.

davo10

Ah, so things are not quite as you made them out to be. You have wilfully misled the readers of this thread and slandered your dentist making him/her out to be greedy and you a victim.
You were offerred free treatment and had 3 months to avail of it, by your own admission you rescheduled your appointment for a date after the cut off point for PRSI treatment under the old scheme, every PRSI patient in the country knows about changes to the dental scheme. This is your fault and you are responcible for the situation, so apologise to the readers of this forum for being full of s**t and pay up.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

So OP this is the story from your posts.

1. Your dentist office rings you to tell you the PRSI scheme is closing down and if you want a free checkup (free to you, the dentist gets paid by the PRSI) you need to come in in the next 3 months.
2. You make an appointment within the 3 months.
3. Your mother changes this appointment for you to a date outside the 3 months window. Your mother communicates to you that it will still be free. Did she actually ask?
4. The dentist sees you and carries out treatment that takes up the dentists and staffs time. The fact that the dentist doesn't find something wrong with your teeth or do some unnecessary treatment annoys you cause the dentist didn't do anything for the money. (which you didn't pay)
5. The dentist does not get paid by the PRSI on your behalf.
6. The dentist send you an invoice for the money owed.
7. You get cross that the dentist wants to be paid for his/her work and would dare to chase you for money.
8. You feel the dentist wasted your time even though by your own admission your time is worth SFA compared to the dentists.

I think this is fairly cut and dried, you own money. Either pay up or don't draw attention to the fact you dont pay your bills. Tell the dentist you will pay 10 euro week for 7 weeks.

samsemtex

davo10 wrote: »

Ah, so things are not quite as you made them out to be. You have wilfully misled the readers of this thread and slandered your dentist making him/her out to be greedy and you a victim.
This is your fault and you are responcible for the situation, so apologise to the readers of this forum for being full of s**t and pay up.

Oh do cop on and read the thread properly. Stop getting overly defensive of your profession.

samsemtex wrote: »

Anyway, i was told this is 100% covered under the old scheme and invited in. I went in and got my teeth cleaned anyway nothing major.

Went home, nothing was said about a bill

samsemtex wrote: »

I didnt ask for an appointment and would not have gone at all if i wasnt offered it. I got my mam to reschedule it for me but she asked at the time if it was still covered and she was told it was.

Where do I mislead them? I said numerous times that I was told the appointment would be free before and after it was rescheduled. My mother asked when she reschedule and she was told 100% that it would be free. If it wasnt, either we wouldnt have rescheduled or I just wouldnt have gone. Secondly, I'm not even sure if it was after the cut off anyway. I'll have to double check that.

So please do tell how it is my fault and how I am responsible for it since we made changes to our appointment based on information the dentist's secretary gave us? Or else get off your high horse.

samsemtex

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

So OP this is the story from your posts.

1. Your dentist office rings you to tell you the PRSI scheme is closing down and if you want a free checkup (free to you, the dentist gets paid by the PRSI) you need to come in in the next 3 months. - Correct
2. You make an appointment within the 3 months. - Correct
3. Your mother changes this appointment for you to a date outside the 3 months window. Your mother communicates to you that it will still be free. Did she actually ask? - I'm not 100% sure if it was outside the 3 month window but yes, she did ask. She is meticulous about these things. The dentists secretary has even admitted that she didnt tell us about it.
4. The dentist sees you and carries out treatment that takes up the dentists and staffs time. The fact that the dentist doesn't find something wrong with your teeth or do some unnecessary treatment annoys you cause the dentist didn't do anything for the money. (which you didn't pay) - Whats your point? I had to take a half day from work and drive to the dentist to go to my appointment which i had been told was free when it was rescheduled. Also, where do I say I am annoyed that I didnt get any work done
5. The dentist does not get paid by the PRSI on your behalf. - Not my fault.
6. The dentist send you an invoice for the money owed.
7. You get cross that the dentist wants to be paid for his/her work and would dare to chase you for money. - I get cross because the dentist has explicitly told me on numerous occasions that it was a free appointment
8. You feel the dentist wasted your time even though by your own admission your time is worth SFA compared to the dentists. - That is a smartass comment and to be honest i'd expect an apology for that. Being in a **** job due to a recession isn't fun after spending 5 years in college

Amazing how defensive those on the dental issues board get.

Sofa King Great

davo10 wrote: »

Ah, so things are not quite as you made them out to be. You have wilfully misled the readers of this thread and slandered your dentist making him/her out to be greedy and you a victim.
You were offerred free treatment and had 3 months to avail of it, by your own admission you rescheduled your appointment for a date after the cut off point for PRSI treatment under the old scheme, every PRSI patient in the country knows about changes to the dental scheme. This is your fault and you are responcible for the situation, so apologise to the readers of this forum for being full of s**t and pay up.

That is completely misrepresenting what he said.
1. The dentist rang him offering him a free appointment (by virtue of the dentist's ability to claim from the PRSI)
2. The OP reshceduled he appointment at which time it was confirmed by the dentist's assistant that it would still be a free appointment.
3. The OP attended the appointment on the basis of the information provided by the surgery stating that it was free.

As far as i am concerned the dentist probably made a **** load of money over the years offering people "free" appointments when they didn't necesarily need them. Someone in the surgery f*ked up and gave out the wrong information. That is not the OPs fault. The dentist needs to suck it up, write it off and move on.

OP, i'd write to the dentist telling them that you attended the appointment following confirmation from a member of his staff that the appointment would not cost you anything. I'd also tell him that because of that you won't be paying for it.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

samsemtex wrote: »

Amazing how defensive those on the dental issues board get.

Take it to a different forum then, transferred to consumer issues, this really is not a dental issue.

The general assumption by you is that the dentist makes so much that there is not need to pay. Dentists are small business people under pressure in this recession to hold on to their staff and keep suppliers in business. Also the checkup is not free, your pay PRSI for it. You would swear the dentist held a gun to your head and marched you into the chair.

samsemtex

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

Take it to a different forum then, transferred to consumer issues, this really is not a dental issue.

The general assumption by you is that the dentist makes so much that there is not need to pay. Dentists are small business people under pressure in this recession to hold on to their staff and keep suppliers in business. Also the checkup is not free, your pay PRSI for it. You would swear the dentist held a gun to your head and marched you into the chair.

Ah, incorrect again. I only ever mentinoed how much the dentist makes in comparison to my wages when YOU started going on about how I had left the dentist out of pocket and I was shortchanging him and that he should cut his staffs pay to make up for this gross injustice. When in reality his being out €70 is proportionately much less to him than it is to me. I would never have mentioned it otherwise so that is not the issue AT ALL.

Also, I never asked for it to go into dental issues. I didnt particularly want it to go there as there is pretty much no chance of getting an objective answer and that is pretty clear from the answers that have come from the two dentists on the board.

dudara

Right, this issue is in Consumer Issues now, so I want a clean discussion.

Please keep all dentist-economics-business type comments out of it.

The topic at hand is whether or not the OP should pay for a service which they were (apparently) informed would be free.

dudara

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Fair enough....

My opinion as a Dentist is that the OP should pay but with some protest that he or she was ill informed by the staff in the dentists office. The PRSI is (was) and insurance scheme which reimbursed dentists. The OP was not covered by the insurance policy but had availed of private treatment services.

Autoglass do free windscreen crack repair, but its not free at all they claim on your insurance. No insurance, not free.

P. Breathnach

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

My opinion as a Dentist is that the OP should pay but with some protest that he or she was ill informed by the staff in the dentists office. The PRSI is (was) and insurance scheme which reimbursed dentists. The OP was not covered by the insurance policy but had availed of private treatment services.

Autoglass do free windscreen crack repair, but its not free at all they claim on your insurance. No insurance, not free.

If the facts are accurately presented by OP, I would disagree, and quite strongly. The dentist proposed the visit on the basis that it would be free to OP, and when the appointment was re-scheduled the dentist's office gave an assurance that the visit would still be free.

Let's be realistic here: most people trust their doctors and pharmacists and dentists to know what is covered by social insurance, and that works satisfactorily in almost every case. It looks as if in this case the dentist or her staff made a mistake, and want OP to carry the can. Not good; not fair; probably not legally enforceable.

[The facts that OP has a modest income, and that many dentists enjoy good incomes, are quite irrelevant. As is the suggestion that dentists are struggling to keep their small businesses alive.]

keithclancy

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

Fair enough....

My opinion as a Dentist is that the OP should pay but with some protest that he or she was ill informed by the staff in the dentists office. The PRSI is (was) and insurance scheme which reimbursed dentists. The OP was not covered by the insurance policy but had availed of private treatment services.

Autoglass do free windscreen crack repair, but its not free at all they claim on your insurance. No insurance, not free.

Autoglass say its 'Usually free' and advise that you should check with your Insurance company to see what is covered.

In this case the Dentist contacted the OP, advised that he should have a checkup and the op went on the sweetener that it was free.

Later the Dentist finds out its not free and sends the OP a bill, Dentists fault as he provided the information to the OP, the OP did not request anything from the Dentist the service was offered by the Dentist.

The Dentist should check before hand if the work is covered before he/she performs that work as there there never was any agreement with the OP to pay for it.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

If the OP does not pay he or she should not be surprised if its passed on to a debt collection agency.

cojomo2

To be honest, I think this thread should be closed.

Its clear from the facts and from the feedback of everyone here (apart from the dentists, which I feel are biased) that the OP should not have to pay the dentist, end of.

This is, of course , assuming all the facts laid out by the OP are true and accurate.

keithclancy

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

If the OP does not pay he or she should not be surprised if its passed on to a debt collection agency.

So what ?
The OP can just let it go to court and state

"There was no agreement for payment of this service, I was told it was covered on the PRSI Scheme and underwent the procedure based on the information provided by the Dental Professional"

Also, TBH I've never heard of a Dentist passing on a 70 euro debt to a collection agency, they'd be too small to spend the time + hassle on it.

davo10

The crux of the issue is that the OP was offerred treatment under PRSI scheme, this treatment was time limited and he did not take it up prior to time running out so he is a PRIVATE PATIENT. He is giving us third hand info as his mother was also involved with rescheduling the appointment. At the end of it all he had 3 months to avail of it and didnt.

I think also there is a feeling that it was in the dentists's best interest to "offer" this treatment, make absolutely no mistake here, there are thousands of PRSI workers who would have been delighted if their dentist rang to advise them of their entitlement to "free" treatment up to March 31st, and I can assure you many people reading this tripe would not have waited months to avail of it. Since January 1st hundreds of my patients have regretted the fact that they missed the oppertunity to get something they had paid for through their PRSI contributions and now have to pay private fees. You were offerred something which was great value and it doesn't come much better than being free which through your own tardiness you mucked up.

keithclancy

davo10 wrote: »

The crux of the issue is that the OP was offerred treatment under PRSI scheme, this treatment was time limited and he did not take it up prior to time running out so he is a PRIVATE PATIENT. He is giving us third hand info as his mother was also involved with rescheduling the appointment. At the end of it all he had 3 months to avail of it and didnt.

I think also there is a feeling that it was in the dentists's best interest to "offer" this treatment, make absolutely no mistake here, there are thousands of PRSI workers who would have been delighted if their dentist rang to advise them of their entitlement to "free" treatment up to March 31st, and I can assure you many people reading this tripe would not have waited months to avail of it. Since January 1st hundreds of my patients have regretted the fact that they missed the oppertunity to get something they had paid for through their PRSI contributions and now have to pay private fees. You were offerred something which was great value and it doesn't come much better than being free which through your own tardiness you mucked up.

No, the crux of the issue is that none of that was explained to the OP, while you may know that is the case, the op did not. He genuinely did not know he would have to pay and if he knew he did have to pay he wouldn't have availed of the service.

You cannot offer someone a service, advertise it as something that the customer doesn't have to pay for, perform the work and then send a bill afterwards.

At the very least for the Dentist to cover himself he would have to clearly explain the terms and conditions of the agreement if not in writing.

The dentist made the mistake and now its their problem.

dan719

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

I will not let this turn into a dentist bashing thread.

I didn't know you were a consumer issues mod.:rolleyes:

btkm8unsl0w5r4

dan719 wrote: »

I didn't know you were a consumer issues mod.:rolleyes:

Read the thread again there Dan, it will come to you. :rolleyes:

keithclancy wrote: »

Dentist passing on a 70 euro debt to a collection agency, they'd be too small to spend the time + hassle on it.

Collection agencies work on a percentage. I send all my bad depts more than 12 months old (after 2 letters and one call) off to the collectors. They chase the dept and take 60-75 cents on the euro of everything they manage to recoup, I get the remaining 35 cents (its better than nothing) it cost me nothing. I print out the list from the computer and off it goes. I chase all debts more than 50 euro, it all adds up.

What I would say is that the OP must contact the dentist and talk, not come on the internet and give out looking for backup from strangers that now nothing about dental practice or the ins and outs of the PRSI scheme.

davo10

Keith its clear from first post that he was given the facts, it was PRSI treatment and the rules were changing, he seems to have understood this clearly but did'nt take up the treatment before the date of change, March 31st. While I appreciate there has been some confusion and possible misunderstanding, I cannot help but feel that 3 months is a lot of time to avail of something like this, also I would have my doubts that he was not told of this prior to treatment or on the day of appointment, I suspect he had the treatment and told the receptionist he would be back to pay but is now chancing his arm.

Magenta

samsemtex wrote: »

My mother asked when she reschedule and she was told 100% that it would be free.

Maybe your mother got it wrong, maybe there was a misunderstanding?
If so, let it be a lesson to you to make your own appointments in future- if you are old enough to work, you are old enough to organise an appointment for yourself.

cojomo2

dan719 wrote: »

I didn't know you were a consumer issues mod.:rolleyes:

was posted when the thread was in Dental Issues.

dan719

Jaxton Raspy Elk wrote: »

Read the thread again there Dan, it will come to you. :rolleyes:

I'm sure it will. Probably quicker than that knob will get his money too. In fact I hope it's you who is out of pocket.

Sofa King Great

Some serious aggression from the Dentists posting on this thread...