dentist robbed me

Tivoli

okay back in december i booked an appointment with a dentist for a sore tooth, they asked for my prsi number

a week later at the appointment, i was informed that i qualify for a prsi subsidy, so i will get the filling @nearly half price and can have 2 checkups free a year,great

after i got the tooth filled for half price the dentist asks me if i want my checkup since its free. 3 more teeth need filling so make 2 more appointments

get first tooth filled half price again

turned up to get the other 2 teeth filled and am informed they made a mistake i dont qualify for the subsidy until next janurary.now i have to pay full price for the last filling and even the first filling and the checkup made in december


this is adding up to well over €200 for work i wouldn't have gotten done until next year if i had knowen i had to pay full price

egan007

complain in writing - to the dentist
-> no answer

Complain to office of fair trade
->
Complain to the ombudsman

Sounds like the dentist had a contract he did not honor
course if he denies it - then it's your word against his

leonotron

Surely thats his fault, he gave you the price. Have you already paid the cheaper price for the work already done? If so tell him to **** off

Sleipnir

Exactly the same thing happened to my girlfriend two years ago.
Was told she qualified for PRSI, after all the work was done they said
"oh wait, no you don't"
She didn't pay the extra and after a few threatening letters including the "we are sending a debt collection agency after you" one they just stopped trying to get it.

Emboss

You agreed a price with him

You paid it

it's his tough ****.

Tivoli

okay i know i am weak but i paid up in full for the last 2 fillings because i knew the price before i got them filled


i will ignore any invitations to pay the rest off


as was said above its totally my word against the dentists

Typedef

You could always take a pliers to your teeth, and throw them back at your dentist.

That'd teach him.

vinnyfitz

Go to a different dentist for the rest of the work if it has not already been done.

If you have paid already check out your rights with www.odca.ie - phone them.
You might be able to get your money back through the small claims court.

Ripwave

Originally posted by vinnyfitz
Go to a different dentist for the rest of the work if it has not already been done.

If you have paid already check out your rights with www.odca.ie - phone them.
You might be able to get your money back through the small claims court.

You'll find that you owe the Dentist money. The dentist has a price for a procedure. If you're covered under PRSI, then the Government pays part of this, and you pay the rest. If you're not covered, then you pay the whole thing. Most dentists will handle the paperwork for you (it's in their best interests to do so), but it's really up to you to verify that you're covered by PRSI, and if the Department makes a mistake, then you should be on to the department to find out what the problem is, because if you're unfortunate enough to need some other aspect of S/W cover next week or next month, you want to know that your entitlments are sorted out beforehand.

The sort of treatments covered by Dental Benefit aren't exactly "optional extras". If you need a filling, the money you pay now will be well worth the avoided pain in two or three years time.

LFCFan

Dentists are a bunch of thieving scum (well not all of them). I went to one 7 years ago for a checkup and cleaning and was told that one of my teeth had a hole in it and I would definitly need a filling withing 6 months or it would go bad. 7 years later and I've never had so much as a toothache. Same thing has happened with a few other people I know. A paper once did a report where they got a model, got an independant dentist to check her out and confirmed there was no work needed on her teeth. She proceeded to have checkups at 6 different dentists. The work they quoted her went from around £300 to over £2,000 for all sorts of procedures she didn't need. I don't trust dentists. I've been twice in my life(ages 9 and 20). I've no fillings, never had a toothache and my teeth are in excellent condition. Everyone I know that regulary go to dentists, ALL have had work done on their teeth. ALL have fillings. I'll go for a checkup now because I've paid my 5 years PRSI but if he tells me I need a filling he can go take a running jump. If I ever really do need work done I'll be going up North where the prices are reasonable, the service is excellent and the staff are friendly.

vinnyfitz

Originally posted by Ripwave
You'll find that you owe the Dentist money. The dentist has a price for a procedure. If you're covered under PRSI, then the Government pays part of this, and you pay the rest. If you're not covered, then you pay the whole thing. Most dentists will handle the paperwork for you (it's in their best interests to do so), but it's really up to you to verify that you're covered by PRSI,

Well it depends. Mukki's evidence seems to be that the Dentist said "you are covered so here is a deal". Not "check if you are covered 'cos if you are I will do xxx for yyy".

It may come down to a row about who said what but I think the case is at least arguable from what we have been told here.

Ripwave

Originally posted by vinnyfitz
Well it depends. Mukki's evidence seems to be that the Dentist said "you are covered so here is a deal". Not "check if you are covered 'cos if you are I will do xxx for yyy".

As I said, the dentist will usually do the paperwork for you, because it's in his best interest, and they do it for everyone, so they know the procedure. But it's still your responsibility, not his, if it turns out that you're not covered. After all, you'd expect to get a refund if you found out after the fact that you were covered by PRSI.

It may come down to a row about who said what but I think the case is at least arguable from what we have been told here.

From what we've been told here, the guys still hasn't bothered contacting the department to find out whether he is or isn't covered, if not, why not, and if and when the dentist made an enquiry about him.

If there was a pattern of this sort of thing happening, then the Department would become aware of it pretty quickly. So I'd be pretty surprised if this was anything other than a genuine mistake. Whether the mistake was with the Dentist, the Department or the patient isn't particularly obvious at this point.

bonkey

I believe Ripwave is correct in the sense that the dentist did not offer a reduced price - he merely (unintentionally) misled the customer about how much of the price the customer would have to pay and how much would be covered by the government.

Look at it like this - what if it had not been the dentist who told you that you were covered by PRSI. What if you were complaining to your boss at work about a sore tooth, and he says you've been working with him long enough that PRSI would cover blah blah blah, so off you went and did it only to discover at the end that PRSI didn't cover it.

Would your boss owe you anything?

Now, if push came to shove, there may be a case against the dentist, because he was the one standing to benefit from his own advice, but you would probably have a hard time getting anywhere with this unless you could show he had a habit of doing it.

Personally? I'd have a chat with the dentist and tell him you weren't happy about the cock-up, because in effect you end up paying for something you couldn't afford, on the bad advice of the person you are now paying.

I'd offer to split the difference and write it off as experience.

jc

vinnyfitz

Slightly OT but an interesting letter nevertheless

Madam, - I am aware of the spate of complaints about rip-off Ireland and having returned to Ireland from four and a half years in Australia I have been shocked into numbness by the cost of living here.

However, like most, I have put up with the overcharging and work in Dublin in two jobs which barely manage to cover my cost of living expenses. Today I had the misfortune of having to receive dental work and a quote for further work which on investigation amounted to approximately twice the cost of similar dental treatment provided in Northern Ireland.

I am utterly perplexed as to how a full root canal can cost £200 sterling in Newry and €500 in Dublin and how a crown can cost £250 pounds sterling in Newry and €1000 in Dublin.

It is obvious to me that the rip-off tendency in Irish life is firmly in favour of the professions and to the detriment of anyone trying to make a living and build a life in their home city. - Yours, etc.,

Dr ANTHONY FINN, Beauvale Park, Artane, Dublin 5.

What can expalin this?

LFCFan

Originally posted by vinnyfitz
What can expalin this?

Pure Greed!

VeeEmmy

I go to a dentist in Northern Ireland. The prices are less than half what they are down here, plus they will also help with the paperwork (Med2 etc). My dentist has a driver collect us from the train station, if we go by train.

(I drive nowaday, because last time we parked at Connolly resulted in vandalised car...)

This dentist also does everything possible to save teeth rather than pulling them. They also do all the lab work there on the premises, and FAST.

It's a hassle to go up there, but a friend was quoted €4000 by dentist down here (and a misdiagnosis), and it (the proper job) cost him about €400 up there. I'd say that the €3600 saved was worth the hassle! Money in his pocket (not the rip off dentist's pocket in RoI).

My dentist has Saturday hours too. The more of us who refuse to pay the dentists down here, the sooner they'll wake up and get real.

Dunno what about quality of care here though, regardless of price. They seem to be teeth pullers down here from all I can gather!

Ban

jongore

Originally posted by mukki
okay i know i am weak but i paid up in full for the last 2 fillings because i knew the price before i got them filled


i will ignore any invitations to pay the rest off


as was said above its totally my word against the dentists

Be careful about not paying the dentist off as it could affect your credit rating if he reports it.

I know their crooks but the laws here seem to favour the crook.:(

eth0_

Originally posted by jongore
Be careful about not paying the dentist off as it could affect your credit rating if he reports it.

I know their crooks but the laws here seem to favour the crook.:(

Only if he brought him to court...the dentist is not a financial body and as such, defaulting on payment won't go near your credit rating unless civil proceedings are brought.

crested10

Hi,

Can you send me on the name of the dentist you saw in northern ireland?

Mark

ejmaztec

crested10 wrote: »

Hi,

Can you send me on the name of the dentist you saw in northern ireland?

Mark

He's probably retired now.:P

Jip

WTF, this thread is almost 6 years old !

LFCFan

It's old but 6 years later it's still relevant. Dentists are still gouging money from us down here and the North is still a lot cheaper. I use one up north too. Cavehill Dentist

http://www.dental-implants.org/

I was told down here that I would need root canal work done on 2 teeth and was given 2 temporary fillings and told to come back a few months later for the root canal work to be done. Was going to cost me the guts of €1,200. Went up North and not only did they do xRays and a full consultation (for free. none of the dentists I've ever gone to down here has even mentioned xRays), but they also told me there was no need for root canal work and just gave me 2 permanent fillings. They could have easily agreed with the Dublin dentist and screwed me out of more money but they are very genuine and do eveything by the book. I'm never going to a dentist down here again!!

helimachoptor

LFC, I'm also using that dentist. Getting am implant placed friday, at less than half the cost of down here. Crazy stuff altogether.

j1974

Tivoli wrote: »

okay back in december i booked an appointment with a dentist for a sore tooth, they asked for my prsi number

a week later at the appointment, i was informed that i qualify for a prsi subsidy, so i will get the filling @nearly half price and can have 2 checkups free a year,great

after i got the tooth filled for half price the dentist asks me if i want my checkup since its free. 3 more teeth need filling so make 2 more appointments

get first tooth filled half price again

turned up to get the other 2 teeth filled and am informed they made a mistake i dont qualify for the subsidy until next janurary.now i have to pay full price for the last filling and even the first filling and the checkup made in december


this is adding up to well over €200 for work i wouldn't have gotten done until next year if i had knowen i had to pay full price

simple as, you shouldnt have paid. you should point out that it was their mistake and left, then got another apointment for the last one, when you qualified. It happened to me before and I told them Id be back in 5 mins, I had to go to the bank machine. I never went back and they called me six months later for a check up, I turned up and they never said owt!!! they make tons of money, dentist, orthodontists, hygienist etc. you were mad for letting them away with it. Id say I just dont have it, youre welcome to extract the filling!!!!!!!!!!!

j1974

Banished-She wrote: »

I go to a dentist in Northern Ireland. The prices are less than half what they are down here, plus they will also help with the paperwork (Med2 etc). My dentist has a driver collect us from the train station, if we go by train.

(I drive nowaday, because last time we parked at Connolly resulted in vandalised car...)

This dentist also does everything possible to save teeth rather than pulling them. They also do all the lab work there on the premises, and FAST.

It's a hassle to go up there, but a friend was quoted €4000 by dentist down here (and a misdiagnosis), and it (the proper job) cost him about €400 up there. I'd say that the €3600 saved was worth the hassle! Money in his pocket (not the rip off dentist's pocket in RoI).

My dentist has Saturday hours too. The more of us who refuse to pay the dentists down here, the sooner they'll wake up and get real.

Dunno what about quality of care here though, regardless of price. They seem to be teeth pullers down here from all I can gather!

Ban

hey could you private message that dentist for me???? if possible. im interested. thanks.

tommy21

crested10 wrote: »

Hi,

Can you send me on the name of the dentist you saw in northern ireland?

Mark

this thread is 5 years old ...?

HappyHarry

j1974 wrote: »

hey could you private message that dentist for me???? if possible. im interested. thanks.

I'd like to know the name of the Dentist too. Can you PM it to me?
Any reason it can't be posted publicly?

ballsymchugh

HappyHarry wrote: »

I'd like to know the name of the Dentist too. Can you PM it to me?
Any reason it can't be posted publicly?

problems in dental issues. dentists advertising themselves not allowed.

eth0_

LFCFan wrote: »

Dentists are a bunch of thieving scum (well not all of them). I went to one 7 years ago for a checkup and cleaning and was told that one of my teeth had a hole in it and I would definitly need a filling withing 6 months or it would go bad. 7 years later and I've never had so much as a toothache. Same thing has happened with a few other people I know.

There's 'thieving scum' in all professions, it's not exclusive to dentistry. As for your experience, it's not uncommon for the beginning of tooth decay to calcify and therefore the decay stops by itself. Perhaps this happened to the other people you know, or their dentist may have just made a mistake. It happens.

narddog

Dentists in ROI overcharge. No ifs, buts or ands. You will pay more here, for the same procedure, using the same materials, than pretty much anywhere else. And another thing. Having a dental procedure done abroard for cheaper doesn't mean poorer standards and lower levels in the quality of work. The pompous attitude of the dental profession in Ireland that somehow we produce superior dentists to other places is just BS. Don't pay their exorbitant, rip off prices.

dudara

Seriously guys, did anyone notice that this thread is 6 years old.

closed

dudara