AIBU to think that the counsellor overcharged me

[Karenthetoadslayer]

but I am not sure about the going rate, so I may be AIBU.

My DD's counsellor wrote a one page report and charged £320 for this.

I am finally able to discharge the bloody thing which has been causing me sleepless nights, but I only have myself to blame, because I did not ask how much it was going to be and I assumed that it would be about the same as a GP's report which cost about £80.

Please don't tell me that this is my own fault, because I know this.

But isn't it rather a lot of money for a report?

I would before paying for it drop them an email saying you were just about to pay, but could they give you a breakdown as to how the fee was arrived at.

I would ask for a breakdown of the costs before I paid.

I think Quietly makes a good point. If you asked for a report before the deadline, and didn't receive it in time, why should you pay the full fee?

Also check the fee is correct before paying, it's absurd to pay the full fee and then question it.

That is a good point, but I did not say not to do the report anymore and we hoped to be able to submit it on the morning of the hearing. We couldn't, because the other side of course objected.

I will use it when he takes me to court about contact. There will be some use for it.

Thank you all.

I'm sorry it was a shock
That amount sounds about right to me though...
Reports IME are often in the region of £300-£400.
Ask her, she should be happy to discuss it with you.

Child psychologist charge about 400/500 per report but more in London

My friend paid 700 but that was for a hugely respected London psychologist

I made £300 ten years ago for a similar assessment and report from an Educational Psychologist so it sound quite reasonable.

Yep, sounds standard for a psychologist's report. You are perfectly within your rights to ask for a breakdown though. :)

A psychologist usually charges 100-120 per hour for private work. Are you sure about 45 an hour?

How long did it take to assess dd for the report?

Tbh the price sounds reasonable

I suggest asking for a breakdown if you are unhappy

I think you ought to have clarified the charges in advance but it would have been very easy for the therapist, the professional who should understand how frazzled you were at the time, to have let you know how much it would cost. I wonder if the £45 ph is a cheaper rate she charges schools.

That said it was not in time for you to use it, was she aware of the deadline? I would raise this with her. In effect it is not worth the paper it's written on. You could send an email, including your own details naturally

Dear therapist,
Thank you for your report submitted to me on 15 June 2014. As you were aware form my email dated 1 June 2014 and our conversation on 5 and 9 June 2014, I required this report by 10 June 2014 at the latest, and as a result have not been able to submit it. Can we therefore discuss your invoice?
Yours Karen

I would aim to get the charges waived.

With regard to the school bringing up that they were paying for the therapy and making you feel guilty about paying for it, they are vv U. They are not paying for it, tax payers are, and as a tax payer I am happy to contribute. These systems are in place to help your DD for a reason.

I hope you and your family are moving on from your past op xx

X posted
I see that you could have stopped it being written and may still have a use it.
V unprofessional though for therapist to not have done it time. Would query still and you couldn't used it.
She could be a bit more sodding helpful being as she knows what you have been through!

The fee sounds right to me, fairly reasonable actually.

Of course you should have had the report in time for when you needed it, but are you sure the counsellor is to blame for that? Could it be a communication issue through the school that was the problem, or did you speak to her directly and tell her when you needed it by?

Thank you all, this is all very helpful to sweeten the pill!

A letter got sent out separately to ask for the report and it was clear that this would be funded privately by myself.

I should have really said at some point when we were past the deadline that it was not required anymore, but as there was a chance to submit it at the morning of the hearing I did not do that.

So all my fault, as I said in my OP.

1: I did not ask for a quote
2:I did not cancel the report

I really just wanted to know if the amount was too high. If it isn't, then I will of course accept it, pay up and move on.

I was not familiar with the process and I did actually not know - I have been told very recently - that the children are going to be interviewed by CAFCASS anyway.

Thats probably a reasonable amount to be honest. It is pricey though but qualified clinical psychology reports are expensive. really hope it does the job for you

As to the guilt trip that the school sent me on, thank you bunnysmummy I am a tax payer too and her dad pays rather a lot of tax, so I don't feel guilty about that.

I paid £350 for a full dyslexia assessment and a 20 page report. I was told that was the price though.

Also depends on whether it was intended for use in court - those tend to cost a lot more, due to the risk of ending up being called to court, hanging around all day for minimal extra money (thus losing a day of work) and being quizzed by an aggressive lawyer. It is a lot of money, but child psychologists are in great demand, which ramps things up. Actually gobsmacked the GP report didn't cost a lot more - many charge a lot more because it puts people off asking them to do non NHS work, and a lot really don't have the time.

If you were clear (preferably in writing) about the deadline, though, you might be able to get a reduction for not achieving it? But deadline would have had to be clear, and achievable, in advance.

I asked for her going rate for private counselling, it was £45 per hour.

In any event, thank you all for your inputs. From the outside it is difficult to assess how much time it may have taken to write such a report.

I am still slightly grumpy about not having received a quote.

You need to stop referring to a qualified clinical psychologist as a counsellor, just not the same thing at all. £80 per hours work for a specific report from a qualified clinician is about normal. I bet she'll tell you 2 hours assessment plus 2 hours report preparation =4x80=320.

Assessment for preparing a report is not going to be the same hourly rate as ongoing therapeutic work, so the £45 is irrelevant.

I think complaining because you didn't avail yourself of the facts beforehand is pretty outrageous and reeks a little of the Daily Mail attitude that somehow all clinicians should be working for free and living on air to serve the rest of humanity. I bet there was a lot more work than 4 hours in it too, the majority of people I know doing this work, round down and undercharge.

I think the OP has clearly said on a few occasions that she made some mistakes and will learn from this so hurling insults around is not really necessary.

There are a huge range of therapists around some of whom will put themselves out and undercharge but there are also those who will charge extortionate amounts for computer generated reports which they don't offer any formulation of. And because the general public don't have an insight into the terminology, tests and processes used they don't always question this (most people won't have a clue about the difference between a counsellor and a psychologist, let alone the type of psychologist and level of training). A one page report should not take 2 hours to write unless this is a summary of a much more comprehensive report which should also have been provided IMO.