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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Did I have to pay this?

63 replies

MrsMaxwell · 01/02/2018 16:56

Had a filing repaired today at Dentist and when I paid they only charged me £20.60 I thought it was cheaper than normal but thought maybe as it was just a repair and only took 15 mins it was charged at check up rate.

Anyway they have just called and said I was charged the wrong rate and it should have been £56. I paid by card over the phon (after giving the women my card number 5 times FFS!) but could I have refused to pay?

OP posts:
Softkitty2 · 01/02/2018 16:59

Why shouldn't you pay the correct amount if you got the correct treatment?

If this was your business and you provided a service and genuinely made a mistake, would you feel the same?

Original poster
MrsMaxwell · 01/02/2018 17:00

I wasn’t asking morally - I was asking legally.

OP posts:
FooFighter99 · 01/02/2018 17:02

How long ago did you have filling? My dentist guarantees fillings for 12 months, so you wouldn't have to pay at all to have it repaired.

Best to ring and check in the morning

Crispbutty · 01/02/2018 17:03

You could have refused but they would have just added it to your account and you would have owed it when you next went in. You knew it was too cheap but thought you might get away with it.. you didn’t. Mistakes get made.

Original poster
MrsMaxwell · 01/02/2018 17:03

Ah alas it was 20 years old and treated in a different country.

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsMaxwell · 01/02/2018 17:04

I wasn’t going to question it was I?

I just wondered if it was the same as if a shop undercharged you or you were short changed - legally.

OP posts:
Lucymek · 01/02/2018 17:06

Yes you did. Stop being tight!

It's paid and done now. Don't dwell.

Original poster
MrsMaxwell · 01/02/2018 17:07

OMG - I am just interested legally - I paid it without question and actually £56 for a filling is not “being tight” Hmm

OP posts:
FooFighter99 · 01/02/2018 17:07

Gutted, I loathe going to the dentist because it is so bloody expensive!!

Mine suggested I need a mouth guard because I'm grinding my teeth, at a princely sum of £70..... err no thanks, can't afford that right now!!

I also enquired about teeth whitening which she advised me will cost £300!!!! Confused Hahaha yeah right!

Original poster
MrsMaxwell · 01/02/2018 17:09

Yes it adds insult to injury Grin

OP posts:
RaptorInaPorkPieHat · 01/02/2018 17:10

Do you like your dentist?

Because legal/moral justifications aside, chances are you'd be taken off their (private - going by the price) list if you refused to pay. Is it worth losing a decent dentist for the sake of £40?

Bluelady · 01/02/2018 17:10

£300 for whitening is actually very reasonable.

Original poster
MrsMaxwell · 01/02/2018 17:10

I am an NHS patient actually.

OP posts:
Pearlsaringer · 01/02/2018 17:12

www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1781.aspx?CategoryID=74

Your treatment fell in Band 2, so yes, you do have to pay.

RaptorInaPorkPieHat · 01/02/2018 17:13

Well then I stand corrected Smile

£65 is the price of a basic filling at mine (which is why I assumed it wasn't NHS).

Original poster
MrsMaxwell · 01/02/2018 17:15

I know which band it is - I just wondered if I had refused which I did not legally where I stood

OP posts:
Pearlsaringer · 01/02/2018 17:16

Don’t bang your head, you’ll dislodge your filling Grin

Original poster
MrsMaxwell · 01/02/2018 17:16

Gosh I am shocked that there is not much difference between NHS and private - how much is a private checkup?

OP posts:
MsJuniper · 01/02/2018 17:17

How annoying, it's nice when something is cheaper than you expected. I don't know the legalities but probably best that you paid. Hope this filling lasts as long as the last one.

Fairenuff · 01/02/2018 17:18

Yes, legally, you should pay.

If not you would be 'bilking' or 'making off without payment' which is a criminal offence.

MermaidHead · 01/02/2018 17:18

Ask a solicitor!

Jessbow · 01/02/2018 17:18

It will sit against your name until you go next time, and will be ( rightly) added to your bill.

With NHS dentistry being as difficult to get as it is, if you have it, you wont want to walk away.

So either pay in now, or pay it later

Original poster
MrsMaxwell · 01/02/2018 17:18

Hmm but I did attempt to pay.

OP posts:
moreismore · 01/02/2018 17:19

£25ish

Springtrolls · 01/02/2018 17:19

It's actually an interesting question.
It's like ordering say a take away. You are charged and pay £20 for the takeaway. You enjoy it to be later called to say oops, it should have been £40.

Morally yes because you have used the service. But legally do you because at the end of the day businesses could do this all the time.