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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think I shouldn't have to pay for the missed hygienist appointment

107 replies

quittinaeete · 03/03/2019 18:52

My dentist sent me an appointment reminder by email with the wrong date and I added it to my phone calendar.

They sent out a correction just via email an hour after this and I didn't read it. They have my address and phone number but didn't get in touch.

So now I've missed an appointment and they've charged me £120 for this, I did have an appointment a few days later and paid £120 for this. But they've sent an invoice by post.

Aibu to think they made a mistake and should have made more of an effort to inform me?

OP posts:
Barrenfieldoffucks · 04/03/2019 09:12

Ha, so because Gmail is a bit odd sometimes I should read every personal email twice, including clicking through each message in the previous message chain just to be sure that a professional service provider hasn't made a cock up? Righto. 😂

FriarTuck · 04/03/2019 09:19

My dentist sends a reminder text & that's it. I'm an adult - I've booked the appointment & noted it down. The reminder does just that - it reminds me that I've already booked something. If it said a date / time different to what I'd recorded I'd check with them. But I'm not expected to tell them I've received the reminder because I've already consented to be contacted that way and with that consent comes the expectation that I'll ensure I check it and tell them if I stop using it.

fascicle · 04/03/2019 09:22

Was a double 1 hour, but they've already made models of my teeth and in the middle of several treatments so sadly can't even change dentist

More reason to check e-mails?

In my line of work an email to correct a mistake would not be sufficient

In any line of work, sticking an appointment in the diary is a given, surely? In which case you would already have had correct date and time noted.

I would have thought a text based system for communication would be more effective on the dentist's part, but no reason for you not to read the e-mail. The charge seems very high relative to other practices, which presumably makes this more of an issue.

moreismore · 04/03/2019 09:24

I work in private healthcare and you’d get a polite warning for first missed appointment, a part-charge for the second and full charge for the third. In these circumstances we would accept it was our fault. It may be that the invoives are automated? Or just done from a big list, I’d be surprised if they didn’t waive it when contacted.

TedAndLola · 04/03/2019 09:33

YANBU. They made a mistake that made misses appointments very likely and the onus was on them to make sure you knew it was an error.

They should certainly drop the charge.

GottenGottenGotten · 04/03/2019 09:53

If I make a mistake or need to change a clients appointment, and I do not hear from them, I make damn sure they know. I'm follow it up by text or a phone call, if they don't reply to say they've received the message.

If they turn up at the wrong time, I don't get paid, so I make damn sure they know.

I don't think YABU.

StinkyCandle · 04/03/2019 10:11

Email isn't enough at any place I have worked

I don't know where you work, the rest of us manage with emails - especially when you deal with clients in very different time zones, or when people are just too busy to chat on the phone all day when an email would do!

In any case, the original reminder was by email, so it makes perfect sense to send the correction in the same way! It you have seen one, you should see the other. It's only a reminder, you should have had the original appointment written somewhere in the first place.

Ask them to use another method of contact for you next time.

As a gesture of good will, because it's partially their mistake, they should only charge you half for the missing appointment. They are running a business after all, so they should make a gesture.

DGRossetti · 04/03/2019 10:16

(Misses point slightly) I wonder who would win if it went to court ?

I also wonder if it would have made a difference if they had posted the correct details, rather than emailed ?

If a contract can be verbal, then emails can form contracts, surely ?

What if they had called and left an answerphone message instead, and the OP hadn't listened to that ?

StinkyCandle · 04/03/2019 10:22

Pretty sure it makes a difference because it was a reminder, immediately corrected and in the same way, not the original appointment.

outpinked · 04/03/2019 10:24

I wouldn’t pay it and would find a new dentist if I had to. It was most definitely their fault.

It happened to me once with the dentist, they tried to fine me for missing an appointment but transpired they had sent the reminder text to my old number despite having my new number on the system 🤷🏻‍♀️. I didn't pay the fine, they waived it.

phoenixrosehere · 04/03/2019 10:24

I’m on the fence really.

They did send an email, however they could have also sent a text or called you about it. They made a mistake and assumed you saw the email they sent after. Most people can get many emails in an hour period depending on what they are subscribed to and emails can end up in junk mail without anyone realising it.

I think they should have waived the fee considering the mistake was on their end and they could have sent a text and/or called (left a voicemail). We get text messages and letters in the mail with the NHS. When private, we get a letter/card and a phone call.

DGRossetti · 04/03/2019 10:31

I wouldn’t pay it and would find a new dentist if I had to. It was most definitely their fault.

For £120, it would be worth chasing through court ... which is why it would be interesting to know the exact position legally. Although I have a memory that the claimant has to demonstrate their loss Hmm.

Sirzy · 04/03/2019 10:31

So you made an appointment so knew the time

They sent a reminder out with an error but they corrected that within an hour.

Not their fault that you didn’t note the appointment initially or only read one of their emails.

They made one mistake and corrected it immediately. Your mistake was not noting the time initially and not opening the later email.

GregoryPeckingDuck · 04/03/2019 10:32

Email isn’t a reliable form of communication. Given that it was their mistake they should have made more of an effort to rectify it. I expect that if you call them up and explain what happened they will waive the fee.

flitwit99 · 04/03/2019 10:32

I often don't read reminder emails if I already have the appointment in my diary. I would look at the title and that would be enough to remind me.

But it seems here you didn't have the appointment written down until the reminder email came in. So for that reason yabu. You should have written it down at the time. Then you would have either not bothered reading the reminder and turned up at the original (correct) time, or you would have noticed the date was wrong and contacted them to find out what's going on.

MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours · 04/03/2019 10:40

i would have presumed the second email was an error/repeat of the first as it was received in such short order

I think they should accept it was their error entirely, at least they should have changed the email header, or left a voicemail.

DGRossetti · 04/03/2019 10:48

Email isn’t a reliable form of communication.

Neither is first class post - but it's accepted in court ....

Han2029 · 04/03/2019 11:12

I can see where you're coming from OP, I know my doctors surgery have a system where I am that they will send you a reminder via email and if it has been the wrong date they will phone you to let you know they've sent the wrong date and to confirm the right one.

Obviously the difference with dentists is that hygienists are mostly self employed and so with the amount of people that make and miss appointments, if nobody had to pay for missed appts then the hygienist would be left out of pocket.

Your situation is a genuine mistake though because they've sent you a reminder with the wrong date, it's not that you've just decided not to go to your appointment.
Although, even though it is a pain they've sent you the email and not phoned to follow up and let you know, it is just a courtesy of the dentist to send you a reminder, it isn't a requirement of them. My dentist doesn't send reminders, when I make the appt I have the responsibility of remembering when it is.

I would say that in this situation both you and the dentist surgery are to partly to blame, they should have followed up and checked that you got the email however, you should also have known your original appointment date and when you got the email phoned to check with them which one was correct.

I would say maybe to go to the surgery and explain in person that it wasn't that you just didn't turn up or couldn't make the appt and it was because you got that email in and maybe ask them to note on file that your preference of contact is by phone or text or whatever and not by email (I do agree that with the amount of spam emails they do build up and it's not always practical). Hopefully as it was a genuine mistake on both parts they will understand and waive the fee on this occasion.

Is this the first appointment you've missed?
I could understand them saying no to waiving the fee if it was a regular thing but when it's just this once and you've explained to them why they will hopefully waive the fee for you!

PineapplePower · 04/03/2019 11:16

It may be that the invoives are automated?

I suspect that’s likely what happened. Input changes into software that sends out reminder email; staff discover they did it wrong, corrected it on their end, with an automated email that looks just like the previous one.

If a human had done it, the subject header would definitely have had CORRECTION or something of that nature.

melj1213 · 04/03/2019 11:51

I see the OP has been back but just to insult people who think she IBU rather than answer any of the questions.

OP if these communications were just reminders, that means you originally made the appointment. This means that you had the date already and reminders are a courtesy but mainly to stop missed appointments. The onus is on you to clarify when the "reminder" doesn't match with information you already hold.

When they sent the first (wrong) message, why would you not already have the correct appointment details in your calendar?

When you checked the (wrong) date and found there was no appointment why did you not look to see when you did have appointments scheduled and then contact the office to clarify?

The dentist did their part - set out a reminder to an already scheduled appointment and used the provided contact details - in this case email - to correct their mistake as soon as they were made aware. The way gmail sets up their inboxes and the way you organise your emails is not their responsibility, they did their part by sending the clarification email.

TheFaerieQueene · 04/03/2019 11:56

If you don’t often read the dentist’s emails, it was interesting that you the one you did read was the one with the wrong appt details.

TriciaH87 · 04/03/2019 12:14

It might be worth calling up explaining the situation and because their mistake caused the error but you by not reading it is also to blame offer to pay half.

UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername · 04/03/2019 12:17

My dentist's receptionist rings, texts and emails two days before every appointment, which feels like total overkill but I bet they don't get many people missing appointments! It's madness to rely on just email to sort out a mistake like that.

Parttime1 · 04/03/2019 13:00

YANBU
My dentist sends out numerous emails, often close together. If they got a message wrong I think it is entirely reasonable that they make sure it has been received.
What happened when you turned up for the appointment? If you were seen and had your treatment then I don't see what the problem is - they still made the same amount of money Confused

DoJo · 04/03/2019 13:41

I don't know where you work, the rest of us manage with emails - especially when you deal with clients in very different time zones

That may be the case in your business, but realistically it is unlikely that many people live in a different time zone from their dentist so this doesn't really stand up as an argument in this case.

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