AIBU - being charged whopping amount for missing appointment.

[NasiGoreng]

I've messed up and messed a private appointment with a GP this morning for my DC. It is not a major health issue, just something that needed doing for my DC. With all the rush back to school I totally forgot about it. It was one of those appointments made about 6 weeks ago due to availability.

Anyway, I just had a call from the hospital to tell me they will be charging me the full amount for missing the appointment. I kind of get this, but why the whole amount? Also, just looked at all the T&C's and it doesn't mention charging for no shows.

I know I am in the wrong, but to be charged the full amount? AIBU. It is a whopping 200 pounds!

You have to pay when you miss appointments. You are paying a percentage for overheads and the person's time. businesses would go bust if they didn't charge. Put it down to experience, it's not something you'll do again at that price.

I didn't know that the NHS no longer covers wart removal, I had a skin tag removed a good few years back, but that was done on the NHS, so perhaps they no longer do that either.It was caused by those pore strip things and I should claimed compensation but I never did.

If it’s not in writing I would try not to pay it.

£200 seems excessive for a private GP appointment. My private GP charges £85 for a 15 min appointment. £95 for a 30 min appointment.

So you were prepared to pay this fee, and the service is , apparently, so oversubscribed/ busy that you had to make an appointment 6 weeks ago?? Whilst I am surprised there was no text reminder, I am also astonished that you don’t feel you should have to pay just because you then chose not to use the service ( regardless of the reason - an appointment/ GP/ room and facilities were all earmarked and occupied for the time you had booked) - meaning some other poor bugger probably now also has to wait six weeks, when they could have utilised your wasted appointment if you had only cancelled. Sorry but I think be it hairdressers, doctors, dentists, beauticians, whatever - if you prevent them being able to use the time because you’ve booked their service but then fail to turn up you absolutely should pay the set fee you agreed to.

Was it £200 to book the appointment and may have been more once they decided on appropriate treatment, or £200 for a specific treatment you didn't receive, NasiGoreng? Because it the former, there is absolutely no doubt you owe them £200 given the fact they provided the appointment you requested. It's not their fault or problem you didn't do anythingnuseful with the appointment they provided for you, is it? It is 100% your fault. You weren't incapacitated, you were just hopelessly disorganised.

My dentist charges 25%. But I think that the dr is making free money.

No emails? No phone or text? No written warning you will be charged?

Free money.

Btw. My ds got horrible warts on hands from gym. He looked up on Google. Salicylic acid? Works. Much easier than freezing them off and far less expensive.

Warts do go away after a few YEARS. I think the over the counter stuff is best solution. (He struggled for a year or so before discovering s.a.) but i am absolutely not a gp.

If the cost was for a specific treatment, on the other hand, and they saved money on materials, they could maybe have had kinder terms and conditions and charged less for your totally indefensible reason for missing the appointment.

Well this just shows even if you did book a NHS GP appointment you wouldn't have shown.

I worked in private practice and now we take the payment upfront but yeah we'd do this. And we charged £300. They should of sent a text or email reminder tho!

To be fair, if you can afford £200 for a gp appointment you’ve had to wait 6 weeks for, surely you can afford missed appointment fees.

Post Brexit, if Trump, Johnson have their way paying for appointments will be standard stuff.

Very annoying to miss it and have to pay (of course) but in this day and age a text a few days before would be expected. I definitely would miss each and every dental and optician appointment without that.

200 sounds a lot for a gp.
private gp's are usually 50-80£ for a 10-15 min consultation.
that sums seem like a consultant fee to me.

but yeah, unfortunately that's common practice and they most probably have sent you the cancellation policy.

So if a private gp works all day but no patients turn up despite being booked you feel the gp shouldn't be paid? If course you have to pay.

Of course not if

I think they have a neck like a jockeys b charging that.

Those poor private doctors - threadbare pants and not a pot to pee in.

Have you rebooked? I’m sure there’s some level of discretion with it. Have you phoned them - or tried to rebook it?

I bet you won't be missing any future appointments.

I would pay if I forgot. And I also think that the NHS should do the same. Having said that, I have seen many private specialists and probably 80% of the time they are late, a good half an hour late. Yesterday was the last time it happened. So this theory that one missing an appointment means that the doctor can’t see another patient doesn’t always add up. Sure, it’s their time and work and it should be paid, but in my experience if there is a no show it simply means that the next person in line will actually be seen on time rather than half an hour late. Furthermore, if I call a specialist and beg for an appointment they will often fit me into the doctor’s busy schedule, so overbooking does happen.

This is the same as anything else. Cinema tickets, flights, swimming lessons, gymnastics lessons, etc. You still have to pay whether or not you turn up.

If you have enough money that you can not just book but forget about an appointment that cost £200, I'm sure you'll manage to pay it.

Those poor private doctors - threadbare pants and not a pot to pee in.

What does that have to do with anything? If you book a flight ticket and fail to turn up you still have to pay, it doesn't matter how rich Alex Cruz is. The OP chose to use an expensive service.

Private GP or a specialist? A private GP cost from £55 upwards and depends on how long the consultation is .
If I was paying £200 I would have definitely had this appointment imprinted on my brain .

But I think that the dr is making free money.

Free money? The GP still has to pay the mortgage or rent on the office, business rates, gas, electricity, property insurance, professional indemnity insurance, CPD and the wages, employers NI and pension contributions of all the other staff like the receptionists, medical secretaries, nurses....not to mention his own salary, even if OP does not turn up.

I assume OP asked how much the appointment would cost before she agreed to it - then if she does not turn up, its only fair that she pays the fee. They are not running some kind of charity!

Nothing to do with cancellation. You booked an appointment slot, you got that appointment slot. You pay, whether you actually turn up or not, as doctor was sitting waiting for you to arrive. Perfectly fair (apart from actual cost , but you agreed to that when you booked appointment) as he fulfilled his part of the agreement.
If you had cancelled and they had resold that appointment slot I would expect no charge or just admin charge.

The Portland charge if less than 24 hours notice given.