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!

A lot of medical professionals working privately are actually self employed. So a no show means no fee earned in that time. Hardly fair is it?

Where I used to work if you didn’t pay we’d send the baillifs after you. True story.

Pcohle

I have an issue with 215 for a first consultation. The cost to access medics privately (because sometimes you have to go private, not because you want to) is in my mind obscene. It’s a private business and it’s very lucrative, to the point that I do not respect the motivation of a lot of consultants.

I've got a hospital appointment on Friday. Twice now I've had reminder texts about it (actually the first one came before the appointment letter they're that efficient!) but they both state that not attending will cost the NHS £160. The way things are going it won't be long before this is passed on to the patients.
Make sure you set yourself plenty of reminders if you do rebook op!

You didn't show. No one else could use the appointment slot.

I hope you don't get your money back and I wish the NHS could charge people for multiple no shows. Huge impact and pressure on already stretched services.

But you didn’t cancel, you didn’t show up- two different things. Cancellation policy won’t apply.

Maybe if NHS did the same, people would take appointments more seriously.

Justresting

But the OP clearly doesn't have a problem with the amount private GPs are charging. She was aware of the cost and happy to pay the fee until her error meant she didn't use the service she was paying for.

If you have a moral objection to private healthcare then fine, don't use it. But trying to rip off individual doctors isn't really a legitimate way for anyone to make a point.

I'm amazed you had to wait 6 weeks for a private GP appointment. Was the appointment for removing the wart or just a consultation?
My GP charges £60 for private consultations ( but he will give you at least 30 mins) he also does small surgical procedures . Any cancellations have to be 24 hours in advance otherwise he charges you. I thought this was standard practice.
I am surprised that you were not sent reminder texts.

Pcohle

I haven’t seen the OP say she’s fine with the cost in principle (her language implies she feels it’s a rip off). I interpreted her post as she called out of necessity because her GP wasn’t helping anymore.

She’s hardly ripping them off, she made a mistake. She’s human. A fee for no-show is one thing but paying the full consultation cost feels ... greedy - or taking advantage - to me. That’s just my opinion. Not all businesses operate on this policy of no show = full charge. For example my private dentist charges a fee for no show but it is not the full amount. It’s enough though to feel the kick and not do it twice. I remember I missed an appointment for one of the kids as I was having an emergency with one of them. I phoned afterwards and apologised and explained and they were very good about it, I rebooked and they waived the fee. I made a mistake but I wasn’t abusing them either.

These principles are not mutually exclusive. I can and do use private healthcare. I have private insurance. And I feel it’s extortionate and a lot of the times unjustified.

OP, did you ring them?

Yes you should pay, but why if you knew how expensive it was, wouldn't you set a reminder 24hrs beforehand on your phones calendar? (or for any appointmenta)?

I appreciate a reminder text but I am an adult so I don't need one I put it on my phone with a reminder like a grown up. Since we hen did fully functioning people need to be reminded about a service they requested and they presumably need.

To me what feels "greedy or taking advantage" is to expect service providers to give their time unpaid because of your own carelessness.

If you are happy with private health care but think that some providers charge too much then... don't use those providers. There are plenty of options for cheaper private GPs, many have been mentioned on this thread. Agreeing to a fee and then claiming after the event that it's extortionate is disingenuous.

Where I used to work if you didn’t pay we’d send the baillifs after you. True story.

You'd have to get a county court judgement before you could send bailiffs. The first thing the judge would want to see is the cancellation/penalty clauses in the T&C.

We charge 100% for any cancellation within 24 hours of the appointment. We are self-employed and have booked in that time to see you, done prep and stopped someone else from using it. We do make this abundantly clear in both our sign up t's and c's and reiterate at initial consultation too. Sometimes we let it slide (child sickness etc) but not for forgetfulness.

we also send out a reminder email (automated) 48 hours before

You went private for a wart? You know they fall off don’t you? Anyway, it’s understandable why the NHS didn’t want to know. If you’d missed the appointment with the nhs, that would’ve been them losing £215.

I think it's appalling customer service (and you are the customer) to charge the full amount for a first time no show. Different if you have a history of it. Also, in my extensive experience of private healthcare most private providers text you a reminder on the day.

The OP blaming the NHS for her inability to make a private appointment might be the most ludicrous thing I've read on here.

And you didn't cancel, you didn't turn up. Why do you expect people to give up their time for you for free?

We used to get this all the time. Someone would book a meeting room and then just not show up on the day and expect to be able to rebook their meeting using the money they had already paid or get a full refund. Erm, no? I had to turn away other paying customers who would have filled that spot, the staff were rota'd in, the coffee and tea prepared, arrival treats prepared, heating has been on for an hour or so to heat the room up, the team have been briefed and a sign made up ready. All that does equal free when you don't turn up.
The flights analogy is perfect, but if that's not working for you, what about a gig? Or a show? If you book a ticket and then don't turn up, that seat could have gone to someone else. Your seat was kept for you, the fact you didn't sit in it is irrelevant.

I also loved it when people would argue. Can you explain why the practice / hotel / venue / airline should suffer because you forgot?

I can't believe these days when we nearly all have phones with alarms/reminders that so few people bother to use them. We're not children, why do we need to rely on others to remind us of appointments, to pay bills, etc. Just set a damned reminder on your phone. We have all the tools at our fingertips yet so many just can't be arsed to use them!

But I think that the dr is making free money really?!

If the doctor have forgot about your appointment and no-showed you'd better believe you'd want your money back, but it's okay for you to waste her time free of charge? Right.

If the doctor have forgot about your appointment and no-showed you'd better believe you'd want your money back, but it's okay for you to waste her time free of charge?