Being charged £150 for changing my mind about a procedure

[AbsolutelyGutted1]

I have a small amount of filler and I wanted to have it dissolved so I made an appointment to see an aesthetician I've seen before and paid a £50 deposit. Her social media contains what i felt was a reasonable amount of info about the product used to dissolve, hyaluronidase. I clearly didn't do enough research.

The appointment was for tomorrow.

Unfortunately (or fortunately - depending on how you look at it) I was reading up about it today to prepare myself and came across some disturbing accounts of what hyaluronidase can do to you when it goes wrong, and I decided I didn't want to take the risk for such a small amount that will probably be undetectable to the eye after a year or so.

I sent her a message today and told her I'd had second thoughts about the dissolving and why, but said I'd keep the appointment and just get something else (a facial or something)

She can't/won't do that and now wants me to pay the full £150 charge for the original procedure I booked for and I'm absolutely gutted. I don't have a lot of money and had saved up for this especially.

Do you think it's fair or unreasonable? I didn't expect to see the deposit again, obviously, but the whole cost?

I've NC.

Most small business owners will be off today so I think it's fairly decent of her to reply at all.

I don't think she's in the right based on your updates but I very doubt you'll get a response now - I would just call in the morning and speak to her to figure out what's happening.

She has just replied and said the policies are written on the website.

So I assume people are not to take the emails at face value then..

I wasn't actually expecting a response tonight, just wanted to make sure I'm asking the right questions before my bank is debited tomorrow.

She's rude. You have offered to use up the space you booked with something else.
She could be far more accommodating.

As others have said, I would cancel your card details so she can't take any money out of your account. She's absolutely not going to take you to small claims court over £150!

Ask her about her prescribing status for administering a prescription only drug.

If she has changed your appointment to someone else she might be freeing up her time to get another booking in?

can you check the app to see if she is available at that time now? Just wondering if she has managed to fill it and is also charging you.

She may well try but given OP's updates and the unclear cancellation policies she's unlikely to be successful.

However if her policies were watertight then there's no reason why she shouldn't take non-payers to court. I have done so in the past (and succeeded). I wasn't out any money as the other party were required to repay all my costs.

Just checked. My appointment was for 12pm (then randomly changed to 12.05pm with no explanation after I let her know I didn't want the dissolving)

According to the booking system there is availability for 12pm.

Why is everyone so concerned about whether or not she can fill the slot and ignoring the fact that it sounds like she is unlawfully administering prescription only medication, which is a criminal offence?

I haven't been in this position but looking at the issues raised would give the local trading standards team a call on Tuesday morning to see if there is any action or advice they can give around either of the main issues which seem to be i. charging processes differing to the email info and ii. qualifications of the therapist.

Is there a way of being able to check whether somebody is a qualified perscriber?

She's quite young (or atleast looks quite young) to have been through med school etc before settling into Aesthetics. I'm 30 and I'm fairly sure she's atleast a few years younger than me.

You could ask her, say that as you are very concerned about this procedure and just wanted confirmation regarding her qualifications. A reputable professional would never be offended at this.

I think it has gone beyond the point I'd be able to ask that without getting her back up further to be honest 😬

You could ask her. Or check the GMC register https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/the-medical-register

Dentists can also prescribe as can nurse prescribers, though fewer medications so you would need to check them too.

You say you don't have a lot of money, yet you're willing to spend hundreds of pounds on cosmetic procedures?

I searched her name on there and can't see her.

Yes because I don't like the way the filler makes me look. It would be money well spent, had it gone ahead without any problems.

I guess because that wasn't really part of the OP or the original issue.

If OP had said from the beginning that this person was breaking the law the whole thread would have gone very differently.

It didn't even occur to me that she'd be acting illegally I'm obviously naive and therefore have no business booking invasive procedures in the first place without triple checking these things. Massive L for me.

You'd have to have the front of Brighton to be openly advertising things you're not legally allowed to do surely? Dissolving is advertised bold as brass on both the website and social media. How do people get away with that?

Same with tooth whitening

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-51388639

She can do some aesthetics as a beauty therapist if she’s done the relevant CPD courses. In this case, she has to work with a prescriber.

Regarding the policy, it's saying that you can't cancel with less than 24hrs notice. This means you are considered a "no show" and therefore have to pay the full amount.

@fieldsofbutterflies it doesn't say that at all.

The message the aesthetician wrote is practically illiterate; I wouldn't let her mess with my face.

Actually no you're right I take it back!
V badly written policy.

‘Work with a prescriber’ means the prescriber is taking responsibility for the treatment and provides oversight of administering the medication. The prescriber would need to be present within the building and assess the person being treated in order to do this. They cannot just sign random prescriptions passed under their nose. CPD courses do not change this.

If it goes wrong then it would be the prescriber you would be suing (as well as the aestheticist, so you need to know their name and that they have indemnity insurance.