10 missed calls from private health company

[londontoibiza]

I booked a private MRI scan a week ago. I have gone through the screening questionnaire on the phone when I booked the scan. All good.

In the past week I have had 10 missed calls from them - at first it was “calling regarding my referral”, now they’re “calling to confirm I’ll be attending”.

As a rule I don’t answer my phone to an unknown number unless I’m expecting a call. If they leave a voicemail, I’ll call back when I’ve verified their number.

AIBU to think 10 calls in 7 days is excessive? I’ve paid, I’m suitable for the scan and I will be attending tomorrow. Surely they don’t need to be in constant contact with me?

Not if you don't answer any of them!! I would imagine it's computerised and on a loop system. Unanswered goes back into system and gets spat out to be called again after a certain amount of time and this will keep happening until call is answered. As I suggested already don't provide your phone number if you don't want to be called. Next time request email contact only

You say it's an unknown number but you know who it's!

Just answer the call FFS, it's not difficult!

Many medical businesses or NHS have a policy of not leaving messages for privacy reasons.

Rubbish.

“Hi im X calling from Y, please give us a call back on 12345” is perfectly fine and no privacy concerns.

It's not rubbish. my GP's practice does not leave messages.

You are being very petulant and silly about this. Just answer your phone.

It’s not rubbish. I work in a similar area and we aren’t allowed to leave messages.

YABU. And taking offence where none is intended. The hospital not leaving a message is to protect your privacy and totally appropriate.

They may not be contacting you to check you're still coming. They may be contacting you to tell you there's a problem at their end and they need to reschedule. If you refuse to answer your phone calls it really is in your best interests to return calls (for things such as appointments ) as soon as you can, not at your convienence.

I think you are being unreasonable and a bit weird. You are being stroppy about something that is very inconsequential and unimportant. It’s a one minute call. Chances are it will be a pleasant polite interaction.

They won’t want people to miss their appointments even if they are prepaid and they can’t know you have received their reminder unless you reply. Leaving a voice note is not enough. Lots of people don’t check their voice notes.
Is there a reason that you are annoyed about the fact that someone might be treating you like a child? Have you had people do that to you a lot? It’s all very negative.

They don't know you personally and many practices call or text appointment reminders because they find it works best. They are not trying to insult you.

If you had answered one of the earlier calls then surely you wouldn't have that many miss calls?

Op is one of those odd types who refuses to answer the doorbell as well, I imagine.

OP what are your relationships like in other areas of your life? Do you have difficulty interacting with others? Do you become upset when things do not go to plan? Why do you think the clinic is treating you like a child? I think your reaction and upset is unusual and this says more about you than the procedures at the clinic.

Exactly what @LaliqueSaltGrindersaid.

And I’m going to take a wild guess that if they had left the message you suggested, you’d have got an AIBU out of that too.

Mine doesn't either although you can give permission.

I had a private MRI as part of a diagnosis on my health insurance cover. I attended the appointment and had the scan. They then applied a charge for non-attendance and cancelled my next consultation because the results were not available.
It took a long time to sort out, they did find my scans and concede eventually that I did attend (else whose scans were these) and finally apologise and offer me £200 as a gesture of goodwill.
The hospital was a dump and I had to step over fresh blood stains on the stairs.
It was like an NHS experience for which my health insurance paid dearly.

This sounds petty on your part and you're bringing it on yourself. You could have answered and saved all the follow up calls. you've paid but then might not turn up and want a different date instead, they don't know that. So yes, if you don't go and lose your money that's on you but someone else is waiting longer for an appointment.
They don't have to trust you to keep an appointment, they don't know you.
The constant references to I'm not a child, well do the adult thing and speak to them then.
How difficult can it be?🙄

It would still be a wasted appointment that could go to someone else. I do private and NHS therapy - private clients have to pay if they don't turn up, but I still find it frustrating and annoying sitting around waiting for someone who doesn't turn up, especially when the attitude is 'so what, I've paid'.

I agree, it is excessive. Remind me a week before then a day before, that’s all that’s necessary.
OP, like you, I don’t answer my phone unless I recognise the number, but I give out a landline number and ask that callers start to speak as I vet calls, the number of callers who can’t get their head around this is incredible. A service provider, despite me emailing them constantly reminding them they must start speaking, phoned 6 times, didn’t speak didn’t leave a message then sent a letter telling me they couldn’t get hold of me. I then realised they had been calling me.

Good luck with the scan

By creating the thread the OP has managed to feed her own irritation and also wind up everyone else. Mountains out of molehills.

So you haven’t got time to give them a simple confirmation, but somehow you have got time to write copiously on a tiny trivial detail of your life. Is this the biggest thing that’s going on at the moment?

not answering unknown numbers as a rule is wild!

What a big stroppy baby you sound OP. A big stroppy tantrumming red faced dummy-spitting baby with a nappy full of poo. You clearly think you are being ever so reasonable which is generally what petulant prickly indignant people think they are. Why did you post?

What sort of pathetic infantile creature behaves like this? Grow up and answer the phone.

10 calls is excessive but if OP had responded to the first one there would only have been one call! She has known since the first call who was trying to get in touch but decided, for a week, that it was not convenient to answer or call them back.

They may not be nhs but they do still have a duty of care to you.

they also have a legal responsibility to provide ‘value for money’ and not to let you waste your money on something you won’t get any value from. They do actually have to prove to the FSCA that they do this. If they took loads of money and had a really high rate of non attendance they would get in deep do doo.

hope your scan goes ok