Requesting a refund from a private hospital via small claims court

[cultkid]

I have used their complaints process
Things haven't been resolved

They have lied
Inaccuracies in their emails with for example wrong prices of stuff I have paid for

They have ignored emails for updates

Stretched their own deadlines to the very limit and gone over with no explanation or apology

I paid in good faith upfront for a service which hasn't been provided to me as described

I want a refund

Has anyone got any experience of using the small claims court for this

I am worried they would counter sue me or something like this? I have paid for everything btw and not written anything about my experience online

I want a refund but am frightened of them

Any thoughts?

Thank you

I want my night fee back from them which is £599
I also want some of my hospital fee back because they gave me the wrong medication and inadequate pain relief when I was there

No they said I couldn't have a shower at night because they only showered in the mornings

This was incorrect and was clarified by the lady who responded to me

It's not bennenden but I don't want to mention it here because I don't want to be sued by them (I'm terrified of being counter sued even though I want a refund)

The procedure was epidural injection Botox and steroid trigger point injections for back pain

When I have had all of the injections to my back I can barely move for a few hours after and then I am very very very stiff for a few days
Having an electric bed is helpful for my recovery

Electric bed is in their description of amenities I paid for

I am able to go into more depth it's not that it's outing it's that I'm worried the hospital will come back to me when I do request a refund via small claims court and say we would give you your money back but you wrote about us online on Mumsnet

For some reason I can't tag people

@this ..

The over night fee was £599 not £250!! It's this lack of attention to detail which is so so so frustrating I want to go and wave the paper work under their nose

The mind boggles as to how people get such great jobs when they can't even read an invoice

Re the subject access .. also for a refund or is that more down the negligence route (which is not applicable here and nor do I want to go even near suggesting it was because it wasn't it was just shit)

The nurse complained about getting me pillows because she didn't want to go upstairs to get them (honestly)

I said to her well the bed can't be moved for me to sit up so I need propping up, so I can read a book ..

All I can say is that you should go back to them pointing out that it's £599 and that is the amount you expect back in respect of the overnight stay.

For everything else, I don't think you'll get anything unless you come from the angle of a complaint about your care - the wrong drugs etc - which would carry an implication of negligence.

Keep at it with the complaints procedure, then when you've exhausted that you can issue a letter before action. Not sure I'd bother with the small claims court for this particular case to be honest - it's not really a clear breach of contract which means you'd risk losing the fee for raising the claim.

Really good points on breach of contract

It's taking up a lot of time and emailing and I'm pissed off

If I drop the case out of court can I get my money back for the court fee

I think I'll email and ask that my paper work be sent to me and then I can say

Final chance for a refund and apology, the the night stay was £599 not £250 and I want that money back

I feel so let down

Have spent at least £25,000 with them in the last 3 years

Really appreciate all the help and advice from everyone

I know I shouldn't get so cross but I'm very sensitive at the moment and can't help but take the whole experience very personally

Do you think if I say it again when I already told them I'll file the court paper work they will think I'm a fool who isn't keeping their word?

Maybe I can't ask again for a refund because I already told them I will just send it to court

Unless you've issued correspondence to them already that explicitly says "Letter before action" or "Letter before claim" at the top of it, then that should be your next step as a final attempt to get them to pay. Then you can make a claim if they don't respond to your satisfaction (note that courts sometimes don't take kindly to you turning down a reasonable offer so be pragmatic about what you're offered compared to what you wanted). Google to see what to put in the letter.

Before you start down the claim road, read up thoroughly to make sure you can actually claim for what you're seeking (eg personal injury isn't covered, so possibly not appropriate where there were clinical issues?? - I don't know, I haven't used it for a medical related claim)

The online process is really simple, you'll need to pay a fee to initiate a claim and the only way you'll get that back is if you win (as the hospital will also have to pay your costs). However I think the fee will be small for the sums you're talking about.

They don't have a claim on you so don't worry about that. The worst that can happen is your claim is unsuccessful.

Op

You can’t just “send it to court”

What are you talking about?

As per my post, you must send a letter before action before you can start legal action.

Hey sorry I didn't realise anyone has replied

I didn't say letter before action but I said if I didn't get the money back for the night I paid for where they didn't provide the service they agreed to provide I would ask for a refund via the small claims court

You can fill the forms in to do this online

You're entitled to request a refund for a service that wasn't delivered as described or with care or fit for purpose so, I was hoping to do it that way.

Surely as it's not to sue them I don't need to get very scary with them with letter before action etc

If I sat with the judge and said why i wanted a refund I am sure they would enforce one a partial one. The hospital didn't do what I paid them to do!