ComplaintsforPrecision Orthodontics

• Initial Complaint

  03/13/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  We signed a contract on 5/1/20 for our daughter to begin treatment with Precision Orthodontics. Over a year and a half later, on 12/21, we received a letter that our insurance submission was denied. That was shocking news to us, and I immediately called Precision and worked with my HR department in early 2022 to get orthodontics coverage retroactively fitted to our policy. Once that was resolved, I informed Precision so they could resubmit the claim. A short time later, on 4/15/22, we received a letter stating that, your contracted relationship with Precision Orthodontics is complete. We received no further communication until 11/2/23, when they sent a letter demanding $2037. 25 plus late fees in outstanding balance on our account. They are now threatening to send this to collections and report it to the credit bureau on March 18th.There were three indications that this issue was resolved once I told them the policy was amended: 1) I was told by the financial officer that the problem was theirs, and I was not responsible, 2) We received the letter in April 2022 stating our contracted relationship was complete, and 3) Precision had no further contact with us for over a year and a half following this conversation and letter. I have spent hours on the phone with Delta Dental to retrieve information for Precision and have talked to multiple people at Precision, but we have made no headway. Precision has not been willing to negotiate and continues to refuse any share of the responsibility for this situation. They never resubmitted the claim, nor have they corresponded with us in a timely manner for the past four years. We are being threatened, even though we did everything they asked us to, paid additional money to add orthodontics retroactively to our policy, and responded quickly to their letters. We kindly ask your assistance in helping us to negotiate a fair resolution on this matter.

  Business response

  03/20/2024

  Greetings, 
  I have provided you with the contract that states "estimate" from insurances and that Responsible party is responsible if insurance doesn't pay for any reason. Her challenges with her employer and insurance were not on our end. We proceeded to go above and beyond to help resubmit the claim for the responsible party. unfortunately it was denied. The conversation she keeps talking about where she believes someone told her it was our fault and she was taken care of could not be confirmed as there's no notes and she doesn't know who she talk to. Unfortunately its hear say as it can not be confirmed. The attached letter she uploaded was a completion of treatment and retention letter. This letter is in reference to the treatment relationship being completed. There is not reference to any financials in this letter. We do not keep patients in braces due to non payment. That is a liability. We did complete treatment and our simple request is that the responsible party uphold her end of the contract and complete her end. We have offered payment arrangements that could be started while we await the claim to be reviewed by insurance. Insurance takes up to 45 days. We have asked to, in good faith, to start making payment on the balance NOT covered possibly by insurance to avoid collections. She agreed and then changed her mind. It is unfortunate that our relationship has lead to this. ************************* has a beautiful smile and it was an honor to treat her in creating that beautiful smile. We feel we have done our part of the service request by ********************************* and It seems that ******** is looking for a way out of adhering to the contract. As for insurance, we have again gone above and beyond to help her by resubmitting this claim again. However, insurance will not cover treatment already completed. Figures crossed they do, however even if they do award the funds, They would be send  the check to ******** not Precision as we are not currently treating anymore. She would need to pay us the amount from insurance AND the outstanding balance as the benefits only cover partial of the amounts due. As you see, unfortunately this challenge ********************* is having is with her insurance provider. Not Precision Orthodontics. 

  Customer response

  03/23/2024

  I am rejecting this response because: The response from Precision is just another example of the companys refusal to take responsibility for this situation. The denial of the insurance claims came after over a year, from fall of 2020 to the end of 2021, of their repeated attempts at submitting the claims with no contact with us. At one point during that time, they had over $27,000 in submitted claims on our account! They just kept resubmitting the claims over and over without letting us know the claims were being denied so we could do something to fix it! This was the first evidence of their ineptitude in financial dealings. As soon as they finally told us in the beginning of 2022, I went to the office to speak to the financial officer and then directly to my HR department to fix the issue. Once my HR department retroactively fitted our insurance with orthodontic coverage, and I paid for the additional coverage, I spoke to the same financial officer to let her know she could resubmit the claim. Just because I could not remember ****** name after two years had gone by does not mean the conversation did not take place. The fact that they have no documentation of this conversation is further evidence of their negligence and mismanagement. The contract states that our obligation to pay is after insurance has been billed. ***** told me she would resubmit the claim, and I believed she would do so. Not only did she not resubmit the claim as she said she would, but we received no financial statement after that.Additionally, a few months later, we received a letter that stated, your contracted relationship with Precision Orthodontics is complete. The letter makes no reference to the treatment relationship being complete as they falsely state. Additionally, if we still owed money, we should have received a statement, but we received no further communication until over a year and a half later, on 11/2/23, when they sent a letter demanding $2037 from us,threatening collections if we did not comply. I have spent the last four months again trying to resolve this issue, talking to personnel associated with their office, talking to our insurance, and just recently speaking to *****, who finally agreed to submit the claim she should have submitted two years ago.Unfortunately, the claim may not be approved now since our daughter is no longer a patient of Precision Orthodontics. It is appalling that the employees of Precision are choosing to drag our daughter into this conversation, as she has nothing to do with this issue. Our resistance to comply with their threatening demands stems from the fact that the company has not acknowledged their missteps in this process and is instead treating us like criminals. The stance they are taking that they have demonstrated excellent customer service is a farce. ******** lapses in communication with customers is not common business practice. Assuring the customer that you will submit claims to insurance,not doing it, and then attacking the customer over 18 months after the fact for non-payment is unacceptable. Precision is only resubmitting the claims now because I have been so insistent on resolving this issue, not out of the kindness of their hearts. They are not the benevolent benefactors of orthodontic care they are professing themselves to be. Their assertion of offering payment arrangements really means that they demanded I bring in payment in two days so it didnt go to collections. have not received a single statement through this entire process until November 2023. Furthermore, in spring of 2022, ***** told us that the previous bookkeeper had not known what she was doing, she admitted that she had a mountain of work to do to clean up the books, and she explained that we were no longer held responsible due to their accounting mistakes. All of Precisions actions and their communication demonstrated that our responsibility was fulfilled. And now, two years later, they are showing that they failed to do what they promised, are denying the entire string of conversations, and are demanding thousands of dollars from us. We have spent many hours over the last four years to clear up any confusion, yet Precision refuses to provide answers for their actions and inactions. Why they did not resubmit the claim after we fixed the insurance issue remains unanswered. Why there were no late charges until September of 2023 conflicts with their recent argument that we still owe money. Their profession that they have gone above and beyond is a lie. They have been dismissive of our concerns, of their treatment of us, and of our time and attempts to resolve the conflict. Dealing with them has been like speaking to a petulant child- they plug their ears and yell, You signed a contract,without acknowledging the situation that has occurred due to their words and actions.
  We have an exemplary credit record, and we pay off our bills in full every month. When I called their office the day we received the threatening letter in November 2023, the employee who answered the phone told me that she was surprised: she was receiving so many calls that day inquiring about unpaid balances and was confused as to why that was happening. Even in the two days after I finally reached someone who had some semblance of what was going on and had 48 hours to pay up or else, I attempted to negotiate to find a compromise. True to form for Precision in the last four years, they did not respond.  
  

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