ComplaintsforLittle Egypt Pediatric Dentistry

• Initial Complaint

  09/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Payment was made 5/16/23 in full. I have receipts. I received a letter 8/4/23 saying I owed $279.10. I called and left a voicemail explaining this bill was paid in full and to return my call. No call was returned so I assumed they found their mistake and it was corrected. Today, 9/11/23 I receive another letter, this one threatening collections for this same bill to be paid. This bill was paid in full on 5/16/23. So Im really not understanding what the problem is. I cant get anyone to return my phone calls and I texted the owner also with no reply.

  Business response

  09/18/2023

  Good Afternoon,

  I am ****************************, owner of Little Egypt Pediatric Dentistry. I attached the maximum number of files allowed, if you require more documentation please let me know. In April 2023, my front desk staff member received a call that the ******** family was upset about the remaining balance of their billing following a surgery I performed in March 2023. I personally did not respond until May 16th as most billing complaints generally are not elevated to me until we have double checked everything with the insurance companies. On May 16th, I texted the ******** family through our online texting platform, as it is HIPPA-protected. I was out of the office that day, so I did not have the option to call from our recorded office line. I do not make billing calls with my personal cell phone since the calls are not recorded. Every office call is recorded. After our text conversation about the remaining balance on May 16th, there is no documentation of a call or text from the ******** family. I was told via secure message on May 16th that the family planned to pay their bill. As I was out of the office, I didn't ever see a payment come through. Between May and September, we sent multiple statements to the family. None of these statements were responded to. 

  When the family was told they would be sent to collections, they messaged a member of my team via ********* They then messaged my personal cell phone. I received the text from the mother at 5:14pm on September 11th. I received a text from the father at 6:16pm. I replied to the texts at 6:45pm. Using the credit card statements she provided me, I was able to check our system and locate their payment in May. At 08:31am the following morning, I texted mom to let her know that we did in fact have the payment and their account was updated. They now have a "zero" balance. They were sent a digital statement on September 12th reflecting the updated balance. 

  As you can see, once I had the information I needed to track the payment, I was able to do so quickly. The issue was resolved within 14 hours. I replied to the text on my cell phone within 30 minutes. The billing issue would have been accomplished much sooner had any of the documentation been provided between May and September. 

  Ultimately, they did pay the bill and we missed it in our merchant processing system. That was an error on our part. No part of that error was made with ill-intention or in a deceptive manner. The moment we had all of the information needed to fix it, we did in a very short time. 

  Thank you,

  *************************, DMD, MS

  Customer response

  09/19/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

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