Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  06/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  June 23, 2023 Dr. Justin ****, M.D. ENT Specialists **** * **** * *** ** Salt Lake City, UT 84107 Dear Dr. ****(. I am writing to address the events that transpired during my visits to the ENT Specialists Draper office. I would like to bring to your attention the unprofessional, rude, and inappropriate treatment I experienced, as well as the concerns regarding billing practices. As the registered agent of ENT Specialists and one of its owners, I believe it is important for you to be aware of these issues. On Monday, April 3, at 4:30 pm, I had a scheduled appointment with audiologist Denise ***********. However, due to heavy snowfall and subsequent traffic accidents on I-15, I was delayed and arrived at the office at 5:50 pm, a delay of 20 minutes. Upon arrival, one of the receptionists informed me that I was late and mentioned that Denise had already left for the day. The receptionist stated that I would have to reschedule and come back on Thursday. I was taken aback by the receptionist's curt greeting, “you’re late”, and was surprised that Denise had left without contacting me, considering the adverse weather conditions and her knowledge of my residence far south of Draper. When I inquired about the lack of notification, the receptionist explained that ENT Specialists sees a large number of patients daily and cannot call everyone. This response was frustrating to me as my dentist, who also sees a substantial number of patients, always calls me if I am scheduled and adverse weather conditions are expected. I explained to the receptionist that my delay was caused by a traffic accident, and I attempted to call ENT Specialists to notify Denise of my situation. However, I received an automated message stating that the office was closed, which was surprising as I believed the office was open. The receptionist confirmed that they had been receiving patients all day. Disappointed by the lack of care and concern displayed by the ENT Specialists staff, I requested my hearing aids and prepared to leave. At this point, I overheard the receptionist mentioning something about the programming of the hearing aids. When I asked her to repeat what she had said, she motioned for me to leave and stated that since I was heading toward the door, I could go. I expressed my difficulty in hearing her, requested her to repeat herself, but she persisted in gesturing for me to leave, as though I were a child. The overall treatment I received from ENT Specialists was unprofessional, rude, condescending, and inappropriate. Denise should not have left the office without attempting to contact me, especially considering it was before 5:00 pm when she departed, and my delay was a mere 20 minutes. Furthermore, Denise did not reach out to apologize, and ENT Specialists did not contact me to rectify the situation regarding the programming and fitting of my hearing aids. I was extremely frustrated with the treatment of the staff at ENT Specialists with the lack of care and concern so I wrote you, Dr. Justin, multlple times about the issue. You did not respond. I also wrote to Denise multiple times, who also did not respond after our call. Due to the lack of care and flexibility displayed by the staff at ENT Specialists, the undisclosed policies, and the treatment I received, I have made the decision not to return to your practice. The two-hour round trip to your office, only to be told that I must reschedule if I am more than 15 minutes late, is not feasible for me, both in terms of time and finances. If I had been informed of this policy beforehand, I would not have chosen to visit your practice. In a subsequent phone conversation with Denise, she agreed to work with the new hearing office I would be transferring to, providing them with my hearing aid data, medical history, and arranging for ENT Specialists, who had been fully paid as part of a package deal, to send partial payment to the new office so that I would not incur additional out-of-pocket expenses. Unfortunately, Denise failed to honor this commitment and ignored multiple emails from me. As a result, I had to start over with testing and pay for a complete package at the new office, which cost over $2,000 more than the package I had paid for at ENT Specialists. Eventually, I was able to coordinate with audiologist Denise and office manager Ben ******** to return the hearing aids. After considerable effort, I successfully obtained a full refund from my insurance company, as they had paid the full amount of $5,400 for the services provided by ENT Specialists. However, to my surprise, on June 23, 2023, I received a bill from ENT Specialists for $525. This bill included charges for services that did not benefit me, such as three "hearing aid fitting/checking visits" amounting to $150, as well as a "No Show Fee" for the day I arrived 20 minutes late. The purpose of these hearing aid visits was to acquire hearing aids that were supposed to be fitted and programmed to me personally. Since I did not receive properly fitted and programmed hearing aids from ENT Specialists, the services provided during those visits had no value to me. I had to undergo those services again at another hearing aid office, Timpanogos Hearing and Tinnitus, and my insurance company has already covered the full amount of the services there. The bill I received from ENT Specialists was dated June 8, 2023, with a demand for immediate payment. On the same day, I called the ENT Specialists billing office to dispute the charges based on the reasons detailed in this letter. ENT Specialists billing does not answer their phone so I left multiple detailed messages. I stated I was disputing the charges and detailed some of the reasons provided in this letter. I also requested they call me back. Based on the events described above, I believe that ENT Specialists has violated the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act in multiple ways. These include providing services that were not associated with the sale of the hearing aids, billing for services not provided, deceptive billing practices, misrepresenting the services as a "package deal," falsely charging a "no-show" fee, failure to respond to multiple requests, failure to fulfill obligations under an oral agreement, underestimating or misstating the cost of services, and failing to provide proper documentation, refund details, and cancellation policies. I respectfully request that ENT Specialists drop all current and future charges related to my visits to their office, totaling $525 (Invoice #********). I kindly ask for a written response within 5 business days, outlining the actions that will be taken to resolve these matters. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Regards

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