Cancellations, Failed and Missed Appointments Policy
We aim to provide all of our patients with the best possible service and to achieve this we need your cooperation.
It is inevitable that sometimes you may need to cancel or rearrange your dental appointments.
We would ask patients to give as much notice as possible when cancelling an appointment so we have the opportunity to offer it to someone else although we do understand that during an emergency this is not always possible. Non-attendance and cancellations at short notice without a valid reason deprive other patients of our services.
Appointments are often wasted as people do not attend. These appointments could have been used by other patients.
When a patient fails an appointment, we reserve the right to charge the full cost of the planned appointment. We will use our discretion as we see fit in these circumstances.
Payment will be taken prior to the planned appointment
An appointment is considered to have been broken if any of the following occur:
- the patient fails to show up for the appointment,
- the patient appears more than 20 minutes late for a scheduled appointment, or
- the patient calls to cancel an appointment with too little advance notice to allow that appointment time to be rescheduled with another patient (48 hours will be considered to be the minimum time necessary to avoid a broken appointment).
Patients who wish to cancel dental appointments must do so a minimum of 48 hours (2 working days) in advance of their scheduled appointment. If less notice the appointment will be considered to have been broken. We may use discretion as we see fit.
Practice Payment & Charges Policy
It is the responsibility of this practice to give patients full information about the cost of their dental care before any treatment is undertaken.
A list of common treatment charges is available on the website for treatments that are provided privately.
Payment will usually be requested in full before the planned visit. Payments are booked directly online or by payment link which will be sent prior to the planned appointment
Where a deposit is taken for a free consultation (Invisalign/cosmetic etc) . This can be either put towards the future treatment or can be refunded within a 3 months period at the patients request. If no contact is made this will become non refundable and the patients notes will be archived.
We will ensure that all patients:
- Are advised of what they must pay, when they should pay and how they can pay (e.g. cheque, cash, card, direct transfer)
- Know what they will receive for their payment (i.e. what treatment or care)
- Understand their treatment is provided privately
- Are given a written estimate and treatment plan on request or where treatment involves more than routine preventive examination and hygiene care
- Understand their own responsibilities in terms of payment terms and how to avoid any penalty for overdue fees (missed appointment charges, late payment etc)
- Are not pressured into signing agreements or paying fees
- Obtain a receipt for any payments they make and can review their account details
- Can talk to a staff member who can explain clearly what payments are due and what they are for
- Can discuss with staff what treatment options and costs are available
- Are given an estimate where a precise cost cannot be determined in advance (e.g. laboratory work) and will receive timely advice of any additional costs where appropriate
We try to make payment as straightforward as possible.
Payment Method
All major debit and credit cards are accepted.
Change of Details
You must inform the practice immediately of any changes to your contact details. Failure to do so will mean that we are not able to provide you with essential information and updates.
Cancellation of Courses of Treatment
If, for any reason, a course of treatment is cancelled, then we will make every reasonable effort to give the patient as much notice as possible. Earlsfield Dental Studios ’s maximum liability will be limited to a refund of the advance payment fee ONLY. Refunds will be made by the method in which the treatment booking was paid. We will not accept liability for any additional costs or losses incurred by a patient or organisations, which are claimed to have arisen through treatment cancellation. We reserve the right to vary arrangements for the delivery of a treatment plan and in such cases will make reasonable efforts to inform patients in advance.
Cancellation by the Patient
You may cancel a course of treatment for which you have booked an appointment and be fully refunded all fees for treatment not yet performed; provided you give the practice a minimum of 48 hours prior notice.
If 48 hours prior notice is not received, we reserve the right to withhold an amount of money, based upon the length of the appointment, to cover overheads.
We will refund the money to patients who wish to discontinue treatment at any time. A notice period of 14 days is required upon which they will be eligible for a refund of any amount paid for treatment that they did not receive.
If a patient is receiving any treatment that involves laboratory work and initial work has been carried out; i.e. if the patient is having crowns/bridges or a denture made, and the work has already been started or completed by the laboratory, a proportion of the fee taken on the preparation appointment will be kept to cover the cost of the laboratory invoice.
If you have paid for services not yet provided that do not involve a laboratory fee, we will either credit your account or refund the transaction paid using the method by which the original payment was made.
This practice maintains a strict payment policy where all payments for dental treatment should be paid in full prior to the completion of treatment.
It is the discretion of the treating dentist as to whether the full payment is required before the start of treatment. Payments can be made by debit card. Credit card payments will also be accepted.
Card payments can be made via payment links or at the practice. If, for whatever reason, the fees are not paid, the practice will inform the patient via a text message/letter or email that there is money outstanding on their account and to refer to our payment policy.
A second text message, letter or email will then be sent requesting immediate payment if payment is not paid within a seven-day period. If there has been no contact or payment within the next seven-day period then a third text message will be sent warning of losing the right to be seen at the practice with immediate effect.
If payment is not made within a further 24 hours, we will use a debt recovery company to recover the debt outstanding.
