Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/06/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Shady and deceptive business practices. This office called me to tell me I had an outstanding bill of $49 from a September 2021 appointment and would be sent to collections within a week. I never received notification of the bill, apparently dated back in January 2022. While on the phone telling me I'd be going to collections, they then sent me a text message notice of the bill (I'd asked them to do so, as they claim they've sent me many texts and paper mail but I hadn't received any of this supposed correspondence.) The text she sent while we were on the phone said I had a bill outstanding by over 120 days of $49. I agreed to pay the $49 bill over the phone. After hanging up, I then received an email invoice for $449, and they charged my credit card $449. They refuse to refund me, despite me agreeing to a $49 bill. They said I should work it out with insurance. After a lot of correspondence between me, this eye doctor's staff, and my insurance, a representative from my insurance notified me on 6/6 that I actually do not owe A Visual Affair $449 from my September 2021 appointment, and that I should get a refund. Insurance says I should have only paid a $10 copay in September, which I did. However, the office at A Visual Affair is still refusing to give me my full refund of $449.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/12/2022

  July 9, 2022 

  Dear Better Business Bureau: 

  We apologize that the customer feels she has been wronged in so many ways, but there are always two sides to every story. Here is ours: 
  

  Patient states she never received a bill. Our software shows that a bill, at minimum, was mailed on March 2, 2022 and May 5, 2022. 
  

  The text she received did say $49 instead of $449, which is the correct balance and was stated over the phone the correct amount is $449, not $49, hence the charge to your card. 
  

  *** ******'s claim was submitted as medically necessary as her astigmatism was quite high, and based on exam findings, it met certain thresholds. These findings allowed the patient to have a higher level of benefit, thus having less out of pocket expenses. 
  

  Her claim was denied and therefore the amount became *** ******'s responsibility. The insurance explained to *** ****** that the charges are correct and she is responsible for $449. 
  

  *** ****** had other conversations with her insurance company and the company, to satisfy her, agreed to pay on the claim. We advised *** ****** we will refund her amount due once paid by her insurance company, however, she insisted to get a refund immediately and contested the charges with her credit card company. To date, we have not received payment from her insurance company. I hope this will not result in her account being sent to collections. 
  

  Respectfully,

  Neeraj B

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/12/2022

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  After communicating back and forth on phone calls between A Visual Affair and me, a representative named ***** from my insurance company informed me over the phone on June 6, 2022 that all I should have owed from my September 2021 appointment was the $10 copay I paid in September 2021 and that I was entitled to a refund. Minutes later, on June 6, I called ******* at A Visual Affair for my refund and she refused to give it to me.

  
  

  In his reply to the BBB, Dr. *********** is lying when he says that my insurance company explained to me that the charges were correct, my claim was denied, and I was responsible for the $449. They told me no such thing.

  
  

  He is also lying when he says I received this bill in the mail on March 2 and May 5, 2022. The first bill I received in the mail from A Visual Affair only arrived in June, after I was charged $449 that I did not agree to pay. That was probably mailed after the fact as a "cover your ass" move by his disorganized staff. (He claims that his software shows I received mail on March 2 and May 5, but how can we know that information is accurate? His staff has demonstrated a track record of carelessness, disorganization, and a lack of attention to detail or follow through throughout this whole ordeal and it's likely those bills were never mailed to me.  

  
  

  Dr. B*****'s office has changed their story as to why I was billed and exactly what I was billed for on multiple occasions:

  • First the reason for the bill is a lack of authorization for a vision exam (even though I worked out my authorization issues with my insurance company over the phone and received authorization for the appointment while in Dr. B***********'s office lobby, before paying the $10 copay and leaving my September 2021 appointment).
  • Then after trying to find out from my insurance company why A Visual Affair deceptively charged me $449, my insurance company tells me Dr. B*****'s office's reasoning is that I owe the money because the exam was to treat keratoconus. (And in this letter to the BBB, Dr. B*****'s reasoning is that the bill is for medically necessary astigmatism.)
    There should not be two sides to a story when it comes to a bill from a doctor's office. That's a lazy platitude that reflects just how untrustworthy and questionable Dr. B*****'s office is. 
    
    This has all been very confusing and frustrating to me and I look forward to getting all of my money back from Dr. B*****'s office. (Please note I only disputed $400 on my credit card. Because my insurance company has informed me that I owed no part of the $449 since I paid a $10 copay, A Visual Affair still owes me $49.)
    
    Regards,

              ***************************