Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Clear Choice Hearing & Balance's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Clear Choice Hearing & Balance

  103 Canal Landing Blvd Suite 3 Rochester, NY 14626

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  Clear Choice Hearing & Balance

  919 Westfall Road, Building B, Suite 110 Rochester, NY 14618

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/10/2023

  Type:Billing 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.

  Hearing Test 09/15/23. My account number is *****. Upon arriving at the provider's office I was asked to pay $150.00 upfront for the appointment and services that would be provided. I paid the $150.00 and proceeded with my hearing test. Today, 11/10/23 I received an invoice from Clear Choice for an additional $454.61 for the services rendered on 09/15/23. I called their billing department and they indicated that the total bill was $604.61 and the $150.00 I paid in person on 09/15/23 was deducted from the total amount. At no time did Clear Choice indicate that I would have exposure to additional charges. They are not transparent with patients about their billing practices or costs. Had I known that the appointment was going to cost me $604.61, I would have chosen to cancel the testing at that time. It's not right to lure customers into their office for services under false pretenses and then bill them large sums of money for tests.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/13/2023

  The patient has a high deductible health plan.  $150 is collected upfront which goes towards the patient's deductible.  After completion of the exam charges are sent to the health insurance company for processing.  The balance that is in question is the amount that the health insurance deemed needs to be paid by the patient because of the high deductible plan.  As a courtesy we have deducted $148.63.  This results in a balance due of $305.98.  I have attached a copy of our financial policy which was signed by the patient prior to testing. I also have attached a picture of the check in counter and applicable signage to once again show the patients our policy.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/14/2023

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  Well Clear Choice once again fails to address the real issue at hand.  Having a high deductible plan is immaterial and that is not the matter in question here.  First of all, they have provided a copy of a "Patient Responsibility Form" that was signed by me on May 31, 2023 for a completely separate and unrelated transaction.  On that date I had a hearing aid repaired by them for which I paid cash...$400.00USD.  This form should not be evergreen for every visit thereafter unless these conditions are specifically addressed in the form, which they are not.  The fact that I paid $150.00 upfront upon arrival for my 9/15/23 appointment is also not in question.  What is in question is the fact they DO NOT disclose to the patient that they will be subject to over $600 in additional charges for services provided by their staff during that visit.  I have been seeing a competitor (Audiologist) literally across the parking lot from them for over a decade, and have never been exposed to a bill for services over $100 for the same hearing exam (minus the cognative test that Clear Choice did and subsequently removed from my invoice).  Granted Clear Choice has all the billing codes for services on their invoices that are submitted to the insurance provider.  While sitting in the waiting room at Clear Choice I see a lot of elderly patients coming and going.  In my opinion they appear to be either ********, ******** patients.  Invoices for their services are covered by government providers and invoices get paid no questions asked.  In my opinion, what appears to be happening is Clear Choice has found a way to code invoices for these types of patients and created a very healthy revenue stream for their company.  If a competitor can provide the same services and test for a routine hearing exam for under $100, and Clear Choice bills the insurance provider  almost $800 for that same exam, it's pretty clear what's going on here.  In my opinion, Clear Choice is defrauding the system and is certainly not honest, upfront, and transparent with their customers.  I will certainly not be a customer of their's going forward. I welcome the opportunity to have my case and experience posted on your website for all to see with the hopes others who have been defrauded by Clear Choice have a voice as well, and hopefully prevent other potential customers from falling victim to their unethical business practices.     
  Regards, 
  
  ***** ********

  Business Response

  Date: 11/15/2023

  On the morning of November 13 Mr. ******** came into our practice and apologized to our Billing Manager for his demeanor.  He also paid his outstanding invoice. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/21/2023

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. 
  The level of deceit that Clear Choice continues to practice is astounding.  I went to the office to pay my outstanding debt knowing full well that the BBB would be unable to reduce the outstanding amount of my invoice, and any remedy the BBB or my insurance carrier offers would take far longer than 30 days and put my account into arrears. I paid the invoice to keep my outstanding credit history and score untarnished.  The only apology I offered the Clear Choice Billing Manager was for use of the word "********" which said Billing Manager took offence to.  Please post my correspondence history on this matter to your website so people can make their own judgements on the facts.  Something the Clear Choice Owner/Operator has trouble with.      
  
  Regards, 
  
  ***** ********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/25/2023

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  My mother received her hearing aid from this company. It has had issues with working properly since the purchase. It is still under warranty but costs her out of pocket every time an issue comes up. Clear Choice refused to send the hearing aid in for repair while it was still under warranty. Their excuse was that her insurance changed and they would have no one to bill. It is completely unacceptable that a company where you purchase such an expensive product would refuse to send their defective product back to the manufacturer on their customer’s behalf. There is no one to bill when the product is covered under warranty. Buyer beware!

  Business Response

  Date: 05/05/2023

  The device was purchased by complainants mother through a third party company (UHC-EPIC hearing).  The device is now in need of repair.  Since her last appt she has changed to a NYs insurance which our office does not accept.  The complainant reached out to ******* (another company) to get her device fixed.  They offered to take care of it for her for a $50 office visit fee.  Complainant declined.  She came back to us and wanted us to take care of everything for free.  The manufacturer of the device provides a 3 year warranty which will cover the parts and labor.  The warranty does not cover any office visit fee or reprogramming of the device.  The complainant feels that her mother should not incur charges for anything.  She should take the device to a practice that takes her insurance since she does not want to incur any costs.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/15/2023

  Better Business Bureau: 
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. 
  
  To Whom It May Concern:  This is in regard to complaint ID ********. Clear Choice Hearing is not being truthful about the circumstances of my complaint. It's rather astonishing how little they care for their customers' best interest.  Please be advised that I contacted them by phone to inquire about getting my mother's hearing aid fixed. It quit working at all one day so we knew something was very wrong with it. She is elderly and it is not easy for her to handle issues like this own her own. This is a new hearing aid and not the first issue that she had had with it. She is completely deaf without it so fixing it quickly is imperative. I was advised by the business that there would be a fee for them to diagnose the problem in house. We paid a similar fee once before. If the problem could not be fixed on site, the hearing aid would be sent to the manufacturer for repair. I agreed and said that I would bring the device in to be checked.  When I arrived the next day with the hearing aid ready to pay the requested fee, Clear Choice refused to even look at the device. The reason I was given is that my mother's insurance changed. This was already mentioned to them by phone the day before. However, as the hearing aid is new and very much still under warranty, there is no charge to have the manufacturer do whatever is necessary to repair it. Clear Choice even admitted that the unit is still under warranty. They just flat out refused to send it back. This is all that they were asked to do-send it back. Instead of doing the right thing because she bought it from them, they told me to go somewhere else and ask someone else to deal with it.  A hearing aid is a very expensive piece of equipment that a regular person cannot just easily send directly to the manufacturer for repair (or we would have done that). The manufacturer wants it to come directly from a hearing aid center. It is our belief that it not unreasonable for it to be sent back by the center where it was purchased. After discussing the issue with others, it was clear that this flat-out refusal to help when the hearing aid was sold by the same business is completely not in line with industry standards. The issue of money was never even discussed except that the diagnostic fee described to me over the phone was agreed to.  I want elderly people to be advised that if they deal with this company and later find out that they have a device issue after a change in insurance, this company will not assist them in dealing with the manufacturer. They will be told to go someplace else and that it's their problem.  It is obvious that they will not do anything to help or fix this issue so please mark this complaint as permanently unresolved. I just want others to be warned about the business at this point. It angers me very much when elderly people are taken advantage of; I thank you very much for your time.  ******** ***** ******** ***** *********
  
  Regards, 
  
  ***** *****