Unfiltered Story #107756

I was 19 years old, living on my own with some dental problems and no insurance. When I realized I needed some work done I chose a dentist at random and when to see him. On the first appointment, he terrified me. He told me that if I didn’t get a lot of expensive work done immediately, I would need dentures by the time I was 25. He also told me that it was no use to try to get insurance, with the condition my mouth was in no company would insure me without a long wait period. But he was such a great guy, he would accept a payment plan and I could pay for all the work slowly.

Yeah. I was going into his office on a weekly basis for procedures. His explanations of even which tooth he was working on each time was confusing and complex, he sure could dance with words. Each time I went I would also pay at least $100 to limit the debt I was wracking up.

After a while, even naive and trusting me became suspicious. What finally made me realize how crooked he was was when he told me I needed another crown on a molar. I asked how much it would cost. His receptionist told me $90. I confirmed it, asking “That’s it? That’s the total cost of the crown?” She assured me that was all, so I agreed to have it done. The next week he performed the root canal, filed the tooth down for the crown, and put a temporary cap on it. Then I went to receptionist and said “I’d like to just pay the total cost of the crown now rather than have it added to my account.” “Sure,” she said “That will be $720.” “WHAT?!?! You said $90!” “No, $90 was for the root canal. The temporary crown is $20 and the porcelain crown is $600.” I knew right then that she was blatantly scamming me. She and the dentist were working together to take advantage of me and steal my money. But he had just filed my molar down and I now I needed that porcelain molar. I controlled myself, took a deep breath, wrote a check for $90 and told her to put the rest on my account, saying nothing else.

The next week I came back and had the permanent crown put on. Before the procedure, however, I asked for a final bill. I told the receptionist I was getting my tax refund and a bonus from work in a couple of weeks, and I would be back one final time to pay off my account in full. She gave me a bill of $1,600 (and change, I don’t remember the exact amount).

Two weeks later, I came back with my checkbook in hand. I walked past the people in the waiting room and asked the receptionist for another copy of my final bill, just to confirm the amount I owed. She printed out another one that stated I owe a total of $2,346.

I. FLIPPED. OUT. This is the first and only time in my life that I have just lost it. I started screaming at the top of my lungs, calling her a thief, a liar, the dentist was a scumbag, where did this amount come from, did she think I was this stupid?! I scared a little kid in the waiting room and I could see the dentist hiding and peeking around the corner.

I once I had vented my spleen I wrote a check for the first amount, told her to take me to court for the rest if she wanted thought she could get away with it, and never went back.