I was new in Paso Robles CA & needed a dentist when my insurance co referred me to Dr. Krill (he is at 1920 Creston Road #B). I went in for a consult and met him - that was the ONLY TIME I saw the guy in the /- 2 years I was a patient, although I went in at least every 6 months.
In the fall of 2009 I chipped a crown and went in, telling them I was unemployed & could not afford a new crown. I asked if they could just sand down the rough spot that was cutting my tongue. They did that. I was billed $4 which I thought was them being nice for me being off work and considering I was in & out of the chair in 5 minutes.
In January I went in for a cleaning and was shocked when they not only billed me $25 for the cleaning but $21 for the crown-sanding they had done in October. When I protested it was clear they did not care - all they said was I had been undercharged in October. They had no excuse for why I had never been sent a bill. They handed me an appointment card for 6 months in the future but I gave it no thought - I was too preoccupied with how ripped off I felt.
I moved for employment, canceled the insurance and turned off the phone # they would have had on my account.
Then 6 months later I got a "missed appointment" bill for from them for $20.
A reasonable dentist office would have realized that if they send an cleaning appointment reminder that gets returned with a forwarding address 200 miles away that the person will not be there for the cleaning. And if they call someone with an appointment reminder and the person's phone is turned off that person is not getting reminded. That if they were unemployed on their last visit then maybe they moved. And if that person has changed insurance companies they probably will change dentists. And if they got ripped off on their last visit they probably WANT to forget about the dentist in question.
So Dr. Krill's office had every reason to know I would not be there for an appointment THEY set up for me 6 months before. For them to NOT know means they are either (1) stupid, (2) looking for ways to exploit patients, or (3) both stupid & exploitive.
When I got the missed appointment bill I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Dr. Krill's office never responded to me or the BBB.
Then they sent ANOTHER bill - this time with account detail that made me realize that when they spent 5 minutes sanding my crown down in October (that they billed me twice for) they ALSO billed my insurance company $155 - for 5 minutes work!!! I forwarded that bill with this whole story to the insurance co and explained how we both got ripped off by Dr Krill's office - and cc'd Dr. Krill.
Dr. Krill's office then sent ANOTHER bill telling me they would send me to collections for the $20 missed appointment bill.
That's when I got an attorney.
The happy ending is they stopped billing me and I will never again have to deal with a dentist who is never there in an office full of people with corrupt business practices.
Forwarned is forarmed...
PS: I knew I needed a crown but was shocked when my new dentist told me just how much dental work I needed - work that Dr. Krill's office had never informed me off. If the abusive billing of Dr. Krill's office doesn't scare you off from Dr. Krill's office the bad dentistry should. And I keep talking about "his office" because I don't think he is even there anymore, considering I never saw the guy after my initial consult. Maybe people who don't know what they are doing just rent his name & license.
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