Dr. Tehrani has over-charged us a total of $1375.30 yet refuses to refund.in fact, he refuses to even address or take or phone calls. Additionally, he refuses to respond to the Delta Dental Compliance Department or work with the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau?! We are shocked and appalled that this individual remains in business. Don't take our word for it - Check out his ratings on the BBB website, Yahoo Local, Insider Pages, and other general opinion sites to see the pattern for yourself!
On May 12, Dr. Tehrani advised me I would need 4 overlays on my back teeth, providing a written good faith estimate for a total of $646.00 for our out-of-pocket cost (with the insurance company, Delta Dental, covering the remainder). Based on this estimate, we agreed to and proceeded with the dental work.
On June 28, Dr. Tehrani billed us $2450.10 for the 4 overlays. When I complained to the receptionist regarding the high amount versus the good faith estimate, she advised me to contact the dentist later in the week to discuss. This began a series of almost daily phone calls by my husband to Dr. Tehrani who, on July 9, finally agreed to refund an amount of $520.00 (reflected on my credit card statement). This refund posted to my credit card and he promised to continue to "research" the balance we continued to dispute. This refund reduced my total amount paid to $1930.10.
At this point, Dr. Tehrani became completely unresponsive to our contacts to follow up on his additional "research", and we were finally forced to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau on October 12. Lo and behold, ours was not the first complaint of this nature! Additionally, in doing some internet research, we now saw that ex-patients of the dentist have experienced this same overcharge scenario! Appears to be some sort of pattern with Dr. Tehrani.
The same week, we also filed a formal complaint with Delta Dental (the insurance company) in hopes of getting this matter resolved.in addition to being unresponsive, Dr. Tehrani told his receptionist to tell us he was never available and did not want to speak to us ever again. Unbelievable!? My husband, having no choice, showed up at his office to discuss and resolve this matter yet the dentist CONTINUED to refuse to address.
On November 13, we received a letter from Delta Dental's Professional Review Department listing the following details:
Total Fee Submitted by Dentist: $1774.00
Total Fee Approved by Delta Dental: $1574.00
Total Amount Paid by Delta Dental to Dentist: $1219.20
Total Amount Owed by Patient (for ALL 4 overlays): $554.80
On November 14, we contacted Delta Dental to confirm that the $554.80 amount is ALL we should have been charged for ALL work completed. They confirmed that this was this case. They additionally confirmed that Dr. Tehrani owed us a refund of $1375.30. This information was sent along to Dr. Tehrani (directly from Delta Dental) as well.
On November 16, my husband contacted Dr. Tehrani to request a refund in the amount of $1375.30 for the amount overcharged. Dr. Tehrani refused to speak to my husband personally (which has consistently been the case) and instead had his receptionist handle the conversation. His receptionist advised my husband that Dr. Tehrani refused to speak to him, refused to refund any amount, in fact demanded additional payment (!?), and would no longer be taking our phone calls.
Having no path left to take, my husband contacted Delta Dental again on November 16. Delta Dental reaffirmed, once again, that we are indeed owed a refund from Dr. Tehrani of $1375.30 and indicated that she would now forward this issue to the Compliance department to handle.
Delta Dental continues to attempt to work with Dr. Tehrani but to no avail. Like us, they receive no return phone calls nor correspondence. The dentist continues to send us BILLS despite our continued unsuccessful telephone calls. It is truly amazing this individual remains in business. BE WARNED before going to this dentist - Check out his rating and complaint reviews on the BBB website, on Yahoo, on Insider Pages, and on other general opinion sites to see the pattern. We wish we had done the same! It is now March almost an ENTIRE YEAR of headache and effort (on our end only) later, and this issue is STILL not resolved!
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