When we book an appointment for you, we commit that time and our resources to your treatment. This means that, if anyone else wants to come at the same time, we will be unable to see them and will have to offer them an alternative time. At busy times, this can mean waiting over one week for the next available appointment (longer for Saturday appointments). If you do not then attend that appointment and either do not tell us in advance or give insufficient notice, we are unable to allocate the time to someone else; however, we still have overheads and staff salaries to pay during the unproductive time.
For this reason, it is our policy to request deposits and make a charge if insufficient notice of cancellation or amendment is given.
Deposits
We make appointments with the expectation that you will attend at the agreed date & time to undergo your treatment; if you change your mind or work/other commitments prevent you from attending, we ask you to give as much notice as possible so that we can reallocate your appointment slot to another customer.
When booking your appointment, we will normally seek a deposit from you, payment of which is your confirmation of your commitment to attend your appointment. Our deposits are normally fully refundable providing sufficient notice of cancellation is given (see below) and will be set at the following levels:
- Examinations and other appointments of one hour (60 minutes) or less: £20.00
- Appointments of more than one hour: £50.00
In certain cases, we may request a higher deposit (for example if an external practitioner is being brought in especially to treat you or if a very long appointment is being reserved for you). You will be advised at the time of booking if this applies to you.
We may, at our discretion, accept a booking on a provisional basis without payment of a deposit. In such situations, we will normally agree alternative arrangements for payment of the deposit with you. If you do not pay the deposit within the timescale you have agreed, we reserve the right to cancel your appointment and reallocate the time to another customer.
Cancellation
If you are unable to attend your appointment for any reason, then you should tell us as soon as possible and no later than:
- 24 hours before the scheduled start time for appointments of 60 minutes or less
- 48 hours before the scheduled start time for appointments of more than 60 minutes
Please note that Sundays and bank holidays will not be included in these timeframes so notice to cancel an appointment scheduled for a Monday or the day after a bank holiday must be given no later than the preceding working day (or the day before the preceding working day if the appointment is for more than one hour (usually root canal treatment but can also include other extensive treatments).
Providing you give notice of cancellation or postponement/amendment no later than these deadlines, your deposit can be refunded to you on request. If you do not request refund of your deposit, it will be held on your account and may be used against the cost of future treatment.
Where treatment is being undertaken by an external practitioner who is being brought in especially to treat you, these deadlines do not apply and agreement to cancel will be at the sole discretion of the practitioner concerned. You will be told if this applies to you at the time of booking.
Non-attendance (including late cancellation)
If you do not attend your appointment, or cancel later than the deadlines shown above, we reserve the right to make a charge as follows:
- Examinations and other appointments of one hour (60 minutes) or less: £20.00
- Appointments of more than one hour: £50.00
- Appointments where a higher deposit has been agreed at the time of booking: the amount of the deposit paid
This charge will be debited to your account with us; if you have not paid a deposit, settlement of this charge will be required before treatment can continue. The charge will be applied per appointment missed; a checkup and hygienist session counts as two appointments even if they are consecutive on the same day.
Appointment reminders
Please note that, although we normally send text message reminders a day or two before appointments are due, the successful delivery of these relies on our text provider (DentalPlus Text), your mobile network provider and your phone and cannot therefore be guaranteed.
Therefore, you should not rely on our text messages as the sole reminder of your appointment as we will not be responsible for any appointments missed as a result of non-delivery of the text message reminder, regardless of the reasons for its failure.
