Legal Question in Consumer Law in Utah

Unethical Doctor fees for late appointement, due to Doctors tardiness

My wife has a situation in which a doctor she was going to would set an appointment and would be running late, usually 2-3 hours late. My wife could not wait that long due obligations for her job. As a result the doctor billed her for the missed appointments. Example she would have an appointment for 1:00pm and the doctor would be running so far behind that she would not be able to get into see him until 3:00pm. My wife would have to at work at 3:00 and wouold thus have to leave the doctors office before she had a chance to meet with the doctor to be at her job on time. This doctor is a Psychologist and therefore would not have any medical emergencies to attend to, he would simple not keep good track of time. We refused to pay the billed amounts and not the doctor has sent the bill to collections.


Asked on 11/29/01, 4:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Alvin Lundgren Alvin R. Lundgren, L.C.

Re: Unethical Doctor fees for late appointement, due to Doctors tardiness

Tell the collection agency that you contest the amount being billed, it is best to do that in writing, and request a detailed list of the items for which you are being billed. Then send another letter to the collection agency and a copy to the doctor and demand that if your credit is not immediately cleared for this account, and if the bill is not immediately corrected that you will be suing both of them for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 USC 1692) and that you will sue the doctor personally for fraud; and that you are going to report him to the APA and the State of Utah, Medical Board.

If you are not satisfied with the results of this approach, call me.

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Answered on 11/29/01, 4:51 pm


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