It is the aim of the practice to provide high quality dental and oral hygiene care to our patients and to use or clinical time effectively.
We invest in the latest technology, including a modern telephone equipment and our website where you can contact us directly to make scheduling appointments easily. Our appointment system supports timely access to care and treatment, which allows patients to access our service at a time that best suites you and minimises the length of time patients have to wait for treatment to take place. Appointments can be made using the dedicated appointments telephone line on 020 8987 3267 or by accessing our online contact us form on our website.
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 to one month 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 provide us with the required and advised 48hrs notice (excluding weekends), we are unable to allocate the time to someone else who may desperately need the appointment.
For this reason, it is our policy to request deposits and make a charge if insufficient notice of cancellation or amendment is given.
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 (48hrs, minimum) so that we can reallocate your appointment slot to another patient who may be waiting for treatment.
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:
In certain cases, we may request a higher deposit (for example if an external practitioner is being brought in especially to treat you, if you have had lab work made especially for you (or if a very long appointment which is being reserved for you). You will be advised at the time of booking if this applies to you.
Without a deposit being paid for certain appointments our system will not allow us to hold that appointment for you. We reserve the right to retain the deposit for failure to attend and notify us if you are not attending your appointment as a practice, we make every effort to let remind you of our appointments many days in advance and 48hrs prior to your appointment we call you and speak with you directly. If you are running late for your appointment please advise us accordingly as the clinical may have to adjust their planned treatment time with you with the amount of time left for your appointment, we reserve the right to cancel your appointment and reallocate the time to another patient.
Payment Method
The following credit/debit cards are accepted: MasterCard, Maestro, Visa, Visa Electron.- in every instance we can only refund the method or the exact card that you made the payment with.
Change of Details
You must inform the practice immediately of any changes to your contact details. Failure to do so will mean that we are not able to provide you with essential information and updates.
Cancellation of Courses of Treatment
If, for any reason, a course of treatment is cancelled, then we will make every reasonable effort to give the patient as much notice as possible. Acton Vale Dental Centre maximum liability will be limited to a refund of the advance payment fee ONLY. Refunds will be made by the method in which the treatment booking was paid. We will not accept liability for any additional costs or losses incurred by a patient or organisations, which are claimed to have arisen through treatment cancellation. We reserve the right to vary arrangements for the delivery of a treatment plan and in such cases will make reasonable efforts to inform patients in advance.
Cancellation by the Patient
You may cancel a course of treatment for which you have booked an appointment and be fully refunded all fees for treatment not yet performed; provided you give the practice a minimum of 48 hours prior notice.
If 48 hours prior notice is not received, we reserve the right to withhold a proportionate amount of money, based upon the length of the appointment, to cover overheads.
However, this does not apply to NHS appointments, but we reserve the right to discontinue any NHS treatments and/or future care under the NHS.
We will refund the money to patients who wish to discontinue treatment at any time. A notice period of processing of 10-15 days is required upon which will be eligible for a refund of the amount paid for treatment that was not received.
If a patient is receiving any treatment that involves laboratory work and initial work has been carried out; i.e. if the patient is having crowns/bridges or a denture made, and the work has already been started or completed by the laboratory, a proportion of the fee taken on the preparation appointment will be kept to cover the cost of the laboratory invoice.
Online Payments
We have made scheduling appointments easier by providing an online booking portal for patients who wish to have access to the practice diary for available appointments. Please note that this portal is a third-party portal, and we abide by their rules, regulations and policy for refunds and deposits. Their processing and refund policy is 10-15 business days before the refund may be issued to allowing for their transaction, processing and clearing procedure to become effective. The practice does not receive payment from the online portal company any sooner than 10-15 business days from the date you made the payment online and notified us that you wish to receive a refund.
Please be aware that for NHS courses of treatments, the proportion of the fee is set by the NHS Business Services Authority, not the Practice.
Refunds will be processed within 14 days after receipt of your request in writing either by e-mail or post:
E-Mail: info@actonvaledentists.com
Address: 179-181 The Vale, Acton, W3 7RW
If you have any concerns regarding our Policy, in the first instance speak to the front of house team and they will advise the Owner /Practice Manager to discuss this with you in person.
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