Did I just get ripped off?

Heya all,

I have just had an Acupuncture treatment here in London. I have a problem with buzzing hands and feet these last 3 weeks, and they say it is due to poor circulation of my blood after doing an examination. I did acupuncture before, and I did use to have this problem before , it only took me 3 treatments to let it disappear.
Acupuncture definatly works, except here is what happened next:

I had the treatment for 40 mins. They told me it was going to be 40 pounds for this session. Then when I came out of the cubicle there were 3 ppl from the chinese medicene shop where I went standing there waiting for me. Now the girl behind the counter told me I now have to come back 6 times for me to completely get rid of the problem. Then she takes out a calculator and showed me the whole treatment for 6 times is going to come up to 200 pounds. They told me I have to the treatment and money is not important. I also had to buy these pills for 7 pound 50. So in total it wasn’t 40 pounds but 47 pound 50 with the pills intact. They did not even tell me what they were for, but that I just had to take them. 3 times a day 8 pills. It was all very intimidating. Its like they just told me exactly what to do and I was not allowed to question them.

I think 40 pounds was already a rediculous amount, because I went for acupuncture in the past in holland and they only charged me like 15 euros. (Also a chinese medicene centre btw).
Now my main concern is, I hope they did not mean I had to pay the whole amount of 200 pounds. I only payed them for what they did today, yet they are probably expecting me to call for more appointments. I am worried if I don’t go thru with the whole thing (which I am going to do, not go thru with it because I just do not have 200 pounds for this), that they will start calling me up to pay 200 anyway? even though I decided to say no.

I mean , logically I don’t wanna go thru with it, and they did not treat me because I didn’t go, so I don’t really owe them any money right? I payed them the 47. I did not book appointments.

What should I do if they actually DO start harrasing me for it?
They scanned my card, and they know where I live.

MAybe I am just paranoid, :eek:
tell me what u think.

Iwazaru

well you didnt sign anything, ok you paid what you had to and that is it… what if you had to move to another country or someting like that, they cant follow you… so since you didnt make a contract with them (that would bind you to it and secure them from you changing your mind) you have no obligation to do it… unless your country has totaly diferent laws than mine… so let them call you all they want, it is their phone bill! :wink:

I don’t know if they are ripping you off - some small research on Dutch and English websites seems to confirm the prices you’re given. 15 euro is pretty cheap - most treatments seem to start at 60 euro (that’s 40 pounds) and then the following treatments are typically cheaper.

It’s simple: if you can’t afford further treatment, you don’t want further treatment and you are not bound by a legal agreement of sorts, they cannot demand any money from you. If they do resort to threats and harassment, it’s best to collect proof of that and contact the police. ^_^;;

And you might want to check whether or not your health insurance covers acupuncture or not, 'cause that’d be useful.

My view on it:

  • You won’t pay for that treatment 200, but 240 pounds, you paid already for that one session.

  • I don’t think anyone is gonna stalk you. If so, call police. Don’t let anyone frighten you.

  • Those pills… I’m sure that’s only a autosuggestion thing. It’s a placebo. I have a friend that was taking (takes ?) homeopatic pills. He says that he knows that those pills won’t do anything, but if someone believes that it will work, it works. It’s propably same engine with those pills, even more if they don’t allows you to ask what it’s made of.

  • You didn’t made appointment for next times, at least you didn’t wanted to. You don’t have to go there again. You’re living in free country ! Noone can force you to go into cheaty clinic, and pay for it.

  • If you paid less and needed only 3 session in Holland, why won’t you go in there again ?

I see,
thanx for the views guys/girls.
I could indeed go to holland again and have
it done, its a lot cheaper, and they know
me also, plus have never told me to take
any pills ever. I found the pill thing a bit weird,
they were litterarely forcing me to buy them.

I mean I believe in acupuncture, it really helps
for this sort of things. Yet this just makes me question their intentions.

I personally wouldn’t take any pills not prescribed to be my doctor, unless they’re already available in shops (eg. aspirin). Especially if I wasn’t even told what exactly they were for.

You should ask them what the pills are for before taking them. Maybe they are lying to you and they are just pills that do nothing.

-In the name of Harman.

IF they hassel you threaten them with the Better Buisness Beaureau.

Second who diagnosed the blood circulation issue, them or a regular doctor? If it was them I urge you to go to a GP and get a medical opinion and ask about treatment.

Poor circulation if left unchecked can lead to gangrene in the extremities and I think an acupuncturist would have problems dealing with that one.

Agreed. Don’t want to be messing around with that stuff. Sounds like it could be a nerve problem - accupuncture does nothing for that.

I think it’s definitley a rip off.

You don’t need to pay them anythging, like it’s already been said you haven’t signed anything and you’ve paid for their services - I’f they come after you and stalk you, or just make you feel uncomfortable, get the police involved, get a police order for them to stay away from you and for good measure, check your rights and see if theres anything you can sue them for (there probably will be) and threaten to sue them. Trust me, they’ll back off.

I don’t think (or hope) it will come to sueing… But, 3 times a day 8 pills? Don’t take them. Never take pills you don’t know.
Homeopathic pills can work though, i used to be on them. First they made me feel worse, than it would get better. They are not placebo’s… I once got homeopathic placebo’s, but I did not know that. They did absolutely nothing, I thought those pills were useless… And they were, the other pills weren’t. You get my point?
But eitherway, if your feet and hands stay cold even when you excercise regularely, you should get them checked out by a real doctor. Sticking needles in them may work, but if there is something wrong medically you should let it be checked it out.
Good luck anyway!

My theory:
You say that you’ve got a problem with buzzy hands and stuff, and they say that they can help you. After the acupuncture they give you pills for your buzzy hands :eek: Acupuncture = 0% (Their acupuncture) Pills: 100% (Their pills)