NON-UK CLINICS

Let's talk deposits.

 

First of all, why do we take them? 

As you're very likely aware, we are incredibly busy as a chain of clinics. We know a lot of clinics say this, but hand on heart, we genuinely are - and you'll know this if you've tried to book in. It's actually a little cray. We've been fully booked for every clinic we have run, for the best part of a decade now (long may it continue), regardless of location!

 

Which annoyingly means, that there is often a short wait to get in. We have 100K patients and only 10 doctors because we’re really fussy whom we have working for us. If you're not serious about the appointment for a consultation, allow another patient to have the slot they crave – and indeed the deposit helps with this process. If people aren't sure whether they will arrive or what they want, they tend not to pay the deposit and book in. This makes it easier for those whom are serious about it, to find a slot appropriate to their time scale. Which makes for a smoother service for everyone.

 

You'll also be aware, that we work from high end buildings and locations. It's part of the reason patients like visiting us! Harley Street in London, Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, and Beverly Hills in Los Angeles are just 3 of our clinics. These places are of course, expensive to rent and often cost us £5k a day. Alas we still need to pay for the rent or mortgage, as well as the salaries of our staff and doctors, whether you attend or not. The deposit merely covers this and the cost of being open, and we make no profit from this at all. It allows us to practice from the beautiful locations we do, and add to the experience of the clinic itself. The alternative would be not to charge for a consultation fee, and deposit - but INSTEAD add a third on to the price of each treatment. It may also mean practicing from less desirable areas.  Focus groups would indicate that this is a last resort. 

 

As a practice, we decided this wasn't entirely fair - and that each patient should take responsibility for their turning up on time, and risking deposit loss, rather than the entire patient base bearing the brunt of this. We appreciate that it might not be your fault that you cannot attend - you've lost your job, you don’t feel well, you've found out you're pregnant, your car has broken down, or you've just plain changed your mind. No one pays a deposit, and expects that they aren't going to attend, which we understand. BUT, that is the whole point of taking a deposit in case of such eventualities - and if they are refundable, there is little point in them being taken in the first place. However, regardless of this - these non attendances incur business costs that potentially spiral into tens of thousands of pounds, when you have a large international patient base of over 100,000. We have also obviously had to pay several admin staff to book you in too, answer several questions, and send you information packs (such as this one!) , before you even arrive at the clinic and behind the scenes, and the deposit will cover this too.

Is the deposit refundable if I want to change or cancel my consultation?

No - the deposit is STRICTLY NON REFUNDABLE  unless you give us 2 weeks notice prior to your attendance, and the appointment slot is moved to within 2 weeks of the original slot. 

If you then have treatment on the day of the consultation, this is then redeemable against your treatment. If you book several consultations, and therefore pay several different deposits to reserve your slots - these are only redeemable against their respective slots. 

 

For example, if you have paid a deposit for a consultation for lip augmentation, another for Botox, and then liquid rhinoplasty –you’ll have 3 consultations booked. What if you then only proceeded with the Botox? 

 

The Botox consultation fee and deposit only, will be redeemed against that treatment. You cannot redeem the lips/ nose consultation fees against the Botox in addition. This makes patient think more carefully about what they really want, rather than book the entire afternoon out to hang with one of the doctors they’ve seen on Instagram.

Bear in mind, that for whatever reason - no one ever foresees the reason why they can no longer come, and again in the interests of fairness - we have to have the same rule for everyone without exception. We warn everyone at the time of booking that the deposit is non refundable - and thus whilst disappointing of course - it is fair and ethical.   

 

Is the consultation free?

 

The deposit is actually for your consultation fee. We only ever use doctors and dentists to advise you, whom are at the top of their game and usually surgically trained too. You are paying for their expert, qualified, and indemnified opinion ( in line with Consultant Clinic techniques and protocols, developed over years of practice). The deposit will vary according to the clinic you’re booking into. Thus far:

 

London, Dublin and Birmingham – as per the website, we charge £60 for each consultation

Greater Manchester and Liverpool - £40 for each consultation

Dubai and Los Angeles - £120 per consultation (simply go through the deposit process twice – 2 x £60). Remember, we are usually flying our UK based doctors to another country for you especially, and it will therefore cost more to fly 12 hours to California, than it will to jump in the car and drive to work down the road, for us all.

 

December – twice usual consultation fee for each clinic

 

We charge double deposits in December as we’re only open for 2 weeks, and the demand for our services is literally off the scale. We’re simply bursting at the seams, and it’s especially important to allow our regulars to be able to book in – as well as those whom are certain they want treatment or/ and a consultation. If you aren’t sure during these busy periods, then we would advise you book in, during off-peak season. It goes without saying that the consultation fees at any cost, are always redeemable against respective treatments if performed on the same day.
The rule of thumb, for deposits – is that if you aren’t sure – or aren’t completely on board with all of this, then it’s best not to book in and think on it some more.

Is it a given, that I will definitely be able to have treatment of my choice on the day?


It is never assumed that a treatment can be had on the day, as there are hundreds of reasons which may prevent treatment, whether it is overfilled lips, medication issues, blood supply, nerve supply, scar tissue to the area, certain allergies, anatomical quirks, immunosuppressants, on-going medical conditions, the herpetic virus, and many more. All of these prevent treatment on the day, and we cannot cover all possibilities prior to this on an exhaustive list- as after all, it takes a qualified, trained aesthetics doctor to fully assess a treatment plan for you, what your options are, if eventually you would like to be left with a

result you’re expecting and wish for. 

 

That being said, we often have to turn people away at consultation, either for a existing medical condition, undisclosed previous information, or the presence of previously poorly placed filler from another practice. These can only be assessed on the day, and although less than ideal, it's a part of the process. 
 
Although it sounds preferable to be able to list all potential obstacles on the pre information pack exhaustively, unfortunately it can't - as a broad brush stroke as is not black and white, and not the correct clinical approach. It is at the entire point of a consultation that full suitability is assessed, it's also why at this stage the medical history and consent form is taken.
However, in our considerable experience, most patients tell us if they are undergoing other treatments, taking other medications, or a potential conflict, and double check prior to booking/treatment if it could be an issue. It is your responsibility to let us know of anything you are currently seeing your GP for, aside for contraceptives.
NB We can inject over the filler work of others, provided it is smooth and in the right place. If not, as we cannot determine and guarantee our results – we would need to dissolve first.

 

What if I suffer from cold sores?

 

We advise asking your GP for acyclovir, to help prevent a break out prior to treatment. We give you them to take after treatment too, to help prevent a trigger. We cannot guarantee against break outs, as every time the skin barrier is breached a patient carrying the herpes virus, it remains a possibility. However, we do find prescription antivirals are remarkably effective.

 

Remember just ask!

 

We do all we can to warn your fairly, and allow you to make an informed choice in line with good medical practice guidelines. We can obviously only do so much in a pack like this, as non medics cannot advise you.

 

If there is something you’re not sure about, we have a fantastic admin team, who will answer you – and if they can’t, will refer to a manager or doctor. On occasion, and if necessary – our doctors will contact you themselves to ensure you have the best experience possible.