consumer-protection
Dentist changed charge after the fact
<p>My son needed dental work from our regular dentist(been with for about a year and a half), they had told they wanted to do several things that would cost over $1000 after my insurance. I told them to wait till January when insurance would refill. They called me back and said they could fix worse tooth with a crown and cavity next to it for $120 out of pocket. I accepted this. On my sons appointment to put in permanent crown they said they had miscalculated and I owed them $925 more. I know it's unethical, but is this legal? By the way there is no way in hell I will pay it.</p>

<p>You have to look at the contract, which is that thing they made you sign before the treatment. The primary rule is that the written contract rules (look for a clause saying that &quot;this is the whole agreement&quot; – there is a legal principle, the 4 corners rule, that precludes verbal statements from determining what the agreement is), and the contract probably has a specific statement about your financial responsibility. They may be contractually limited to certain amounts if you are an &quot;in network&quot; patient (because of their contract with the insurance company), but there is always language saying that if the insurance company doesn't pay (not in-network, or some deductible or other coverage-related issue), their friendly cost estimates are not price commitments.</p>
<p>You can refuse to pay and they can take you to court; you can make your argument that they promised to do the work for $120. They will counter-argue that they gave you an <em>estimate</em> of the actual cost based on information that they had available, but you agreed to pay the full amount, insurance-based estimates notwithstanding. You can argue that at no time did they ever tell you what the worst-case scenario price would be, and they can argue that a reasonable person would know that $120 is <em>not</em> the full price for a crown and filling. They can argue on grounds of unjust enrichment that you owe them more money. It is not uncommon for people to misinterpret dental estimates as concrete prices.</p>

<h2>You do not owe the money</h2>
<p>Your contract with the dentist was clear: $120 + insurance for a crown and filling.</p>
<p>If this were a construction contractor or a car salesman, the question wouldn’t arise: if they made a mistake in their pricing, that’s their problem. It’s no different for your dentist, they are bound by what they agreed in the contract.</p>
