Thursday, June 3, 2010

pissed.

I am so mad right now I could absolutely scream. Let me just tell you why (maybe this will be some therapeutic venting on my end). On May 4th, I went to Perry Eye and Vision to have my eyes checked. As many of you know, I have worn glasses since first grade and contacts since I was eleven. Anyway, I can not function without one or the other. For years I have primarily worn contacts, but have always had a pair of glasses for emergencies. Well, two years ago (I can get new glasses/ contacts every two years through our vision insurance) I went to The Eye Place on Valleydale and got my eyes checked and ordered glasses. I also got fitted for contact lenses, which is a separate exam. Anyway, I ordered some really cute Kate Spade frames, and my bill was around $200. My insurance covers 130.00 towards frames, so that left me with around $80 to pay on my frames. Standard lenses are totally covered, but I wanted mine made thinner (b/c I didn't want to look like I was wearing coke bottle glasses) so I paid an additional $70-$80 dollars for that. I also bought two boxes of contacts. My total for $210 frames, $70-$80 thin lenses, a contact fitting, and two boxes of contacts was a little over $200. Anyway, when I picked up my glasses, I didn't really try to wear them for anything but reading in the bed because I primarily wear contacts. A few months or so passed before I actually decided to wear my new glasses for the entire day. I headed off to work and it wasn't long before I realized that these glasses were great for looking straight ahead, but I could not drive in them, and it wasn't long before I was completely motion sick. I had to call Mikey to bring my contacts to me at work because I could not have survived the day like that. Anyway, it had been more than a month since I brought them home, so I couldn't return them (lesson learned). Well, I held on to those glasses because I loved them (and they weren't cheap). Now for the real story...
I went for my eye exam at Perry Eye and Vision in Sumiton on May 4th. I had a normal eye exam as well as a contact fitting. I took my Kate Spade's with me because I just wanted them to put new lenses in so that I could save the money on new frames when I didn't need them. After my exam, the doctor tells me that I have astigmatism in my left eye, (which I've had ever since I can remember) and that he thinks a special type of contact lens will help (I've never needed a lens to compensate for this before, but hey, I'm open to suggestions). He tells me it will have to be special ordered, which I am fine with, and that we will have a trial period to see if they help, because they are slightly more expensive. Fine Fine Fine. Everything is still great at this point. I sit down with the optician (who was very friendly) and she put my old frames on, looked at them, and started doing my paperwork, etc. She tells me that my insurance will cover $130 towards frames/lenses, or $120 towards contacts. We decide that it would benefit me more to use my insurance money towards contacts because my new lenses (which is all I was ordering, remember) will only cost around $80, so I decided to pay that out of pocket. I told her I would not be purchasing my contacts from there, however, because I can order them from The UAB School of Optometry and save 20% b/c I am an employee. They had no problem with that. Anyway, I wrote a check for $133 and some change, which I assumed was my copay for the eye exam, and my new lenses(which I was told would cost $80). In my mind I expected my bill to be around $110 b/c $25 copay + $80 lenses=$105 plus tax, right?!? Whatever, I paid and that was that, so already my lenses were a little more than I thought.
Well, they told me it would be around 7-14 business days for my glasses and contacts were ready, and that they would call me when they were in. So, at the most, three weeks, right? Well, week three arrived, and I called the office. She told me she hadn't received them yet, but that when she did, she would give me a call. No offers to check on the status of my order or anything, so I just assumed they would be here any day. My mistake. Anyway, another week passes, and we are on around business day 18 or 19. I called on Tuesday of this week, and they tell me the optician isn't there, to please call back on Thursday. I call back around 9:00 AM on Thursday and talk to the optician. She tells me she will call the lab to find out the status on my glasses and contacts, and that she will call me back. Well, 3:00 comes and she still hasn't returned my call, so I called her back. She tells me that the doctor has my chart (why would the doctor have my chart out of the office? It's been over a month since I was there), and that my glasses should be delivered Friday. Well, I have to work to Friday, Monday and Tuesday, and guess what? They are closed on Wednesdays. So that puts me off an entire other week. Mind you, my contacts should've been thrown out two weeks ago when my new contacts that I was supposed to be trying out should've been delivered. Anyway, she goes on to tell me that the office manager has left a note saying that I have a $120 balance on my account! WWHHAATT??
I have already paid you $133, and all I'm buying from you is lenses for my frames (which I already own!!) I told her that I had already paid $133, and she tells me that they added a contact lens fitting fee, and the tax would have to be adjusted to include that fee. Also, the lenses, which she told me would be $80 are going to cost over $100!! So, basically, I am paying more money (over $250) for one pair of lenses, than I paid for expensive brand name frames, lenses, and two boxes of contacts at my last eye doctor's visit. I just keep getting the run around. When she told me how much my "thinner" lenses would cost, I reminded her that when I was sitting at her desk with my frames, she told me the new lenses would cost around $80. She told me that she sees so many patients, and that this has been over a month ago (Umm...yeah lady, I know) so she couldn't possibly remember what we discussed. I am very nonconfrontational, but I wanted to scream into the phone, "I don't care what you remember, but I KNOW what you told me, so get your sh*t together!!!!"
I guess I should've taken my mom's advice and not used them because she told me they were WAY overpriced, but I just thought they were convenient. I do have a lot going on ( 3 small kids, husband, full time job, blah, blah, blah). SO, I guess the lesson is, get a price list before you buy anything, know what your insurance covers, and get things in writing. Oh, and don't do your business there. I know I won't!
ps. seeing as this situation isn't over yet, and I don't have any glasses or contacts, I'll update you with any new developments. Hopefully it will all get straightened out (besides the fact that five weeks has passed already) and I'll delete this post altogether...until then...wish me luck

2 comments:

  1. Well I hope you get your contacts and glasses really soon! And by the way I had to get use to the crumbled up paper that I am reading your blog on! Pretty neat. It looks exactly like wrinkled paper! Love you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. i couldn't read all of this! i ran out of my quota time at work.

    ReplyDelete

background