Refund Policy

Refund Policy Statement

DentalImplantCostGuide.com endeavours to sell only genuine patient inquiries to clinics. We do this by only displaying your clinic to our consumers when they search for specific treatments you have chosen to offer, and even then only in relevant locations. We use advanced screening methods to weed out bogus or spam inquiries, before they are delivered to clinics. As a result, the majority of inquiries made to clinics are genuine. On certain occasions, a clinic may receive an inquiry that is not valid or genuine. The DentalImplantCostGuide.com Refunds Department is constantly reviewing inquiries to ensure that only genuine patient referrals are sent to clinics. If an inquiry is clearly false, and if it meets the criteria for refund as set out by our Refunds Department, a refund or credit may be offered in that instance.

Core to our Refund Policy:
We will agree to refund an unwanted inquiry if it is conceivable and reasonable that DentalImplantCostGuide.com could have developed technology or automated processes that could have prevented the unwanted inquiry being made.

DentalImplantCostGuide.com does not take responsibility for any medical knowledge that might be required in order to judge the suitability of a patient, or an inquiry. This is deemed outside the area of our expertise.

If an inquiry is made for a treatment that the clinic has not listed, it may be eligible for a refund. However, inquiries that have been made in good faith based on similar types of treatments on offer will not be eligible for a refund, as they are deemed to be valid inquiries.

What Your Clinic Will Be Charged For:

1st email inquiry from a patient: the clinic will be charged. Any follow-up emails from the patient are free, even if they go back to the clinic’s listing and fill out the contact form again. If the same patient contacts the clinic again within six months with a new inquiry, the clinic is not charged. If more than six months has passed since the patient has contacted the clinic, the clinic will be charged again.

1st phone call inquiry from a patient: the clinic will be charged. Any follow-up calls from the same number within six months will not be charged as the number is recognised by our system. If more than six months has passed, since their last call, the clinic will be charged once more.

Phone call inquiry from a patient followed by an email inquiry from the same patient: the clinic will be charged, but can request for either the call or email to be refunded.

Email inquiry from a patient followed by a phone call inquiry: the clinic will not be charged provided that the patient uses the same phone number as they provided with their email inquiry. If they call from a different number, the clinic can request to have the call refunded back to their account. Likewise if the clinic receives a phone inquiry from a patient and the patient later calls again from a different number, the clinic can request for the second call to be refunded.

Criteria for Refund

  • Only inquiries that we are notified of as being incorrect from the outset will be entitled to review by our Refunds Department.
  • Only inquiries that were flagged as incorrect using the flagging mechanism provided within the original inquiry will be eligible for review by the Refunds Department.
  • If a clinic receives an inquiry and chooses not to accept that inquiry for any reason, we ask that the clinic informs us, both as a courtesy to the patient and to help us improve our inquiry service. This can be done by flagging the inquiry when it first arrives, by indicating where appropriate ‘I will not be contacting this patient’ or ‘Mark this inquiry as bogus or spam’. There are a number of reasons that an inquiry might be eligible for a refund. The first step is to flag the inquiry by notifying us. This information is required before an inquiry can be eligible for review by our Refunds Department.
  • If the clinic has contacted or responded to an inquiry no refund will be made: By following up with an inquiry, the clinic has demonstrated that the inquiry was reasonable, and appeared valid at the outset. Only inquiries that are recognised as clearly false from the outset are eligible for refund by the Refunds Department. Please note that this refers to email inquiries only.

    Exceptions to this occur:
    a) If the clinic automatically responds to emails – for example to say they will be in touch.
    b) If the clinic has contacted the patient to let them know they will not be responding.

  • Spam: If an Inquiry has been flagged as ‘no contact’ and is clearly spam that has escaped screening it may be eligible for a refund.
  • Fraud: If it is clear an Inquiry was made under false circumstances it may be eligible for a refund.
  • Not a listed treatment: If an Inquiry is made for a treatment that the clinic has not listed, it may be eligible for a refund. However, Inquiries that have been made in good faith based on similar types of treatments on offer will not be eligible for a refund.
    • Example: A dental implant clinic does not specifically list implant supported bridges, and yet an Inquiry comes in for implant supported fixed bridges. The Inquiry will not be refunded, as it was reasonable for the patient to assume that you might offer this.
    • Example: An Inquiry for braces made to a dental clinic would be entitled to a refund, as it is clearly incorrect.
  • Incorrect Inquiry: If an Inquiry is made for a treatment wholly unrelated to the clinic offering – for example, if a dentist receives an Inquiry for plastic surgery consultation – the Inquiry will be eligible for refund.
  • Phone Inquiry: If a clinic misses a call from a patient, they are required to contact the patient back to see if they can help them. If a clinic reports a call that is deemed to be spam or for a treatment they don’t offer, then call is expected to be reasonably short, i.e. one minute or less. If the call is longer than that then it is deemed that the Inquiry was valid and a refund will not be given. If the patient does not answer the callback, a refund will not be given as the clinic can try again or the patient may call back.
  • Brand name issue: If an Inquiry was made for a treatment similar to those on offer but specific to a certain brand name, the Inquiry will not be entitled to a refund. It is reasonable to assume the patient might be interested in the alternative offerings.
  • High risk or unsuitable patient: On occasion, a potential patient may be deemed to be too high risk for treatment, does not meet the criteria for surgery, or may be deemed to be an ‘unacceptable’ patient by the clinic. Our service delivers Inquiries with no guarantee of patient suitability. These kinds of issues do not meet our criteria for refund. A refund will not be given in these instances.
  • Contact outside of DentalImplantCostGuide.com: We do not offer a refund if the patient has also made direct contact with the same clinic via another medium outside of DentalImplantCostGuide.com.
  • Return patient: If a patient contacts a clinic more than once through DentalImplantCostGuide.com, using the same contact details, then the clinic will not have been charged again provided it has been less than 6 months since the initial Inquiry. If more than 6 months has passed between the Inquiries, then the Inquiry is deemed to be new and the clinic is charged again. If a patient contacts the clinic via two separate contact methods (phone/email), the clinic can request a refund for one of them.
  • Existing patient: If the clinic receives an Inquiry from an existing patient from outside DentalImplantCostGuide.com, then they may be eligible for a refund. If it is an email Inquiry, then it needs to be clear from the patient’s initial message that they are an existing patient, otherwise the Inquiry will not be eligible for a refund.
  • Treatment prices: If a patient makes an Inquiry relating to treatment prices, that Inquiry will not be eligible for a refund, even if the clinic has their prices listed on their profile. The patient is clearly interested in the treatment and price is an important factor to many patients when choosing a clinic.
  • Missed phone calls: If a clinic has a missed call from a patient, the clinic is obliged to call the patient back to follow up on the Inquiry. If the follow up call reveals that the original Inquiry was not valid, (i.e. the patient has requested a treatment the clinic does not provide, spam, etc.) the clinic can request a refund. The more information which can be given, the better.
  • Out of hours phone Inquiries: Phone calls made to a clinic outside of opening hours are still deemed to be genuine. We require clinics to follow up with those Inquiries. If a clinic reports a call that is deemed to be spam or for a treatment they don’t offer, the call must be of a reasonable duration. If the call is deemed to be of an unreasonable duration, then it is deemed that the Inquiry was valid and a refund will not be given.
  • Calls from withheld numbers: If a clinic misses a phone call from a withheld number, they are not charged as there is no way for them to follow up with the patient. If the call is answered, then the clinic is charged. It is the clinic’s responsibility to ensure that they receive contact information for the patient. If a call is over 1 minute in duration, a refund will not be given on the basis that the clinic has no way of contacting the patient back, as it is their responsibility to take a name and number/email address for the patient during this time.
  • Patient location: In the event that a patient is in a different location to the clinic, a refund will not be given as searches are done by treatment/clinic type and location. The patient selected the location, so it is reasonable to assume that they are willing to travel to that location.
  • Invalid email/phone: In order for a refund to be made under this criteria, both phone and email details must be invalid. An invalid phone number is as a phone contact that has the incorrect number of digits, does not connect when called (does not ring), or the person who answers has no knowledge of the Inquiry. An invalid email will ‘bounce’. If a clinic responds to a patient email and it bounces, the clinic is required to send a copy of the report to [email protected], or a refund will not be given. We do not offer a refund if the patient simply does not answer the clinic’s calls and/or emails.
  • Unable to provide treatment: If a treatment turns out not to be possible for whatever reason, even though the Inquiry matched a treatment that was on offer, no refund will be made as DentalImplantCostGuide.com had no way of knowing that this was not a valid Inquiry at the time it was made.
  • No response: A refund will not be given if; the patient does not respond to the clinic / the patient does not make an appointment with the clinic / the patient fails to attend an appointment. Please do not mark these Inquiries as bogus or spam as the original Inquiry was genuine.
  • Follow-up emails: Occasionally a clinic might receive a follow-up reply from a patient which contains spam links. This is usually due to the patient’s email account being compromised without their knowledge. The patient’s original Inquiry is still genuine. No refund will be given in these cases. For information on how to deal with such Inquiries, please contact [email protected].
  • Inquiry addressed to different clinic: On occasion a patient may send their Inquiry to more than one clinic, but not edit their Inquiry in between sending. This can result in a clinic being addressed by the name of a staff member from another clinic, or by the name of another clinic. The Inquiry is still deemed to be genuine and is meant for your clinic. In these situations, please contact the patient as soon as possible.
  • Inquiries made in other languages: If a clinic receives an Inquiry which is in a language other than English or the language of the country where the clinic is located, then it is deemed eligible for a refund. If the clinic wishes, they can still follow up with these Inquiries, but if they do, then they are no longer entitled to a refund.

Important note on treatments offered

Occasionally clinics may get an Inquiry from a ‘roll over’ – this occurs when there are not enough clinics available for the precise search the patient entered. As the closest similar provider in the area, you may have received an Inquiry. If the patient Inquiry is genuine, and if, in good faith your clinic services are in line with the original treatment sought, the Inquiry is valid and will not be eligible for a refund.