Is this a scam or legit?

[Farah]

Hi,
I have been seeing a doctor for acupuncture but will little result, so today I went to a new place called Dr China. They gave me a free consultation with a chinese dr, and then I had acupuncutre (which I knew I would be paying for). When I finished, they asked for payment for 3 month course upfront! I didn't have the money so got it down to £100, then pay the rest later.
Then they recommended herbs for £35 a week.

If it is all necessary I will be happy to pay to get well, but if it is a scam I want to know! Is this normal procedure, to book and pay for 3 months altogether?
It actually works out cheaper by £1 per treatment but its just a struggle to pay upfront and I was shocked a little to be asked.

What do you think?

Btw, I must admit I was impressed with the consultation and treatment, its just the payment upfront bit that I am unsure about.
BL XX

 

[basement dweller]

I can see your concern. Why not look in the yellow pages for another company, call them up and find out about their pricing structure?

 

[cyyutegurl]

I cannot coment on this particular company, since I do not know them.
My thaughts are: asking upfornt for three motnhs seemss range: how do they know in advance that you will need so long to recover (OK, one can have an idea that some ailments will require long term trteamnet)? I would not feel easy to commit to seeing a therapist for three motnhs after only one treatment. Pennie smakes rivers, but just for a £1 discount, I would keep my options open! £35 for a weekly supply of herbs sounds a bit steep. But then I do not knwo which ones they give you and how expensive some can get.


Wise Dragon, Western herbalism works very well too. But I would not say that it is really cheap! UNoes sone has the time and knowledge to go and collect the plants, they can cost quite a lot to buy. The tincture, herbal syrup and oils I baught for the last cold I had did ad up to quite a bit! But it did make me get over my cold really fast.

Artemis

 

[althea]

Hi Bearlily

The thing with acupuncture is to make sure your practitioner is a member of the British Acupuncture Council. This way you are secured a professional service including the pricing, and if things do seem strange, you have a formal independent complaints procedure through the council to protect you.

The pricing you have described is not necessarily a scam, though it is a bit unusual. I know of only one practitioner that charges in advance. He has a 6 month waiting list and to see him it is necessary to book and pay for your first 6 treatments. Only a few people will need less than 6 initial acupuncture treatments, but if you do, or prefer not to continue your treatment, you can just cancel your appointments for a full refund. All of this is dealt with upfront with your full consent.

You should certainly not have been surprised to find out how much you owed after your treatment! I would be wary of this kind of business. It does not sound professional, and you never know where else this lack of professionalism might extend. If you do not continue treatment, will you get a refund? You are of course entitled to it!

There are many professional acupuncturists around, and you should not have difficulty finding one. By "professional", I mean well trained (3 years full time in acupuncture or part time equivalent: your GP almost certainly did just 2 weekends training!) and commited to high standards of practice and ethics. The Dr China you visited sounds to me like they failed on the ethics front!
You can search online for your nearest acupuncturist here.

I am an acupuncturist, but I should say, that this is all just my opinion, as I have no first hand experience of the Dr China outlets.
Best of luck with your treatments. I hope you find a practitioner that you trust and get relief from your complaints!
Aragorn

 

[sophieb]

Oooooooo, I walked past a DR China yesterday and thought about going in in the future. Can I ask what town it was in????? If its the same one as I passed, they have only been there about a month or so, can they give any details of previous satisfied customers???

Lisax

 

[s.i.l.l.y. s.a.r.a.h]

Not unless they have the explicit written consent of the custummer first! Anything less I consider as breach of confidentiality.

Artemis

 

[gazeygoo]

Thanks artemis, your right. I think I meant like where people leave quotes or good things to say posted on a wall or something. I know what I mean

Lisa

 

[Kasandra]

ORIGINAL: ForestGirl

Thanks artemis, your right. I think I meant like where people leave quotes or good things to say posted on a wall or something. I know what I mean

Those palces often tend to have a series of "before" and "after" pictures of different conditions they have treated. Tends to put me off more than anything else. A bit too sensationalistic to my taste.

Artemis

 

[oxetcuhriqbickemz]

Thanks for all your replies.

Despite being abit concerned over the money, I have been back 3 times because I am gettign amazing results! I have asked about the payment each time I go, and it seems that as they are busy the payment ensures my booking with them. I have agreed to pay in 3 installments.

As for the herbs, I explained I couldn't afford it so they recommended some pills which are cheaper and I can swallow beeter (those herbs stink [:'(])

Forestgirl: It is one in North Wales.
I am very happy with them so far, I can feel the difference and really have faith I might actually get better!

Thanks again
BL XX

 

[piezbufhiwpialehe]

Hi BL,

Happy to hear that you are improving.
Keep us posted?...

Artemis

 

[magikal]

Good news BL!
Hope it all works out.

Aragorn