I recently have had a terrible experience with Redi- Care in Easton PA. I am one to give credit where credit is due and also shine light upon bad experiences in hopes to prevent someone else for making the same mistake.
Back in December of 2012 I visited Redi- Care Medical Center for the first time on a Saturday. On a side note, the site says they offer cash discounts, they do not so do not waste your time asking. The visit itself was to be expected from an urgent care facility. The customer service was slightly below average and the only reason they remain open is because their copay for patients without insurance is cheap - my copay was $82 for the visit. I handed the lady at the counter my card and she proceeded to close the transaction.
Two weeks later, I receive a letter in the mail from Redi-Care Medical Center. The letter looked like it had been drafted in Microsoft word and it stated that I have a balance of $25. To give you some insight, Redi- Care is set up so when the patient visit is over they have to pay before leaving the facility, so how did I have a balance? I called Redi-Care Medical Center and spoke to their billing department. They informed me “they” forgot to charge me for a test when I had my last visit and I still owed them $25. I said “no problem” and requested a medical bill stating what test was performed for my records and I would call in or send in payment, which brings me to my current situation.
I recently received a letter from Redi-Care Medical Center billing department saying my account is in collections and I owe the facility $65. Again, I call the Redi-Center Medical Center and speak with the manager Melissa (it took her 3 days to finally take my call) and she informs me the $25 from the initial visit back in December of 2012 was never paid and they added in an additional $40 for late fees. I was confused because I have visited Redi-Care Medical Center 3 additional times from my initial visit in December of 2012 and I was pretty sure I had made that payment (keep in mind I am NEVER late on any bills). Melissa spoke to me like I was some kind of degenerate. She informed me that it was my fault that I hadn’t paid my balance and she was not going to waive the $40 in fees. I explained to Melissa that the visit back in December, I did pay $82 for my visit (which she agreed with) and the additional $25 was for a test that Redi-Care Medical Center forgot to charge me (which she agreed with again). I was informed weeks later by mail about the balance and I told her again I had been in there 3 times after that visit and was almost positive I had made payment. Keep in mind that each visit is $75 for weekdays and $82 on weekends (3 * 75 = $225 I paid in services). Melissa said there was nothing she could do and the fee of $40 will remain. She also informed me the billing department and the patient checkout (which is where the patient pays for the service upon leaving) are two different systems. There was no way for the lady checking me out to inform me on the 3 additional times I visited that I had a measly account balance of $25 (I find this statement a little fishy, because would a Dr. Office keep seeing a patient if the patient continually was not paying… no they wouldn’t..)
I found it baffling that Redi-Care staffs employs that actually get away with talking to people so rude and degrading. Melissa informed me I should call back and speak with the owner/administrator named Joann.
I called back to speak with Joann and I was informed by Melissa that Joann Curino will not speak with me and the charges will stay as is. I was confused in the reason why an owner was not willing to speak with me (I am a customer?) about such an easily solved issue. I clarified the reason why Joann wouldn’t speak with me and Melissa stated “Joann does not want to speak with you because I already have and she feels she doesn’t need to”. This statement illustrates their lack of customer service and poor management skills.
To Joann - Horrible management Joann and no wonder you let people like Melissa talk to customers the way she does because you have the customer service skills of a rock and obviously the intelligence of one too. Do you know how much more money I would have spent there? And it was over an issue that was not MY MISTAKE in the first place? Let’s do the math, if I visited Redi- Care 5 more times in this year, 5 * 75= $375 (not including additional “$25 test”), wouldn’t you agree that is a lot more than your measly $40 BS (bogus) late fee charge.
I hope anyone that sees this review finds this information beneficial and hopefully will not make the same mistake I did.
