Palm Harbor Smiles

TERRIBLE experience! First, the dentist and staff in the office were great - no complaints there. However, the backend office is completely incompetent. I called to check to be sure my insurance was in-network before making an appointment since my current dentist that I was very happy with was no longer in-network. They explained that I had to make an appointment and fill out the insurance information and then someone from their "benefits verification department" would call me prior to the appointment to confirm...I received a call about 2 hours before my appointment stating my insurance was in-network and that I was good to go. I went to my appointment and then when checking out, I was told that my insurance was in fact out-of-network and I was out of pocket when normally my cost would be $0 due to my insurance!!! I called the call center back to explain my disappointment and they said they would see what they could do - of course, I never heard anything. I called today and asked for an update - the person I talked to said they didn't know what I was talking about and said she didn't know what to tell me - I asked who I should speak to instead and she said she was the Office Manager...and there wasn't anything that could be done. She had no record of them calling me (although she said that should be documented) and said that nothing could be done. It's a shame when the back office in this type of practice ruins a perfectly good office experience - I hope the dentist reads these and considers finding a new solution for their back office/billing.