After Élan Laser Clinics closed all its clinics in February, now many others are following suit. Some branches of Laser Clinics UK have shut temporarily while the owners seek funding, and many others have closed permanently.
If you have a scheduled appointment, especially if you’ve already prepaid, this can be very disruptive. Thankfully, there are ways to get your money back and continue your treatment plan at another clinic.
What to do if you’ve prepaid:
First, reach out to the clinic to get a refund for appointments that they can’t meet. They might offer to defer your appointment to another clinic instead, which might help you get your treatment quicker. You’ll have to find out what other clinics can offer, and how soon they can see you.
A refund is often quicker than requesting a chargeback, especially since some banks don’t make the process easy or visible. If the clinic isn’t responsive, you can still request a chargeback, but you’ll find that most card providers only offer chargebacks for payments made up to 120 days ago.
If you can’t get a chargeback from your bank, you might be able to get your money back through a section 75 claim, which applies to payments between £100.01 to £30,000. If all else fails, you could reach out to the Financial Ombudsman, but banks and card providers usually take your side when a business takes your money and closes before they provide the service.
How to continue treatments at another clinic:
First, find out which clinics are accessible to you and get in touch.
Call or email to find out if they allow free, no-obligation consultations before agreeing to meet them. A consultation is important because you can explain which treatments you were already receiving, and the expert can let you know if there are any better or cheaper ones.
These consultations also let you set up a regular treatment schedule. This will get you back on track if your previous clinic’s closure has disrupted your regular routine.
If you attended a clinic in Yorkshire that’s closed down, our clinic in Wakefield is open to new appointments. Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation. If we’re a little out of the way for you, we’re sure you can find a new clinic that you can rely on, so keep shopping around.