ukhairtransplantclinics.co.uk

Not a company I would recommend. Poor customer service.

I started this whole process with a video call in February 2023 with Kate. This was a very pleasant and very informative call. I was made to feel at ease and at no time felt pressured to book the procedure. £3800 is a lot of money to me, but getting my self confidence back is worth it.I then met with Paul. I explained my issues and he told me that I was a good candidate, but there was some thinning issues and I had to take Finasteride before the surgery to help with this. I was not sure about this as it was not cheap, but I was told I had to take it for the surgery to go ahead. I paid a £500 deposit plus £290 for the 14-month supply of Finasteride. It was delivered 14 days later. I had done some research since ordering and a lot of the research said do not break tablets in half and not always suitable for women. I was worried when they arrived as it said I had to take half a tablet which obviously meant breaking them. I rang my co-ordinator, Chelsea, with questions about my concerns. She seemed very dismissive and unhelpful. I tried to explain why I had concerns, but she just kept telling me that was the way it worked. I also said that they had no groove on them to cut them so when you tried, they cut unevenly. She very shortly said “Well that is why we provided a pill cutter” There was no pill cutter in the package with the tablets and when I said this, she said she would get one sent out to me. I felt like I was being difficult and an inconvenience. I was really upset as this is not a cheap procedure and I felt like I was being spoken down to. There is no need to be rude to people with genuine questions about a medication they are about to take. Manners cost nothing.I contacted Kate and told her that I was not happy with the way that Chelsea had dealt with my issues and she kindly said that she would arrange for another co-ordinator for me. I started the Finasteride in March.I needed another appointment with Paul to see how the Finasteride was working before my upcoming surgery. I got an appointment for 22nd August 2023 (surgery due September 12th 2023). I saw Paul and as before it was a pleasant and casual appointment. He did mention that the Finasteride had not seemed to do much, but gave no inclination to me that the procedure would not go ahead.I emailed a few questions I needed to know the answers to, but got no reply for 48 hours and then received a random email from Ashleigh. She replied saying that she was out of the office until Wednesday which was fair enough, but then finished the sentence with usually Chelsea would deal with this, but I understand you don’t want to talk to her. I felt like I was less important because I did not want to deal with Chelsea and that was my fault. If she had not been rude I still would have.It then went on to say “As far as I know the surgeon wasn’t willing to proceed with the surgery due to the fact there has been no improvement in the front section from Finasteride. That was it. So basically, I got an e-mail at 7pm and I was distraught, not knowing what was happening. It did not say the surgery had been cancelled and did not say it was going ahead. I was never told in the whole time that I could be an unsuitable candidate and the surgery may not go ahead. I had made arrangements for the date of the procedure and 2 weeks after and all for nothing.I find it very unprofessional to tell me this in an e-mail and not face to face or on the phone.I spoke to Judith the next day as that was the name given to me by Ashleigh in her e-mail. Judith is another manager. She told me that Kate should never have booked a date for my surgery until after my 2nd appointment with Paul and she was at fault. It may have been the case that the appointment should not have been booked, but Kate was not the only person I had spoken to throughout the process. This was booked back in March 2023 and I have since spoken to Chelsea, Paul and Ashleigh and not one of them said that this appointment should never have been made. They all knew that the appointment had been booked. It was not until I spoke to Judith, who blamed Kate. Coincidence that Kate has now left the company so obviously a scapegoat.I have now got my deposit back, but emotionally I can't get that back. I am glad they did not do the surgery if I am not a suitable candidate but the way it was handled and the way I was told was not professional.Apart from Kate everyone else has been rude or unprofessional.Now I understand why people take the risk of travelling abroad to get the procedure done. I chose to pay 3 times the price to have it done here yet was treated like a pay cheque and not a human. I have had surgery in Turkey and the care was out of this world. I chose the UK for a transplant as I thought the experience would be better and the regulations are stricter.I have emailed a complaint, but no idea if it will just be dismissed or lost. No option for zero star rating :-(

Date of experience: Aug 30, 2023