I Wouldn't Know - my Surgery Was Rescheduled Twice and They Are Refusing to Refund my £1000 Deposit

My first concern arose during the initial consultation. Dr. Frati was significantly late, and when I finally entered the room, he remained focused on his phone without acknowledging me immediately. As someone who has never had cosmetic surgery before, I found this quite unsettling and wasn’t sure if this was standard practice.

After the consultation, I received an apology from the chaperone, along with an offer for a discount on the surgery as compensation for the delay. I appreciated the gesture and proceeded to book the surgery, paying a £1,000 deposit to secure the operating room, as outlined in the contract. I agreed to a surgery date of 28th August 2024, and I arranged my work schedule around this.

Unfortunately, a few weeks before the surgery, I was informed via text message—not a phone call—that the surgery had to be rescheduled due to a meeting (like what?). This was frustrating as I had already turned down several work opportunities to make time for the surgery and recovery. I was offered dates either five days before or six days after the original date, but neither worked with my commitments. Eventually, we rescheduled for 2nd October, meaning I lost almost a month of work. While they offered me another discount, it felt uncomfortable as though they were trying to make up for their mistake financially rather than addressing the disruption.

As the new date approached, I felt increasingly uneasy. I had come across some negative feedback about Dr. Frati online, but I decided to push through, assuming it was just nerves. However, three weeks before the rescheduled surgery, I received another text message cancelling the procedure again. The new proposed date clashed with a major work project, so I was unable to accept it. At this point, I had already cleared both September and much of October for the surgery, and I was beginning to lose trust in Dr. Frati and his team's reliability.

I requested a refund of my deposit, citing the fact that the operating room had been cancelled twice, which was the purpose of the deposit according to the contract. I received an apology and was told that the refund request would be passed on to Dr. Frati. However, six days later, I was contacted again, this time being told that the original date was now available again, which only added to my frustration. By this point, I had already taken on a work commitment, and I had no interest in proceeding with Dr. Frati.

Weeks passed without receiving the promised refund. When I followed up, I was informed that the deposit was non-refundable. This was shocking, as the contract clearly stated the deposit was to secure the operating room, which they themselves had cancelled—twice. After a week of back-and-forth communication, I repeatedly asked for management's contact details to escalate the issue, but my requests were ignored for over a week.

I contacted Citizens Advice and shared the contract with them. They confirmed that the contract had been frustrated by Dr. Frati's rescheduling and that under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the deposit should be refunded since it was taken to secure a service that was never provided. They also pointed out that several clauses in the contract appeared unfair, including the £1,000 rescheduling fee imposed on patients, which wasn’t mirrored when the clinic rescheduled the surgery. This imbalance seemed particularly unreasonable.

I am now in the process of pursuing my refund through the small claims court, as well as compensation for the disruption caused by the repeated cancellations.