The transplant that didn't happen. (Chase, Arocha, and Me)

[vanitysucks]

Gentlemen,

 

I would like to start off by stating that our team is also extremely disappointed that our patient was not able to have his procedure done. Our business is to restore people’s confidence by giving them hair. Both sides lost in this case.

 

Our office has never offered 0% financing. We signed up many years ago so our patients had the option to finance the procedure using only the extended payment plans. The company charges us a certain percentage to have these financing plans available to our patients. Other than that, we have no involvement with the two financing companies we use- Chase and Care Credit.

 

Because I am the surgeon, I do not deal with the financial aspect of the procedure. I do not want to pressure my patients by inquiring about their financial situation. Vanitysucks never mentioned anything to my staff or myself with regards to 0% financing until that morning. We have not had problems with this company in the past.

 

I would like to point out that we accept most major credit cards. He had credit cards available. He could even have used the Chase option temporarily as a bridge loan, as it has no prepayment penalty. That would have allowed him to have the procedure and then look for a credit card with a zero or low introductory rate. We expressed these alternative options to him the day of his procedure.

 

We respect his decision not to go through with it. Not only did he lose out on receiving hair, but we lost out as well. It is very unfortunate that this incident occurred, since my team was there ready to treat our one and only patient for that day. My entire team and I eagerly awaited treating this patient, and even had several conversations with him leading up to his procedure date.

 

The patient was visibly perturbed, and I regretted this, but I never want to be pushy. We called him the following day to offer to drive him to the airport; however, our calls went unanswered.

 

In order to respect his privacy, any further matters regarding this situation will be discussed offline between the patient and myself.

 

He is right. I just remember telling him chase had given me the loan. I only said chase offered the 0 %, this is what the chase website says. I only mentioned Chase, not the Doctor. The morning of the procedure I called chase and they still offered the 0 %, but the Doctor has to approve it. I was never told in advance that it would be 15%. As far as I am concerned this is not Dr. Arochas fault, but if you go to the link on my first post you can see how one could be mislead into thinking 0 %. I do have open credit but that's for an emergancy. Even if I didn't mention to the doctor I had 0 %, (I'm still cloudy on that) I still did not know my interest rate until the morning of the procedure. The main reason for doing this was what chase had offered. Dr. Arocha, this is not your fault and I am over it. 600.00 is hardly going to be missed in the long run. lol Good day.

[hairthere]

Dr. Arocha, Thanks for coming on and offering your side of the story.

 

Vanity, Sorry it didn't work out for you. Will you try to reschedule? Dr. Arocha does excellent work.

[vanitysucks]

Dr. Arocha, Thanks for coming on and offering your side of the story.

 

Vanity, Sorry it didn't work out for you. Will you try to reschedule? Dr. Arocha does excellent work.

 

Eventually. I've lost my window for the moment. Not sure who will be available down the road.

[MarkyGras]

I think the important lesson here is to be aware of the nature of those lending services. A cursory glance at reviews of these companies on the internet shows a history of unexpected fees and surprising interest changes.

 

I had a very pleasant FUT with Dr. Arocha back in May, and had considered various financing options. The web reviews for the lending companies scared me away from their services. Instead, I opted to go with new credit cards offering 0% interest rates for a year. There are many consumer protection laws and advocates concerning credit card issues, so you can feel relatively safe that the deal that's been offered to you is in fact the deal you'll get. Loan companies, not so much.

[hairthere]

marky, I took the same approach as you to fund my HT and it worked out nicely.

 

"Not sure who will be available down the road."

 

vanitysucks, Why wouldn't you consider going back to Dr. Arocha? It sounds as if despite what happened all is amicable between you two.

[vanitysucks]

marky, I took the same approach as you to fund my HT and it worked out nicely.

 

"Not sure who will be available down the road."

 

vanitysucks, Why wouldn't you consider going back to Dr. Arocha? It sounds as if despite what happened all is amicable between you two.

 

lol, that's not what I meant. No hard feelings except for chase, they will not even return my call. It could be a while before I get organized again for a procedure. I'm not quite sure if I'm willing to travel for a procedure in the future. It would be nice to find a reputable office in the Dallas area. Thanks

[TexAg]

Arocha actually travels back and forth between Dallas and Houston. If you're from the Dallas area it would be something to consider. In fact, I requested my one month post op photos the other day but they were in Dallas. No worries though - they got back to me once they returned back to Houston.

 

I had my procedure with Arocha back in the beginning of October of this year. If you have any questions I would be more than happy to help. I also experienced financing issues with Chase/CareCredit, but opted to get a personal loan from my bank instead. I'm surprised Arocha's office didn't mention anything about not supporting the 0% financing route - they told me ahead of time that they only do the long term finance plan because, as mentioned previously, they pay more to support the 0% option and I guess it's not feasible for them.

Edited November 9, 2011 by TexAg

[folliclehero]

It seems to me that the bank is mostly at fault....and maybe his staff or the doctor himself should've known and told you what was going on. The thing is, technically Chase was giving you the loan at 0%. What they failed to mention was that Dr. Arocha would not get the money from them without paying a hefty "fee" of 15% and that that fee would unfortunately be passed on to you.

 

Regardless....based on Dr. Arocha's post, he seems 100% genuine in his attempt to resolve the issue as best he could at the time he became aware of the problem. He probably lost a pretty penny by not performing and getting paid for the surgery, so there is know reason to believe he or his staff would deliberately mislead you.

 

Either way, I wouldn't rule him out in the future because of this ordeal.

[vanitysucks]

It seems to me that the bank is mostly at fault....and maybe his staff or the doctor himself should've known and told you what was going on. The thing is, technically Chase was giving you the loan at 0%. What they failed to mention was that Dr. Arocha would not get the money from them without paying a hefty "fee" of 15% and that that fee would unfortunately be passed on to you.

 

Regardless....based on Dr. Arocha's post, he seems 100% genuine in his attempt to resolve the issue as best he could at the time he became aware of the problem. He probably lost a pretty penny by not performing and getting paid for the surgery, so there is know reason to believe he or his staff would deliberately mislead you.

 

Either way, I wouldn't rule him out in the future because of this ordeal.

 

I think this happened because I already knew which doctor I wanted before the consultation. All I needed was financing. I found the Chase link and applied under Financing Highlights. Here is a copy of what it reads.

 

Financing Highlights

 

Financing HighlightsOur flexible payment plans can help you get the care you need at a cost you can afford. Use our financing options as an alternative to medical loans.

 

• Instant credit decisions

• No interest payment plans if paid in full within the promotional period of 6, 12, 18 and 24 months

• Extended payment plans up to 48 months

• Revolving lines of credit

• No down payment

Here is the link. http://www.chasehealthadvance.com/

 

I had already applied, gotten approved, and knew I was going to have the surgery before I even stepped into Dr. Arochas office. I had assumed 0%, signed up for surgery, and went to Houston. I did not speak much about the financing with the doctor because I had already been aproved. I had no idea there was some kind of plan between the doctor and Chase.

 

I challenge anyone to go to that link and follow the trail. You would assume the same unless you were a lawyer or banker. My whole point behind this thread is not to make Dr. Arocha look bad, it is simply to state that the financing procedure should be easy, clear, and simple for a retard like me to understand. No interest = 0% not 15% percent. duh

[lorenzo]

I read this post and want to start off saying its nice to have both sides of the story. Both Dr. Arocha and Vanitysucks have told their side of the story both honest and proper. I totally understand how anybody would be upset from first thinking they would be 0% and then all of the sudden 15%. Regardless of where the miscommunication was its a pretty big jump in payments.

Its too bad a compromise wasnt able to be established. Maybe even 5% probaly would have made vanity alot more happier. Although I am not telling anybody how to run their business just giving my opinion. Although I dont agree with companies like Chase saying that they need the third parties approval in order to get 0%. This means that Chase probaly expected the business that is recieving the payment to recieve less money in order for them to honor 0%. This is dirty pool in my opinion unless of course there is an arrangement already established as it is with many companies like Best Buy that offer 0% for two years.