Cascade Dental - Kimberly Tustin, DMD Overcharging. Underestimating. Poor Management. Nonresponsiveness. Marginal Dental Service. Eugene Oregon

It is no wonder that this dentist has been advertising for new clients for years on end. I followed up on her advertising mostly due to the claim of "flexible financing." Their "flexible financing" wound up costing me $1000 more than I owed, $1500 more than they estimated, and the joy of learning a lot about credit collection.

This is what I believe anyone can expect from this dental practice:

1. High staff turnover that makes it likely you'll receive inadequate business services.

2. Probable overstatement of estimated insurance coverage so you wind up having a balance you don't expect. (This could be due to staff inexperience or office policy; hard to say.)

3. "Mistaken" charges that won't be acknowledged or resolved.

4. A weird dental experience.


This is a short version of my experience with Cascade Dental:

1. I received an estimate of $1,500 that I would owe after my insurance and was told that I could charge this to a CARE credit card.

2. It took them 1-2 months to set up their arrangement with CARE credit, during which time I was charged interest, even though I was prepared to pay immediately upon beginning treatment.

3. At the end of my treatment, I paid about $1,500, consistent with the estimate I was given, on the CARE credit card and was told this was my balance. I paid the interest I didn't think I rightfully owed as I wanted the account closed.

5. Two months later I received a bill for more than $500, which included interest on this additional amount that I was unaware I owed prior to receiving this bill.

6. I questioned some of the additional charges and contacted their business office. I spoke to or left messages for several staff members, receiving no resolution or calls back for several weeks.

7. I finally went into their office and, after a bit of a flurry of conversation, spoke to the newest billing coordinator. I suggested I pay the amount I agreed to owing. She told me she'd prefer I wait until the issues I had brought up were resolved. She assured me she would pursue my issues despite her difficulties working with the office's business manager.

8. I received several calls and phone messages from this person over the next few weeks. She stated that indeed some of the charges were in error, due to a change in their computer program, and she agreed that charging me interest was inappropriate when I was prepared at all points to pay. I again offered to pay the amount I agreed I owed (overlooking how much in excess of my estimate this was) and was told not to do so until she could work things out with this anonymous "business manager."

9. Time passed. My account was referred to collections. I had no resources to pay it because this company did not accept CARE credit cards.

10. I continued to try to resolve the amounts I didn't rightfully owe but received no response to my concerns. I came to realize that the collections company couldn't resolve my issues and Cascade Dental wouldn't do so.

11. Ultimately, I made one last effort to talk to Cascade Dental about my issues. The receptionist relayed messages back and forth between me and "Danny," who is apparently the business manager referred to previously and possibly Kimberly Tustin's husband.

He asserted (through the receptionist) that he had adjusted my bill according to my dispute (untrue, as evidenced by the amount referred to collections) and had referred my account to collections because I hadn't made a payment in 6 months (completely ignoring the multiple contacts I had made with their office during that 6 months).

I wound up paying the $500+ I supposedly owed Cascade Dental, the $300 collection fee, and other charges to the tune of nearly $1,500.

Yes! I handled this poorly. I had never before been in a situation where a vendor simply wouldn't resolve a dispute. It was an expensive lesson for me in terms of money and peace of mind. The attorney I wound up contacting said that I should have gotten in touch with him early on when he could have helped me.

The worst of it is that this dispute lasted longer than Tustin's dental work

There is another report here about Cascade Dental in which the person asserts much of what I have said here. She mentions a "weirdness" about Dr. Tustin, and I also experienced this weirdness. For example, one day I said something that obviously angered her. Believe me, it's not easy to let someone who is clearly mad at you poke around in your mouth!

All I can say is, beware!

Alonso-deli
Eugene, Oregon
U.S.A.