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Report: #1058395

Complaint Review: Wheelchairs of Berkeley - Berkeley California

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  • Reported By: tiredofgettingscrewed — Berkeley California
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  • Wheelchairs of Berkeley 2911 Shattuck Ave Berkeley, California USA

Wheelchairs of Berkeley uses outdated literature and incompetent employees Berkeley California

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I understand it takes a long time to get the insurance to approve purchases. I did find it interesting that my insurance company was not pleased to hear WOB wouldn't deliver my chair until they'd received a check from them, because my insurance claims they only send checks after they believe the chair is in my possession. But fine. We all gotta get paid here, so they stretch the rules a bit. The rest of it, I really DON'T understand.

They used HCPCS codes on factory literature that was several years out of date, so they claimed I couldn't have my first choice chair. My first choice chair was a couple hundred bucks more than the second choice chair, but my insurance pays a negotiated rate for any chair of the same HCPCS code, so of COURSE wob has no interest in updating literature. People would prefer the newer lighter more compact chair model, which would shave a little $$ off their bottom line, so keep that old literature in the store!

They measured me wrong, so the chair is causing me pain. I don't know where they got some of these measurements, because I clearly told them what I needed, but the employee I worked with (who was different than the first employee I met with, who left the company and I had no notice about it, nor were his notes very good for the person who took over) didn't write anything down, so there was no record of the things I absolutely NEEDED in a manual chair. Since this is my first chair, I didn't know the lingo for all the various specifications, and just tried to explain what I needed (angles, sizes, physical descriptions). At one point she even argued with me about some of them, without listening to my needs for my personal situation and body.

When the chair arrived, no one fitted me. They wheeled it out and walked away. No one made sure the chair fit. One of the technicians saw me tipping over easily onto the tip bars, and he made some minor adjustments, but he kept saying he wasn't supposed to be doing it because he's not a therapist. however, they couldn't fit me in to see the therapist for two weeks. Not sure why they said "come in any time, your chair is ready!" if i was going to be able to be fitted properly? My husband made adjustments for me at home so I could use the chair a little more safely. When I came in for a proper fitting, the therapist argued that the chair was "fine" when I pointed out the problems. He ordered parts (wheel spacers that should have come with the chair in the first place) and I had to wait two weeks for them to come in.

When I figured out the HCPCS code drama, I was frustrated with the ill fitting chair and the fact that it wasn't even the RIGHT chair for me, and I called again. When I proved their literature was out of date by asking for the copyright date and telling her when the code had been changed, she was exasperated and sick of me. She asked what I wanted her to do. I said I wanted them to update their literature AND get me a properly fitting chair. She said she'd have to clear it with the owners. She called back a couple days later asking to set up an appt with the therapist to hash out the order for a new chair. I specifically asked her "does that mean you're replacing my chair?" she said "yes." I was ECSTATIC and thanked her. We set up an appointment, and a detailed order form was filled out, taking lots of measurements and doing what should have been done the first time, for over an hour.

Weeks go by, and no one returns my calls. I leave messages with humans and voicemail systems, and not a peep. Since their phone system is terrible and not returning messages is pretty normal in my experience, I gave them the benefit of the doubt for a month and at least 6 messages. Nothing. So I filed a BBB complaint.

The response to the BBB complaint was from the same sales person who screwed up my chair, and in it there were false statements about dates, things I said and did, things they said and did, and clearly stated they had no intention of ever replacing my chair. (Not sure why they wasted all our time making up the order?) They claimed because I'd signed for the chair several months earlier, nothing could be done. The logic made no sense at all.

I heard from the grapevine that the owner had no idea I was dissatisfied until the BBB complaint, but since the owner supposedly approved the replacement chair, I'm not sure who is lying. I'd asked for the owners name and to leave a message for the owner prior to my chair's delivery date because of the hassles and miscommunications, but they refused to do that. They claimed the owner didn't work with clients, and they would relay any messages to her. So somewhere between my level and the owners level is a complete breakdown of communication and a complete disinterest in honest and transparency.

WOB is guaranteed customers because they're one of the few wheelchair providers in the bay area, and we're often at the mercy of our insurance providers' preferred networks. This might be THE worst experience of my life as a retail customer AND a healthcare customer. I've never been so flabbergasted by the lies and incompetence in my life. These people know you have no choice but to go there for wheelchairs and scooters, so they can treat you as badly as they want and rip you off as badly as they want, with zero repercussions. This place needs a SERIOUS organizational overhaul.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 06/11/2013 05:52 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/wheelchairs-of-berkeley/berkeley-california-94705/wheelchairs-of-berkeley-uses-outdated-literature-and-incompetent-employees-berkeley-cali-1058395. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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