Refund Policy

Refund Policy Statement

WhatClinic.com endeavours to sell only genuine patient enquiries to clinics. We do this by only displaying your clinic to our consumers when they search for specific treatments you have chosen to offer, and even then only in relevant locations. We use advanced screening methods to weed out bogus or spam enquiries before they are delivered to clinics. As a result, the majority of enquiries made to clinics are genuine. On certain occasions, a clinic may receive an enquiry that is not valid or genuine. The WhatClinic Enquiry Quality Team is constantly reviewing enquiries to ensure that only genuine patient referrals are sent to clinics. If an enquiry is clearly false, and if it meets the criteria for refund as set out by our Enquiry Quality Team, a refund or credit may be offered in that instance.

Core to our Refund Policy:

We will agree to refund an unwanted enquiry if it is conceivable and reasonable that WhatClinic.com could have developed technology or automated processes that could have prevented the unwanted enquiry being made.

WhatClinic.com does not take responsibility for any medical knowledge that might be required in order to judge the suitability of a patient, or an enquiry. This is deemed outside the area of our expertise.

If an enquiry is made for a treatment that the clinic has not listed, it may be eligible for a refund. However, enquiries that have been made in good faith based on similar types of treatments on offer will not be eligible for a refund, as they are deemed to be valid enquiries.

What Your Clinic Will Be Charged For:

• 1st email enquiry from a patient: the clinic will be charged. Any follow-up emails from the patient are free, even if they go back to the clinic’s listing and fill out the contact form again. If the same patient contacts the clinic again within six months with a new enquiry, the clinic is not charged. When the patient fills out the contact form again you may receive an email stating you have received a new enquiry, but when you check the enquiry it will clearly state 'Enquiry updated with message on DD/MM', when this appears you have not been charged again. If more than six months has passed since the patient has contacted the clinic, the clinic will be charged again.
• 1st phone call enquiry from a patient: the clinic will be charged. Any follow-up calls from the same number within six months will not be charged as the number is recognised by our system. If more than six months has passed, since their last call, the clinic will be charged once more.
• Phone call enquiry from a patient followed by an email enquiry from the same patient: the clinic will be charged, but can request for either the call or email to be refunded.
• Email enquiry from a patient followed by a phone call enquiry: the clinic will not be charged provided that the patient uses the same phone number as they provided with their email enquiry. If they call from a different number, the clinic can request to have the call refunded back to their account. Likewise, if the clinic receives a phone enquiry from a patient and the patient later calls again from a different number, the clinic can request for the second call to be refunded.

Criteria for Refund

• Only enquiries that can be deemed clearly false or incorrect from the outset will be entitled to review by our Enquiry Quality Team.
• Only enquiries that were flagged as incorrect using the flagging mechanism provided within the original enquiry will be eligible for review by the Enquiry Quality Team.
  
  If a clinic receives an enquiry and chooses not to accept that enquiry for any reason, we ask that the clinic informs us, both as a courtesy to the patient and to help us improve our enquiry service. This can be done by flagging the enquiry when it first arrives, by indicating where appropriate ‘I will not be contacting this patient’ or ‘Mark this enquiry as bogus or spam’. There are a number of reasons that an enquiry might be eligible for a refund. The first step is to flag the enquiry appropriately using one of these flagging options. This information is required before an enquiry can be eligible for review by our Enquiry Quality Team.
• Refund requests can only be made within a maximum time frame of 90 days from the initial enquiry date.
• If the clinic has contacted or responded to an enquiry no refund will be made: By following up with an enquiry, the clinic has demonstrated that the enquiry was reasonable, and appeared valid at the outset. Only enquiries that are recognised as clearly false from the outset are eligible for a refund by the Enquiry Quality Team. Please note that this refers to email enquiries only.

Exceptions to this occur;
a) If the clinic automatically responds to emails - for example to say they will be in touch.
b) If the clinic has contacted the patient to let them know they will not be responding.

• Spam: If an enquiry has been flagged as ‘no contact’ and is clearly spam that has escaped screening it may be eligible for a refund.
• Fraud: If it is clear an enquiry was made under false circumstances it may be eligible for a refund.
• Not a listed treatment: If an enquiry is made for a treatment that the clinic has not listed, it may be eligible for a refund. However, enquiries that have been made in good faith based on similar types of treatments on offer will not be eligible for a refund.
  
  • Example: A fertility clinic does not specifically list IVF treatment, and yet an enquiry comes in for IVF treatment. The enquiry will not be refunded, as it was reasonable for the patient to assume that you might offer this.
    
  • Example: An enquiry for breast augmentation made to a dental clinic would be entitled to a refund, as it is clearly incorrect.
• Incorrect enquiry: If an enquiry is made for a treatment wholly unrelated to the clinic offering – for example, if a dentist receives an enquiry for plastic surgery consultation – the enquiry will be eligible for refund.
• Phone enquiry: If a clinic misses a call from a patient, they are required to contact the patient back to see if they can help them. If a clinic reports a call that is deemed to be spam or for a treatment they don’t offer, then call is expected to be reasonably short, i.e. one minute or less. If the call is longer than that then it is deemed that the enquiry was valid and a refund will not be given. If the patient does not answer the callback, a refund will not be given as the clinic can try again or the patient may call back.
• Brand name issue: If an enquiry was made for a treatment similar to those on offer but specific to a certain brand name, the enquiry will not be entitled to a refund. It is reasonable to assume the patient might be interested in the alternative offerings.
• High risk or unsuitable patient: On occasion, a potential patient may be deemed to be too high risk for treatment, does not meet the criteria for surgery, or may be deemed to be an ‘unacceptable’ patient by the clinic. Our service delivers enquiries with no guarantee of patient suitability. These kinds of issues do not meet our criteria for a refund. A refund will not be given in these instances.
• Contact outside of WhatClinic: We do not offer a refund if the patient has also made direct contact with the same clinic via another medium outside of WhatClinic.com.
• Return patient: If a patient contacts a clinic more than once through WhatClinic.com, using the same contact details, then the clinic will not have been charged again provided it has been less than 6 months since the initial enquiry. If more than six months has passed between the enquiries, then the enquiry is deemed to be new and the clinic is charged again. If a patient contacts the clinic via two separate contact methods (phone/email), the clinic can request a refund for one of them if our system has created two separate enquiries for the patient in FrontDesk.
• Existing patient: If the clinic receives an enquiry from an existing patient from outside WhatClinic, then they may be eligible for a refund. If it is an email enquiry, then it needs to be clear from the patient’s initial message that they are an existing patient, otherwise the enquiry will not be eligible for a refund.
• Treatment prices: If a patient makes an enquiry relating to treatment prices, that enquiry will not be eligible for a refund, even if the clinic has their prices listed on their profile. The patient is clearly interested in the treatment and price is an important factor for many patients when choosing a clinic.
• Missed phone calls: If a clinic has a missed call from a patient, the clinic is obliged to call the patient back to follow up on the enquiry. If the follow-up call reveals that the original enquiry was not valid, (i.e. the patient has requested a treatment the clinic does not provide, spam, etc.) the clinic can request a refund. The more information which can be given, the better.
• Out of hours phone enquiries: Phone calls made to a clinic outside of opening hours are still deemed to be genuine. We require clinics to follow up with those enquiries. If a clinic reports a call that is deemed to be spam or for a treatment they don’t offer, the call must be of a reasonable duration. If the call is deemed to be of an unreasonable duration, then it is deemed that the enquiry was valid and a refund will not be given.
• Calls from withheld numbers: If a clinic misses a phone call from a withheld number, they are not charged as there is no way for them to follow up with the patient. If the call is answered, then the clinic is charged. It is the clinic’s responsibility to ensure that they receive contact information for the patient. If a call is over 1 minute in duration, a refund will not be given on the basis that the clinic has no way of contacting the patient back, as it is their responsibility to take a name and number/email address for the patient during this time.
• Patient location: In the event that a patient is in a different location to the clinic, a refund will not be given as searches are done by treatment/clinic type and location. The patient selected the location, so it is reasonable to assume that they are willing to travel to that location.
• Invalid email/phone: In order for a refund to be made under these criteria, both phone and email details must be invalid. An invalid phone number is a phone contact that has the incorrect number of digits, does not connect when called (does not ring), or the person who answers has no knowledge of the enquiry. An invalid email will ‘bounce’. If a clinic responds to a patient email and it bounces, the clinic is required to send a copy of the report to refunds@whatclinic.com, or a refund will not be given. We do not offer a refund if the patient simply does not answer the clinic’s calls and/or emails.
• Unable to provide treatment: If a treatment turns out not to be possible for whatever reason, even though the enquiry matched a treatment that was on offer, no refund will be made as WhatClinic had no way of knowing that this was not a valid enquiry at the time it was made.
• No response: A refund will not be given if; the patient does not respond to the clinic / the patient does not make an appointment with the clinic / the patient fails to attend an appointment. Please do not mark these enquiries as bogus or spam as the original enquiry was genuine.
• Follow-up emails: Occasionally a clinic might receive a follow-up reply from a patient which contains spam links. This is usually due to the patient’s email account being compromised without their knowledge. The patient’s original enquiry is still genuine. No refund will be given in these cases. For information on how to deal with such enquiries, please contact support@whatclinic.com.
• Enquiry addressed to different clinic: On occasion a patient may send their enquiry to more than one clinic, but not edit their enquiry in between sending. This can result in a clinic being addressed by the name of a staff member from another clinic, or by the name of another clinic. The enquiry is still deemed to be genuine and is meant for your clinic. In these situations, please contact the patient as soon as possible.
• Enquiries made in other languages: If a clinic receives an enquiry which is in a language other than English or the language of the country where the clinic is located, then it is deemed eligible for a refund. If the clinic wishes, they can still follow up with these enquiries, but if they do, then they are no longer entitled to a refund.

Important note on treatments offered

Occasionally clinics may get an enquiry from a ‘rollover’ - this occurs when there are not enough clinics available for the precise search the patient entered. As the closest similar provider in the area, you may have received an enquiry. If the patient enquiry is genuine, and if, in good faith, your clinic services are in line with the original treatment sought, the enquiry is valid and will not be eligible for a refund. To stop your clinic from appearing in rollover searches, you will need to go to the treatments section of your FrontDesk and scroll down to the Search Results section at the bottom. Here you select the My Treatments & Related Treatments button, then you will need to select the 'My Treatments Only' option. If you wish to appear in rollover searches you can select the 'My Treatments & Related Treatments' option.