ComplaintsforAvenues of Counseling and Mediation, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  10/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My ex & I were originally seen in ****** in 2009, my ************* were seen in ***** in 2016. In 2020 my daughter needed care & we saw a provider in ******. At that time I was remarried so I changed all contact info. Now I have attempted to seek care for my daughter again & was told by the office that my daughter was not seen since 2016 & that I had a balance due on my account. I was told by the billing rep that in 2016 my daughters account was under her name. However, when I requested a copy of the invoice (because I had never seen it), it was under my name prior to my marriage - as the insurance was also in my name. There was also an old address associated with the account. When my daughter had care in 2020 I updated all of my contact information including new last name, address, email, phone number etc. That said, if they did not update their records accordingly & instead created a new account in 2020 not linked to the old account, that is not my concern or my problem. I had never received a bill nor was this mentioned when my daughter got care in 2020. I asked for a copy of the invoice to be sent to me. It was sent via a portal that required a login w/DOB, name. I tried to login with both my ******** daughters ***, neither one worked. I had to contact the office again to ask for the invoice to be sent as a pdf. It was sent to ****** did explain to the office that I would be happy to pay the past due balance but due to the issues on their end involving this that i would not be paying any past due/collection fees, this was never resolved by them & a manager never called me back. The invoice also had no past due fees so I thought this was resolved. I tried to call today to pay the bill & the same rep I spoke to said no, that the fees still applied & that she would send me a new bill. She never discussed with a manager or had one call me, mgr call requested again today with no response.

  Business response

  10/11/2023

  Daughter's Account
  Daughter was seen in 2016 in *****
  Avenues has no record of receiving updated address or demographic information regarding daughter's account. Mom and daughter have different last names. When *** updated the address on her own account, we have no record of her mentioning her daughter's account. Due to the different last name, daughter's account did not come up in our system when we entered Mom's name so Avenues had no way of knowing daughter also had an account at ********************** without being told by Mom.
  Avenues received no payments from daughter's responsible party for the balance due for her treatment after insurance processed *********** statements were mailed to the address on file between March and September of 2016
  Mom states the invoice Avenues provided in ****************************** her name rather than daughter's. This is because the daughter is a minor and Mom is the responsible party and the insurance policy holder.
  Client balance was sent to collections agency in April 2017
  Client made a partial payment on balance due in October 2017
  Mom called to schedule daughter again in August of 2023 and has been informed multiple times that as per Avenues policy, the passed due balance plus collections fees would need to be paid in order to reschedule. No payment has been received.

  
  Mom's Account
  Appointments were scheduled under Mom's account in 2020 in the ****** office. Avenues records show Mom requested to be seen for family counseling and did not provide our office with her daughter's name at the time of scheduling.
  Avenues also received no payments from client for the balance due for treatment in 2020, 4 statements were mailed from July to October 2020.
  Client balance was sent to collections agency in February of 2021
  Client did pay balance in full plus collections fee in Oct 2021 when she called to schedule treatment again and was informed that as per Avenues policy her passed due balance plus collections fees must be paid to reschedule.
  A manager was made aware of Mom's request to talk to a manager on 10/2 and Mom was advised that a manager would be in touch within 24 hours. Mom contacted BBB on 10/2, without giving a manager 24 hours to contact her back.
  Avenues financial responsibility as included in our Consent for Treatment
  Financial Responsibilities
  I understand that I am financially responsible for the cost of the psychological services or any portion of the fees not reimbursed by my health insurance. If mental health care is covered under the terms and conditions of my managed health care program in which the Clinician is contracted, my financial responsibility may be limited to the terms of the contract.  Failure to pay these bills may result in collection procedures (including court proceedings) being taken against me by AVC or a collection agency contracted by same to collect these bills.  I also understand that I will be responsible for any additional charges incurred by AVC to collect these bills.  I agree that the adult bringing the child to the appointment will pay the copay or deductible expenses at the time of the visit. I also understand that I will be responsible for fees incurred due to the use of a collection agency, the filing of a subpoena or court related matter once there is court involvement including the Clinicians professional time and/or representation by an attorney.  I further understand that professional services may be discontinued to me by Avenues of Counseling & Mediation, LLC. 
  
  ***************************, Owner of Avenues of Counseling and Mediation,LLC
  
  --
  avenuesofcounseling
             andmediation, llc
  *****************************************************************************
  ************ 44333
  Ph: **************
  Fax: **************
  Notice:  Information contained in this message is privileged and confidential and is intended only for the use of the individual/entity named. Dissemination of this communication to anyone other than intended recipient is prohibited. If you have received this correspondence in error, please shred it without copying or forwarding it, and notify the sender of the error by mail or by calling so that our address record can be corrected.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩