I was charged $72 for services I explicitly asked not to receive, and did not receive the services that I paid for.

My wife made an appointment for diagnosis and treatment, verifying twice that the doctor provided ‘diagnosis and treatment’ and explicitly stating that we did not just want to pay for a referral - if the doctor was going to just give a referral, we would go directly to a the specialist. We were told “Yes, we can diagnose and treat” for the condition, and we made the appointment based on that statement.

When I came in for the appointment, I reminded the office staff that I was there for diagnosis and treatment - not a referral. I also told the doctor I was there for diagnosis and treatment. So what did I get? Instead of getting what I very specifically asked for, I got exactly what I did not want - the doctor referred me. I paid $72 for the doctor to pull a piece of paper out of a folder and circle a phone number.

This is the exact outcome that I explicitly stated - no fewer than 3 times - that I did not want, yet this is what I ended up being charged for.

The ethical thing to do in this case would be to refund my money since not only did I not get the help I requested, they charged me for exactly what I did not want.