AG Urges Consumers Impacted by Closure of Allcare Dental to File Complaints

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania consumers who have been impacted by the sudden closure of Allcare Dental & Dentures, a national chain of dental businesses, are urged to file complaints as soon as possible with the Attorney General’s Health Care Section.

Attorney General Tom Corbett said the recent sudden closure of the business triggered an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and has resulted in complaints from consumers throughout Pennsylvania and across the country.

“We are working to gather detailed information about Allcare’s business activities and to address complaints from consumers who paid for treatment or services that have not been provided,” Corbett said. “We are also attempting to address complaints from patients who do not have access to their dental records or other necessary information.”

Consumers can file complaints by calling the Attorney General’s Health Care Hotline at 1-877-888-4877 or by accessing an online complaint form at www.attorneygeneral.gov (Click on the “Complaints” button on the front page of the website and then select “Health Care Complaint Form” from the list that appears).

Consumers in need of immediate care are urged to contact a dentist in their community.

In addition to filing complaints with the Health Care Section, consumers are also urged to take the following steps to document their dispute and limit financial losses:

. If you paid with a credit card, contact your credit card company to dispute the charges and have them removed from your bill (dispute information is listed on your monthly statements).
. If you paid by check, contact your bank to determine if payment can be stopped.
. If you arranged for long-term financing, contact the financing company and dispute any payment for items that have not been delivered.
. If you arranged for some form of automatic payment plan, contact your bank or credit union to immediately stop any future withdrawals from your   account.
. Keep records of all transactions, in order to assist investigators and to support any possible legal claims.
. Gather receipts, invoices, or bills that show what items were ordered, what you paid and when delivery was promised.
. Keep any phone records or any notes that indicate which company employees you spoke with, and when those conversations occurred.

Corbett stressed that it is important for consumers to act quickly, to help minimize any potential loss and maximize the Health Care Section’s ability to investigate and intervene.

Allcare had business offices in Erie, Pennsylvania and New York state and operated dental practices at nine locations in Pennsylvania, along with facilities in several other states.  Efforts are underway to coordinate with other state Attorneys General to address complaints from patients outside Pennsylvania.

Allcare was the subject of a $135,000 consumer protection settlement, reached in April 2009, which addressed complaints that the business did not honor advertised discounts, used confusing information about limitations or qualifications for various promotions and failed to provide consumers with information about financing services.