Memphis Men's Clinic - A Rant!

[Grayfox]

I'm sure some of you knew exactly where this was going when you read the title. But I really need to let this out and get it off my chest.

I first developed E.D. 15 years ago after a heart attack and triple bypass. For years the pills worked just fine. But now that I'm older, they ain't cuttin' it any more. Like many men, my health insurance doesn't cover E.D. Around here, a good Urologist runs about $300 per office visit. So my options were limited. Yep, I was a ready made sucker.
I had heard the commercials. $199 Special includes an exam, blood tests and a sample of the medicine. I figured I had nothing to lose. I was wrong.
I readily admit that the first visit looked very promising. The sample injection did give me a partial erection. About 50%. Not enough to actually have intercourse, but it did make me hopeful. The doctor said that he wasn't trying for a full erection. The sample was only intended to see if I could react to the injection. Things were looking up, I was feeling optimistic and that left me open for the sucker punch.
Next this male nurse comes in and starts the sales pitch. Believe me, this guy is much more of a salesman than a nurse. What they offer is a package deal. You have to pre-pay for the injections in groups of 100 at $20 bucks a piece. That should have been my first red flag right there. But hey, $20 sure beats the $50 I was paying for the pills. But when you consider that you have to buy 100 at a time, that comes to $2000! I tell him I can't afford that and I also want to be sure of results before spending that kind of money. I ask about buying a smaller group just to see how things work out. Ah, but there's a catch. The less you buy, the more expensive it gets. The least you can get is 25 shots at $50 each. From an economic point, it makes sense to go ahead and get 100 at the cheaper price. But I'm still wary. Its a lot of money for a retiree on a fixed income. Bear in mind that Mr. Salesman is steady hawking his pitch the whole time. I was just about to walk out the door when Mr. Salesman pipes up with "We take credit cards!" Its said that desperation and stupidity walk hand in hand. I guess I'm living proof. I handed over the plastic and the total came to $2308.
As it turned out, that half erection I got from the first test shot was as good as it was gonna get. Not once over the course of my treatment was I ever able to achieve a usable erection. I kept reporting the failures to Doc Needles and his pat answer was "I'll make an adjustment."
OTOH, the adverse side effects of these shots was growing by leaps and bounds. Despite not being able to get a usable erection, my penis felt like an overfilled balloon ready to pop! Depending on what was in that particular shot, the sensation ranged from unpleasant to downright painful! That's not to mention the occasional side trip to light headedness, sleepiness, mild nausea and the one time a damned near passed out! Naturally I reported all this to Doc Needles. His response... "I'll make an adjustment."
I also asked not once, but twice "Isn't there something else we can try?" the response was "I'll make an adjustment."
The last injection I took left me in such severe pain that I attempted the emergency priapism treatment they gave me at the very beginning in an effort to get some relief. I took the pills and sat in a warm tub. It didn't work. All I could do was sit there and ride it out in agony until the shot wore off.
I decided right then and there that I was done with this crap!
While trying to figure out my next move, I decided to check Ol' Doc needles out and looked him up on the internet. Something I really should have done right at the beginning. I had made the mistake of assuming that the doctor at an E.D. clinic would be a Urologist. Wrong! it turns out that Doc Needles is an Internist. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Internal Medicine just another way of saying General Practitioner?
Ok, damned the cost. I need to see a real Urologist.
Luckily for me, my girlfriend happens to work at an Orthopedic Clinic. She asked around and got me the name of a very good Urologist and I went to see him. The difference was like night and day. The urologist gave me a much better exam than Doc needles ever did. He reviewed my medical history and medications, he asked questions and he actually listened to what I had to say. Doc needles never did these things. (Sidebar: one of my biggest complaints with doctors is that they don't listen.)
In just one visit the Urologist was able to identify that I had blood flow problems, explained to me why the pills and shots can't and won't work for me and started me on vacuum therapy which was something I'd never heard of before. Doc Needles sure never mentioned it.
I've finally got some answers and a promising solution. However, I'm still into the Men's Clinic for a sizable chunk of change. They still owe me 86 shots at $20 each. That adds up to $1720. I'd sure like to get that back.
So I called the clinic and who should answer the phone? Its Mr. Salesman! I carefully explain to him what has happened. I make it a point to explain that the medication they sell is incapable of helping me and inquire about a refund on my remaining shots. WHOA! He goes off the deep end! First words out of his mouth are "ALL SALES ARE FINAL!" I try again to explain that the meds won't work for me. He then says "We don't give refunds just because you changed your mind!" I again try to calmly explain, but its like talking to a wall.
At this point let me be clear. As things progress from here, I have never asked for all of my money back. I seek only to be reimbursed for the remaining shots that the Men's Clinic owes me but are of no use to me.
All right. Now I'm pissed! But what to do about it?
Well if nothing else I hope maybe I can prevent other men from falling victim to these people. I go to the Better Business Bureau web site and lodge formal complaint in the form of a negative review for the Men's Clinic. I was very careful to keep emotion out of it. No accusations, name calling, Just the facts and my displeasure with the outcome. As per BBB policy, a copy of my compliant was forwarded to the clinic to give them a chance to respond before it gets posted to the website permanently.
A week or so later I get a phone call from the clinic director. He wants to discuss my complaint. I'll call this guy Slick. he's one of those people who's a real talker. Very skilled at controlling the conversation, steering it where he wants it to go and taking your words out of context and turning them around against you. While we did discuss some of the points in my complaint, for the most part the conversation just ran around in circles. He keeps coming back to that if I'd just come on back, they would keep experimenting with the medicine until they found something that would work for me. To which I would counter that A. the medicine doesn't work for me and B. the side effects are intolerable. And this just went round and round for better than a half hour. I know because he timed our conversation. By the end, he got mad and hung up on me. However, during the course of this merry-go-round, he did say that if I could supply a letter from the Urologist stating that the injections would not work for me, he would refund my money. Which brings us to the next chapter in this saga.............
I got the letter. The Urologist was more than happy to write it for me. It was short and to the point. Furthermore, the Urologist actually requested in writing that I be given a refund. I went to the clinic and gave the letter to Slick on November 2nd and asked about the refund. Now he's decided he wants to talk to the Urologist on the phone. Says he'll make the call and get back to me before the end of the day. Two days later, I end up calling him. They've decided that they dispute the Urologist findings and have sent him a letter requesting more information. He offered to mail me a copy to which I said yes. It hasn't arrived yet.
Yesterday I called Slick to check on the progress. While I had him on the phone, I wanted to talk about the amount of the refund. 86 shots @ $20 each comes to $1720. Seemed simple enough to me. Nope, Slick starts deducting office visits, lab fees, and other previously unmentioned costs cutting the amount down to almost nothing. needless to say, this conversation got a bit heated and didn't end well.
If, and its still IF, I should get a refund, I'll be lucky if it amounts to 1/4 of what I have spent.
I'm currently exploring possible legal action, but it isn't looking very good.

Well that's my story up until now. I must say that sitting here writing this has given be a chance to get my thoughts organized and helped relieve some of the stress and aggravation I've been going through.
Thanks for reading.

[dg_moore]

I'm sorry to hear you had to go through all that. Stories like yours about these "mens' clinics" abound - they are nothing but ripoffs.
Your post should be required reading for men coming to FT for advice.

Perhaps your credit card company can help you - a lot of card companies can get refunds for unsatisfactory goods or services.

Good luck to you - I wish you success with the VED, and of course the implant always remains as an alternative - and implants are covered by Medicare.

[tomas1]

I was also thinking that filing a dispute with the credit card company might help. It helps if you haven't paid the credit card bill I think.
What a horror story.

[jerrywayne]

thank you fort writing this letter I live in Memphis ,and have seen the add ,thought it was bull s I have gotten an implant after trying all the other things ,best thing I ever done ,but maybe because of your talk it might save of guys some heart ache ..

[6gun 44 mag]

Thanks for your compassions and concerns for others to write all this up in story flow as it happened. I never went to one of these rip-off joints, but in desperation had sure considered it. I'm sure men have drove hundreds of miles to do what you did, as they lived far away. Then prolly got the same result. Thanks for sharing and good luck.

[hoosierphilly]

Forget the CC companies...They will put a hold on that amount in your account and likely will end up making you pay. This happened to me on a whole different type of treatment done with an MD. While the MD got involved illegally, and became culpable if I had pursued, the therapy person placed harassment charges against me (which I did not do or threaten). It was not worth the legal and personal price to continue the legal complaint. However yu can likely press charges against the MD through your state's medical association.

[regguy1967]

I live in the Chicago land area, and two different clinics like this one has been put out of business because of these kind of practices !

[rbrown]

There is a similar one in Ct, Rocky Hill...

[bubbabubba]

take them to small claims court and rant online at rating sites... that will get their attention...

[seeking info]

If they have not charged you for all of those shots...call the credit card company and report your card lost. That way they can't. Charge you anymore!!!!

Then call the medical board!!