[USER]

Hi, I was wondering if I could get some suggestions. It’s not a frugal tip, rather a question that could save us a lot of money!

Last year my husband got a new CPAP.

We made the payments, along with insurance, and had it paid off in about six months.

Fast forward to a couple months ago and it suddenly stopped working in the middle of the night.

I called the medical supply company that he got it from and they told us it had a 3 yr warranty, to just bring it in and they would swap it for a brand new one.

The next day I took the old one to the office, they looked at it, zipped it up, opened a new one, programmed it with his settings and handed it over.

Today he got a call from the company regarding the old one and wanting to know when we planned on returning it!!!

He told them that I’d taken it back and gotten the new one.

They then said that if they didn’t get the old one back immediately, we’d be getting a bill for the full cost!

What in the world?!? We literally handed it to them, they looked it over and gave us the new one.

I wasn’t offered any type of receipt of the old one that I recall.

Any suggestions? To say that I’m freaking out is a mild understatement.

I don’t know what to do.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions you might have.

[Lesley]

Go back to person who helped you. Get receipt.

[Paulina]

There should be an encounter created in your husbands patient chart regarding you returning the old machine and receiving the new one.

Someone there obviously gave you the new one so you will have to remember who that was and what day you went in to get it.

It should have been documented in his file for the exchange.

I don’t understand how it wasn’t, especially with a new item number and everything.

[Kathleen]

Document everything. Go back to the insurance and tell them what this provider is doing. Get your advocate with whoever is sponsoring your insurance.

Your employer?

His employer? Contact the HR and tell them you need help chasing this down.

I’d also tell everyone involved that you’re filing with provider fraud department.

Bump it up to the higher level at the DME company.

They do this because they can get away with it.

So terribly unfair to you.

[Roband]

Take any proof of phone or email conversations even if just phone number log to their # and go face to face and speak with whom u passed off the machine too…

make them tell u to your face you are lying…

then ask them what proof they have u didn’t leave the old machine with them since it’s highly unlikely they would just hand over a brand new machine to you without checking the old one, and also how did they know the settings if they didn’t have the old machine to get that info from….

play offense not defense.

[Janet]

Fight it! Did you get an exchange ticket? Always get that and a name! First and last!

[Amanda]

I would go back to the same place and check for any security cameras. Sooner vs later because the recordings probably cycle over top of each other.

Request a copy of the footage for that dey.

If they don’t which would be odd in this day and age check any neighboring stores or with the parking garage if there is one really any opportunities to be seen on camera entering the facility with the old one in hand.

It’s almost impossible to be in public in this day and age and not be recorded.

[Tisha]

This happened to my husband as well! They said they were gonna look in to it and then nothing for months until a bill from a collection agency showed up.

Needless to say, we weren’t pleased.

[Anita]

Is there cctv outside or inside? (Showing you carrying it in?) hope you get it sorted asap

[B.M.]

This in no way answers your question but we’ve discovered that it’s less costly and better customer service to buy c-pap supplies (including the machine) online without claiming on our medical insurance.

That said, your husband should contact his HR rep and request they get involved.

The insurance company should investigate this with the home medical equipment supplier since the insurance co holds the contract with them.

[Joanne]

Go back to company you gave the old one to, find the person and get something in writing from them, copy it and send it to your insurance company.

[Author]

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