Terms of business

Set out below are the terms on which sk:n provides service to its clients. Please ensure that you have read and fully understood them prior to booking any sk:n treatment.

1. Appointments and cancellations

• We will notify you with the time and date of your treatment appointment. On receipt of this notification, please confirm your attendance with the clinic concerned. Failure to do so may result in reallocation of the appointment time to another client. All doctors, nurses and therapists at sk:n are trained and approved in accordance with the company's treatment protocols and therefore in the interests of clinical audit, sk:n does not guarantee continued treatment with a named nurse or therapist.
• If you are unable to attend your appointment, we require 24 hours' notice in order to reallocate your appointment to another client. Failure to give the required notice may result in your being charged a cancellation fee. If you fail to attend an appointment without giving due notice, we may charge a cancellation fee and require you to pay for all future treatments in advance. Clients who have pre-purchased a course of treatment will forfeit one of the treatments.
• Please arrive for your appointment at least 15 minutes in advance so that the necessary paperwork can be completed. Late arrival may result in reduced treatment time or forfeiting of the appointment. sk:n will endeavour to ensure that your appointment runs to time; however, for reasons beyond our control, we may need to cancel or postpone your appointment at short notice. In this unlikely event, we will make every effort to contact you in advance. We do not offer compensation if we cancel your appointment.
• Prior to your appointment we will inform you of any preparation required in advance of your treatment. Failure to comply may result in cancellation of your appointment, reduced treatment time, or additional fees being charged.

2. Credit card details, deposits and payments

• Credit/debit card details are taken in respect of consultation and pre-assessment bookings in order to secure the appointment. No fee will be charged to this card unless you fail to attend your appointment or cancel it with less than 24 hours' notice. Under these circumstances, we will make a charge of £25, or £50 if the consultation or pre-assessment is booked with a doctor.
• Some consultations, test patches and follow-up appointments are chargeable, but these charges will be made in the clinic on the appointment day. All treatment bookings must be paid for in full prior to any treatment commencing. A 50% deposit is required at the time of booking where the single treatment cost is greater than £100. The remaining 50% is required on arrival at the clinic on the treatment day. Proof of your ability to pay may be required prior to any appointment booking.
• If you have paid for a course of treatments and are subsequently unable to complete the course, we will offer you a refund, calculated by deducting the full list price of all treatments already taken, plus any forfeited for non-attendance, from the total price of the course of treatments, and return the difference to you.

3. Courses of treatments

All treatments purchased as a course must be paid for in full in advance of the first treatment. All treatments must be taken within 12 months of the date of purchase; any treatments left untaken after 12 months will be forfeited.

4. Treatment suitability

We will always assess whether treatment is suitable for you, or likely to be successful, prior to any treatment being carried out. If not, we will inform you as to the reasons why. You will only be liable for the cost of the initial consultation, where applicable.

5. Liability

• sk:n will not be liable in contract, tort or otherwise for any economic loss (including, without limitation, loss of profit), or for any other special, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising out of, or in connection with, its provision of any goods and/or services to the client.
• It is the client's responsibility to ensure that he or she provide sk:n with all relevant medical details prior to each treatment. sk:n will not be liable for any damage that occurs as a result of the client's failure to disclose such details.
• The client agrees to comply with all instructions and/or recommendations given to them by, or on behalf of, sk:n regarding the care of a treated area. Nothing in these terms of business shall exclude or limit sk:n's liability for death or any personal injury resulting from sk:n's negligence.

Your right to complain

• sk:n endeavours to treat all its clients appropriately, compassionately and fairly. If, however, you have an issue with any matter in relation to your treatment at sk:n, you are entitled to lodge a complaint, either verbally, by telephone or in writing. If you require assistance with making your complaint, sk:n will be pleased to help.
• The member of staff who initially receives the complaint will convey the details to the Clinic Manager or their designated deputy, and you will receive a letter within two days of lodging the complaint that an investigation into the matter is under way.
• During the course of the investigation, sk:n may require you to attend an additional consultation with the practitioner involved in your treatment, if this is deemed appropriate. If you are not satisfied with this initial attempt at resolution, or have any objection to being seen by this practitioner, the clinic's Medical Director will review your case.
• If the complaint cannot be resolved locally, the matter will be referred to the appropriate Director and the company's Medical Director at sk:n's Support Office in Birmingham, where it will be acknowledged formally to, where an appropriate solution will be proposed.
• At this stage your complaint will also be acknowledged formally by the Support Office and you will be kept informed of developments.
• You may at any time refer the details of your complaint to the Healthcare Commission at the local area office address (telephone 020 7448 9200).

This is a summary of the complaints procedure. A full version is available upon request. sk:n is a trading name of Lasercare Clinics (Harrogate) Limited. © July 2008.