SmileDirectClub

At the start I would praise the SmileDirectClub customer service, I had several issues but each time I felt confident in the customer service that they would fix each issue.

Over time I’ve noticed how everything is scripted/robots - not a human response. As time has gone on my experience has gotten worse and worse.

From the start I was told it would be a 4-month plan (it quickly changed to 5). The first box of aligners didn’t fit in any way (I was told it was a "manufacturing issue"). I went for rescans/also pictures at a location near me, two days later I got an email to say the pictures were not enough and they needed more (honestly don’t see how these pictures help AT ALL, surely the scan gives you all the information you need), so I took more pictures. My aligners came in ten days and I was satisfied. I had a new plan. This plan did not work. I now have crooked front teeth (I went into this with straight teeth, I only wanted to close a front gap).

I went into a SmileDirectClub location and within ten seconds of walking in, I was told "go online, send pictures" and I thought to myself, but I’m here? Surely it’s better if they are the ones to take the pictures. I felt uncomfortable so I left. I went back to the same location two days later as I was told I needed a new scan (shocker), in the meantime, while all of this was happening, my retainers had already been ordered (now I understand that the retainers are not ideal but it’s not ideal to be in the same aligners for weeks as they become super loose very fast), so I thought the retainers would come, in the meantime, when I went on live chat to find out the status of the retainers I was told "oh, they’re put on hold," but no one was going to tell me that. Also, when I ordered my retainers I got an email from SmileDirect today, 2-3 weeks. On the 3-week mark when I went back on live chat I was told "they never come in 2-3 weeks," as if I made up the email. That they come in 4 weeks PLUS 5 days for delivery (first time I have heard this).

Fast forward to present day. I am currently waiting on my third set of aligners. When I asked for them to be expedited I was told they do not expedite ANYTHING, however, my second pair was expedited and when I questioned that, I was told "I was lucky that I must have been at the top of the list." So I asked, "so did the last agent lie about them being expedited or are you lying now that they can’t be expedited?" I put a review on Yelp, to be mailed - I asked directly do they offer expedited shipping yes or no, I was told "not at this time," so the answer is yes, they do offer it but are lying to customers.

Also, I need to put it out there that during a live chat in the middle of a conversation the agent said to me "her shift was already finished and she needed to get a bus," and she left the conversation. It said I was being transferred for about a half-hour until I gave up and left. I have since spoken to three people regarding this, two people did not even acknowledge it, which makes me think it’s a normal experience. I also reached out over Instagram and I sent a screenshot of what happened. They were so slow at responding and this morning I got a message to say "we are sorry about how slow they are that they offer a live chat," even though I was coming on to explain the bad experience on live chat and they are trying to send me back to live chat? Does that make sense to you? I have tried to order my new retainers that will go with my new aligners so I am not waiting AGAIN, and I was told I cannot order them until I receive the aligners (whenever that will be). The customer service is completely incompetent.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

There are plenty of mail-in aligned companies emerging in 2019 so I would take this time to say go to a competitor, SmileDirectClub has shown some of the worst customer service, the process took twice as long as they said it would, and the insurance refund is a scam. They will promise you free retainers and money off to get you to spend the money and then they will have no record of these promises and never fulfill them.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

No follow up, no reaching out, no one to answer our calls and help us. We called so many times to finally have one lady Regina, who tells us she has no supervisor, because she answers her phone from home. She apparently is the ONLY person responsible for handling accounts for this company, while many reps are answering calls from overseas, yet cannot answer any details for us. Perhaps it is different when you go into a location and visit on a weekly basis, but we were still told each location is separate and the company headquarters is responsible for service. There is no dedicated team serving to help the people. We do not have one close and were thankful to first hear the correspondence would be online or by phone. NOT the case. It seems this is a scam, so I would highly advise anyone from going with this company. The results do not last, and it DOES not replace permanent dental work. It is a marketing firm more than a dental organization. No results and no ownership or responsibility on the company's part. Cheap and unfriendly, unaware of customer needs or service. I do not expect this company to last long.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

PLEASE READ before leaving a "5-star" review. Those planning on leaving a 5-star, it is probably for the first visit, right?

I scheduled an appointment with SmileDirectClub (SDC) through their website. During the booking, the website requires credit card information in case I was to not show.

I went to the appointment and had images of my teeth made. There, I was told I should receive a 3D custom plan for me to review in three days.

Six days later, while still waiting to receive my 3D custom plan, SDC sent me a "Retail Installment Credit Sale Contract" with my name and initials forged.

From there, I reviewed at my credit card account and saw that SDC went ahead and charged my credit card $250. I contacted my credit card company, who then contacted SDC with me on the line.

The SDC rep on the line tried to make it look like that I signed the document when I met with another rep at a SDC location UNTIL I pointed out the signature's date, which was four days before my appointment with the rep at the SDC location.

Silence.

I was then put on hold. Afterwards, SDC rep on the phone returned on the line and said that the charge will be refunded.

After the phone call, I still was concerned that someone forged my name and initials on a financial agreement, and angry that the SDC's rep on the phone attempted to pass the blame onto me. So, I contacted BBB to file a complaint as to what happened.

Another SDC rep, let's call "Rudy" (i.e not this rep's actual name), responded to the BBB complaint with the following:

"Your signature on the Healthcare Finance Direct ("HFD") contract was not forged. On... [the day when the appointment was booked], you or someone on your behalf, placed order number... using SmileDirectClub's online application system. In so doing, you affirmatively consented to HFD terms by checking on the "I agree to SmileDirectClub's Informed Consent, Terms, and SmilePay Conditions." SDC's application software prohibits the user from proceeding and completing the application process without electronically consenting to the terms. The Informed Consent, the Terms, and the SmilePay Conditions were each available to you at the click of the hot link prior to clicking her agreement. Your failure to read the terms does not negate your signature nor your acceptance of the terms.

Your electronic authorization is governed by 15 U.S.C. 1701, et. Seq. ("E-Sign"). E-Sign authorizes transactions to be conducted by electronic means and allows signatures to be created, generated, sent, communicated, received, stored or otherwise processed or used by electronic means or in electronic form. As you likely know, under federal and state law, electronic signatures are granted legal effect.

While you signed up for your payment plan on... [the day of the appointment four days later], your agreement to the terms mention above was on... [the day when the appointment was booked].

I apologize for the discrepancy in the date, but your signature was not forged."

Me, responding on BBB online complaint form:

"The signature is a forged. I did not sign the contract, nor did I give permission for someone to do so on my behalf. (Neither online - the HFD agreement was not shown when I signed up for an appointment to DISCUSS the product, nor in person on [the day when the appointment was booked] - please note that [the day when the appointment was booked] was a Sunday and that the... [SDC location I went to] was closed on that day).

As noted by the business' response, I met with a SDC rep on... [the day of the appointment] to discuss their service. My credit card information was provided in the event I was a no-show for... [the day of the appointment] per SDC website - NOT for a HFD contract.

There was no product/service for me to sign a HFD contract by [the day when I made the appointment]. Even as of this morning [6 days later after the appointment], when I found out about the HFD contract and the charge to my credit card account, SDC had yet to send me a 3D custom plan for me to even agree to a HFD contract."

Afterwards, I uploaded the HFD contract onto the BBB's online complaint response form, showing that my name and initials were not just printed but written out in way that I do not sign my name.

I also uploaded a copy of the web page where SDC asks for credit card information with the following statement: "Your appointment is FREE. However, due to demand, we do keep a credit card on file. If you miss your appointment and don't reschedule, you may be charged a $25 fee." There is no mention of a HFD contract.

No response from Rudy yet.

Needless to say, I am not going with SDC.

I advise anyone who is dealing with SDC to check their email and mail, and review any document that SDC or their affiliates send you.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I started using the aligners in July. They moved my teeth so much that my two front teeth became loose and the dentist told me to go see an orthodontist ASAP. I am now in full braces. I have called multiple times and was told a manager would call me back about a refund plus was given a false telephone number to a manager directly. It’s September and I still have had no one call me back to correct this. I need someone to call me back ASAP. Definitely, would not recommend.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Today I visited my regular dentist for clean-up and X-rays, I told them about that I wear clear aligners. Upon cleaning and investigation, my dentist found some issues. I have some light contacts. Teeth are hitting each other pretty heavy in the front which can be a long-term issue and should be definitely addressed with ortho prior to completing the treatment. After my dentist visit, I called SmileDirectClub contact for the referrals of ortho. I was placed on wait for 20 minutes, then the SDC rep was rude at me saying they just are responsible for products. They don't care about the referrals which I think they are non-existent. I spoke to a rep, I wish to terminate the treatment and he said I don't get a refund at all since I used the aligners.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

When I went through assessment I was excited for this cheaper way to get my teeth straightened. However, they did not tell me that they can only align the front teeth in this manner. The side teeth and molars cannot be straightened.

On their portal, they post what your treatment plan will look like, but the application to see it is very glitchy. They do not ask you to "approve" what your final smile will look like. I just trusted that the professional orthodontist would know what they were doing.

When it came to the end of treatment, my teeth were still crooked and my request for another treatment round was denied. Any reimbursement was denied because they said I should have seen how it was going to end up before I started and so it is my fault. I think that they should have told me I was not a candidate for this treatment to begin with instead of taking my money and doing a half-way job.

Also, when they sent me the retainers at the end of treatment, they were of someone else's teeth! They completely messed up and sent me the retainers for someone else. Then the process for getting them to send me the correct ones was so convoluted! Never would recommend them to anyone. I will need pay full price to get an actual orthodontist to look at my teeth and get them worked on. They say only pay 60% of the price, but don't tell you that you will need to pay the 100% after treatment anyway.

Think again before signing up to pay 160% the cost. Because that is what will happen.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I am very disappointed with SmileDirect Club. I have been using their product for a year and the original space in my teeth is the same and now I have 2 other spaces. I have been waiting 12 weeks for new aligners. My teeth are worse than when I started.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

When my aligners were ordered, I was never told there was a time limit on when I needed to begin using them. As I chose not to use them right away and finally began using them, a fitting issue was encountered in my week 3 aligners. I reached out about this and was emailed by Tatiana, with the dental team, saying "there will be an additional cost of $99 per month." Yes, you heard that correctly. There is an additional $99 charge PER MONTH on top of the over $2,000 paid. This is absolutely ridiculous and I will not ever recommend SmileDirect to anyone. In fact, serval people have inquired about SmileDirect and I have steered them away because of this horrible experience.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I’m in pain every moment of every day and have huge gaps in my back teeth now. I can no longer eat like a normal person. I filed with the BBB and asked for them to let me meet this so-called orthodontist in person. Of course, they said no, I didn’t even want them to pay for the trip. My dentist warned me! DON’T DO THIS!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I submitted via their online menu a request to see if my insurance would cover the aligners. I received an email back in regards that they needed more information and to send a copy of my insurance card to an email address. I did so. I then get a response back saying that I needed to fill out the form. Which I had already done. So I email them back stating I had already done this and was asked to provide more information. I then get an email back again stating that if they asked for more information to send that along. I responded with I already did that. I then get another one asking me again for the information I already sent twice. I respond that I am not sending this a third time and that they had lost me as a customer. I get again another response telling me if I don’t buy the impression kit I won’t get any liners. This has NOTHING to do with an impression kit. The company can’t even do something as simple as follow their own directions and they expect that I’m going to trust them with my teeth. Nope. You definitely get what you pay for. Stick with Invisalign.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend