A couple weeks ago I had my first meeting at Sono Bello. I was excited about the process and looked forward to speaking with a doctor. I met a sales agent. She was pleasant enough but nonrefundable a good salesperson. In the end I agreed to pay the down payment and sign the non refundable agreement. They got me (never make such a decision without meeting with a doctor and giving it some thought).
I later had a routine medical appointment with an unrelated physician. My findings came back with abnormal. Being what I thought was the picture of health, I was terrified. I was informed to get further testing. The last thing on my mind now was alternative surgery. The night before my physician consultation, I couldn't sleep. I paid +$1,200 down and thought it was nonrefundable. I thought about how the trauma could affect me or the meds. Was it worth my health just to smooth out some problem areas?
Later I received a reminder call that I had my appointment coming up the next day, and later that night I received another call saying that there was a cancelation and I could come in an have the surgery at the time of my consultation. I told the person no. I had decided not to go through with it but I wanted to meet with the doctor and let him know what was going on and my thoughts. Maybe I would just postpone or just take the money loss.
I met the doctor and nurse, and they were pleasant enough. He even reviewed my medical findings the other doctor had given me. He and the nurse assured me I would be ok and sometimes findings come back irregular, and they understood if I wanted to postpone to a later date until I felt better.
As I was checking out the receptionist inquired about the rescheduling. I told her earlier about my medical findings and that I was scared but since I could not get a refund, I would reschedule later, if the findings improved. She said medical reasoning might have an exception, she was pleasant but still encouraged me to reschedule later, and they would hold the payment.
After thinking about it for a moment, with the financial burden lifted, I thought about my health and said to cancel. In summary, I would take the refund due to medical. I thanked her and the staff and departed. I felt good about my experience until about 10 minutes later when I received a call from the receptionist. The nurse said I could not get a refund because the appointment was less than five days away. Keep in mind all of this, including the new medical findings, just occurred within the past two weeks.
Bothered by this I contacted associates that had undergone similar procedures in Florida. I was told that a medical workup should have been done before the surgery. Scheduling me for surgery without the basics eval, labs, etc., was dangerous. This made sense. I was initially assessed by a salesperson, though all appeared good, no type of agency would not assure the customer is healthy. Why would a nonrefundable fee be initiated before consultation with a doctor? Why would someone call me the evening before to offer me surgical rescheduling for the next day?
Again, all of this occurred within 2 weeks and largely during the holidays. It was not communicated to me clearly that if I had a medical issue, I needed to cancel within 5 days. I feel conflicted and had. Tonight I just read Sono Bello reviews, and they are frightening. Since I could not get a refund, I have postponed until I complete further medical testing. This is not sitting well with me. It is likely I will take the loss out of concern for my health and fear of what others have reported. I do believe I should be refunded due to medical concerns. What are your thoughts?
Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend
