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Do NOT trust your DME - my story
#1
Do NOT trust your DME - my story
Today was the start of my therapy so drove 35 miles to my new DME to get my new ResMed AirSence 10 AutoSet.

There were several new boxes piled on floor but he pulled one off a shelf that was in travel bag.  I checked the power cord and machine and it looked used.  I asked him 3 times if machine was new - he said yes.  I asked him if he checked clinical menu “about” for time and he pretended to not know what that was.

I needed a good mask fit so went through process testing under pressure with me ending up with ResMed P10 nasal pillow.

Went home plugged in the machine and went into clinical menu and bingo machine had 1,359 hours on it.  I immediately called and he said “it should have been new, must have been a mix up with machine in backroom, he will bring me a new one.”

Hell with that I drove back and traded after verifying I had a brand new machine.

It was no mistake - he lied and tried to give me a used machine with lots of hours on it.

Thanks to this forum and help on my first post that gave me the knowledge to be educated and not allow fraudulent DME cheat me & Medicare.

Thank you and warning to all new users.
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#2
RE: Do NOT trust your DME - my story
Kudos to you!  Unfortunately the next newbie may not be as informed.   Sad  

If you see him again, patiently offer to teach him how to use the menu to check for hours of use,  Dielaughing
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#3
RE: Do NOT trust your DME - my story
What a disgrace, and what a dirty business. I am so disenchanted with the practice of "sleep medicine" and the various parasites making a living off it, really has made me so cynical. From the so called sleep specialists who seem to be for the most part just inept doctors who've gone into a lucrative money making speciality where they simply issue prescriptions and see patients for all of 5 minutes. 

Then, the DMEs who verge on fraudulent business practices.

Sad state of affairs.  That's why I keep donating to this forum. Need to keep it alive and well, so that we can stay informed and not be conned.
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#4
RE: Do NOT trust your DME - my story
(10-09-2017, 12:37 PM)CZOscar Wrote: Today was the start of my therapy so drove 35 miles to my new DME to get my new ResMed AirSence 10 AutoSet.

There were several new boxes piled on floor but he pulled one off a shelf that was in travel bag.  I checked the power cord and machine and it looked used.  I asked him 3 times if machine was new - he said yes.  I asked him if he checked clinical menu “about” for time and he pretended to not know what that was.

I needed a good mask fit so went through process testing under pressure with me ending up with ResMed P10 nasal pillow.

Went home plugged in the machine and went into clinical menu and bingo machine had 1,359 hours on it.  I immediately called and he said “it should have been new, must have been a mix up with machine in backroom, he will bring me a new one.”

Hell with that I drove back and traded after verifying I had a brand new machine.

It was no mistake - he lied and tried to give me a used machine with lots of hours on it.

Thanks to this forum and help on my first post that gave me the knowledge to be educated and not allow fraudulent DME cheat me & Medicare.

Thank you and warning to all new users.

That's exactly what happened to me last week. Almost verbatim. So sorry it had to happen to you, too. Sheesh.
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#5
RE: Do NOT trust your DME - my story
Hi CZOscar,
Thank you for sharing your experience.
I'm sorry this happened to you.
It's great that you went back to the DME and got a new machine when you discovered what they had done, GOOD JOB.!
trish6hundred
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#6
RE: Do NOT trust your DME - my story
It happened to me too.  I remember picking up my machine and they said it was new right out of the box.
I didn’t see a box.  Sad   But anyway,  I used the machine for 6 weeks before finding this forum.  That’s when I discovered how dishonest some DME’s can be.  

Out of curiousity, I looked at my machine hours and saw that that it had over 900 blower hours on it.  
Of course they had erased the previous user hours.  The machine/blower hours cannot be reset.

I called and told them what I found and that I would be in the next day for a new machine. 
They argued with me that it was new, so I explained that I knew the difference between user hours and machine hours.
Dead silence on the phone.  When I got there, they had the “new” machine ready.  I asked if I could see the machines/blower hours and the tech seemed to struggle with how to find it.  So I showed him.   Sad

It really is a shame that some, not all DME’s are dishonest.

Bottom line....ask to see the units blower hours before accepting it.

Oh, and never accept their word that they will check your insurance coverage for you....do it yourself!
OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
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#7
RE: Do NOT trust your DME - my story
You should probably contact your local Better Business Bureau

https://www.bbb.org/
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#8
RE: Do NOT trust your DME - my story
(10-09-2017, 07:42 PM)Hojo Wrote: You should probably contact your local Better Business Bureau

https://www.bbb.org/

I'm a believer that the BBB doesn't do much.  A better way is to leave a Google Review of the business.  More people will see it, and it's actually more likely to cause a change in business practice.  Also, don't hesitate to drop the name (not URL) here.
Sleeprider
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#9
RE: Do NOT trust your DME - my story
I’ve been mulling over how to respond in a public manner.  I gave him 3 times to correct/change the machine and had demonstrated I wasn’t totally ignorant but he blew it.  When I called and gave him the exact hours on the machine he immediately said it must have been a mix up (haha) and he would bring me a new one ASAP.  He knew.  The staff called me asking if everything was ok.

I did not react, no blame, no incriminations, they owe me.

But I don’t want anyone who isn’t a member here to get screwed.

I was thinking review instead of BBB.

The DME is National I think with two facilities in my area.

Thanks all.

DME is AeroCare.
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#10
RE: Do NOT trust your DME - my story
(10-09-2017, 08:20 PM)CZOscar Wrote: I’ve been mulling over how to respond in a public manner.  I gave him 3 times to correct/change the machine and had demonstrated I wasn’t totally ignorant but he blew it.  When I called and gave him the exact hours on the machine he immediately said it must have been a mix up (haha) and he would bring me a new one ASAP.  He knew.  The staff called me asking if everything was ok.

I did not react, no blame, no incriminations, they owe me.

But I don’t want anyone who isn’t a member here to get screwed.

I was thinking review instead of BBB.

The DME is National I think with two facilities in my area.

Thanks all.

DME is AeroCare.
I reported my experience to the sleep study center (at a major teaching hospital). They got the word around to the staff.

I also thought of reporting the incident to Medicare since it's Medicare fraud.

The business is Keene Medical Products. It's regional in northern New England.
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