my dermatologist is a liar

In Feb of this year I went for a consultation for the Gentlelase laser for hair removal on my face. I wanted the procedure done because I break out from shaving. The results were excellent, and I had bald patches for at least 2 months after the consiltation; however, the technician would not do the hair removal because of the documentation that I provided him with regarding all on the complications that I had from acne products such as proactive solution. I then went to Dr. Harold Farber in Philadelphia.

I went to Dr. Farber because I was under the impression that he used the Gentlelase laser. When I went for the consiltation, he showed me the Diomed Laserlite Laser. I told him how great the results were from the Gentlelase, and that I wanted the procedure done with it. Dr. Farber told me that I would be crazy not to use the Diomed, but if I did not get the results that I wanted with the Diomed we could switch to the Gentlelase.
He also had his Gentlelase certification posted on the wall. Because of this I decided to have the procedure done with the Diomed. I still had trepidations about the Diomed, and when I showed up for the first treatment, I told Dr. Farber that I decided to go with the Gentlelase. He told me that his Gentlelase was being repaired, and once again sold me on the Diomed.

I had my first treatment in May. I had 6 treatments over 7 weeks with the Diomed and I do not have any hair loss at all. I wrote Dr. Farber and told him that I now want to switch to the Gentlelase. He called me and totally changed his tune about the Gentlelase, and now claims that he does not have access to it and that he only knows other practioners with the Gentlelase. I am now 1700.00 in the hole and I am thinking of taking him to small claims court since he lied to me.

This whole experience has me totally depressed since I have been lied to. I wanted my face done except for the mustache, chin and sideburn areas. As it turns out, I have been told that the Diomed Laserlite is a jack of all trades laser used for spider veins.

Is there any advice that anyone can give me tp get my money back from Dr. Farber?

Sorry to hear about your problems, Billy.

You might have a bait-and-switch case, but to be honest, it’s unlikely you will be able to get a refund. Any lawsuit is going to require that you have several things in writing in order to prevail:

  • Promotional literature showing that he offers GentleLASE.

  • Something in writing about his guarantee that you could switch to GentleLASE if your results were not satisfactory.

  • Receipts of your payments and dates of treatment.

  • Copies of any releases you signed.

This last item will probably absolve him of responsibility for poor results. The only hope you have is to prove you chose him because he had GentleLASE and advised against its use in favor of a different model with less results available.

The Diomed is cleared for hair removal, so he did nothing wrong in recommending it.

I’d find out why he no longer offers GentleLASE. This could be the best way to tell why he was so gung-ho on Diomed. If you can prove he never intended to use GentleLASE because he was returning the equipment, you may be able to prove a bait and switch. That’s the only angle that seems apparent to me offhand, although a lawyer may be able to offer other solutions. It’s probably not worth getting a lawyer involved for such a relatively small sum.

I wish I could offer more hope on this one! :frowning:

[ July 13, 2002, 04:05 PM: Message edited by: Andrea ]

I do have 3 things in my favor:

  • the hard copy of my hair analysis from laserhairremoval.com listing Dr. Harold Farber as their affiliate office which was emailed to me April 26, 2002, over a week before my first treatment.

  • the hard copy of laserhairremoval.com showing before and after photos and video of laser hair removal done with the Candela GentleLASE

  • a reply email sent to me from a sales rep from Candela after I inquired about Dr. Farber owning a GentleLASE dated May 13, 2002

The sales rep told me that she had no knowledge of Dr. Farber owning a GenlteLASE, but informed me that he could be renting one or could have purchased one from another practioner.

Dr. Farber also has his Candela GentleLASE certification posted on the wall in his office.