The Municipal Consumer Information Office of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat has assisted 200 people affected by the closure of four dental clinics in the city. The centers that have closed are two Oral Studio locations, as well as Dent JYJ SL and Assistència Sanitària Flanders.
The case has left a double consequence for patients. Many had paid large sums for treatments that were left unfinished and, at the same time, they suffer from sequelae in their oral health while the closed companies have not entered into bankruptcy proceedings.
The OMIC requested to stop new payments for financed treatments
Since the closures were detected, the municipal office has gathered information on the treatments contracted by those affected and has requested the formal suspension of new payments linked to services financed in installments.
This step seeks to prevent patients from continuing to pay for interventions that cannot be completed in the closed clinics. The OMIC has also requested the refund of money corresponding to unexecuted treatments.
Oral Studio also closed centers in other towns in Catalonia
The scope of the problem is not limited to L'Hospitalet. Oral Studio has also closed centers in other towns in Catalonia, although in the city the cases handled by the consumer office affect four specific establishments.
The situation of the patients combines economic damage and care damage. In many cases, treatments were left half-finished after paying large amounts, a circumstance that has aggravated the sequelae in users' oral health.
Unlike other business closures, none of the companies involved have entered into bankruptcy proceedings. This detail conditions the available avenues for claims for those affected who seek to recover part of the money already paid.
Judicial complaint is the preliminary step being communicated to those affected
The municipal office has informed users that a judicial complaint is a necessary preliminary procedure for possible future inclusion in bankruptcy proceedings. This notice is part of the guidance it is offering to those who come with contracts, receipts, and unfinished treatments.
So far, the Municipal Consumer Information Office has assisted 200 people due to the closure of clinics in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.