Candice M

Misdiagnosis and negligence

My experience at The Hair Clinic, Century City, Cape Town, started off well, until it completely went pear-shaped. Brace yourself for a long story. I was misdiagnosed, by the scalp specialist who after a few weeks of the onset on my hair journey had allegedly "left" the company. Upon request for compensation in the form of the treatment I had hoped they'd INITIALLY give me after analysing my specific hair loss condition, I was denied. I paid for an inaccurate diagnosis and was shirked/pacified (made to shut-up basically) by the owner as he "gifted" me with free products & laser treatments (mind you - the same products & treatments that I was recommended initially, before the discovery of the misdiagnosis, which in my case only produces mediocre results. They do not target the core issue that I was hoping these professionals would unveil. My progress was ultimately stunted because of negligence on their end. I was sent from one consultant to the next, from both Cape Town & JHB. The whole reason for approaching & paying hard earned money to these companies with a matter so sensitive, is so that they glean information & deduce the deeper answers to questions within the context of the client's specific life setting, that they as the average public cannot as we (the clients) are not trained trichologists or hair experts. That alone caused mental stress & emotional trauma as one can well imagine, in turn resulting in more hair loss. After countless conversations & assurance from their side I decided to move on from this & continue, trying to stay hopeful & positive. Bear in mind though, that if I now decided to embark on the treatment that they were actually supposed to have diagnosed me with from the jump, I WOULD NOW HAVE TO PAY FOR IT ON TOP OF ALREADY PAYING FOR THE TREATMENT OF THE MISDIAGNOSIS. So already thousands wasted. Moving on, I later bought a refurbished laser helmet from them because I couldn't continue my in-house laser sessions at their premises as I had taken a new job abroad. Within a few months (3 to be exact) the battery started giving me issues. The owner had told me that the battery could pack up at any time. Now, I cant see how, that with the knowledge of the device being a refurbished one, the first point of departure was not to at the very least replace the current battery with the new one inside the device or even how a back-up battery was not provided to me here, especially considering the vast distance of my move. I couldn't find a replacement battery locally and had to rely on HCI (the owner) to send me one, which he agreed to. He told me that the battery was complimentary but that shipping was to be split. How? When the battery packing pack less than 5 months in wasn't even my fault. You would expect the financial responsibility to be completely taken care of by the owner in this situation, but it wasn't. Anyway, I agreed (I needed the device to work after all). This exercise turned into quite a financially heavy one and at that I decided to make it worth my while and to include some other products from HCI and 2 clothing items that I may need down the line to make up for the weight deficit, killing two birds with one stone. The battery weighed & cost next to nothing but I was still being charged something between 2-5kgs anyway with UPS, standard international shipping procedures. Customs wouldn't allow the items through because of the 2 clothing items I added and 1 of the products from HCI and the package was later returned to SA at another return shipping cost, which I was also willing to contribute to. I didn't expect the owner to pay for the return shipping on his own, I made this clear in a message sent to him. I then later told him that I wouldn't need all the items I had initially requested as I had changed my mind on them (bear in mind these products were untouched, still sealed) and that a refund on the products would be great. He refused, point blank. Was more frustrated at the entire process of shipping, months of negotiations with customs and the costs HE had incurred. This mind you, could have all been avoided had diligent attention been paid and a simple issue such as a battery being replaced been seen to. But it now seemed that ALL the inconvenience was my fault and that ALL the financial responsibility in this endeavour was mine. It just didn't seem fair after what I had endured up to this point. I am now stuck with an insurmountable amount of products which only serve mediocre results, the root causes of my hair issues still remain. In fact even after more than a year of faithfully committing to my hair regime (minoxidil twice a day, laser 4 times a week (with a faulty helmet), hair growth formula capsules daily and sprays of placenta, my hair is still falling, it is drier than it was when I left Cape Town last year and the support from HCI is still very superficial. You would think that after all that, the owner would show a little more empathy and fairness but that clearly is not the case. I feel like my best interest is definitely not at the heart of Hair Clinic & that business practice still prevails. Needless to say, this is the end of the road with HCI for me. This experience didn't only tarnish my entire image of them, but it also perpetuates the already existing fears I have around hair loss, which were now even more exacerbated by HCI. They have caused more far-reaching damage than they're aware of, on an emotional, mental and financial level.