The usual scams in Portugal, in this case dental clinics that, after receiving money from unsuspecting victims, provide no treatment at all, or inadequate and unprofessional treatment, and after a few years of swindling hundreds and hundreds of people, close the company, go into corporate and personal bankruptcy, and go on happy vacations with the loot. However, people’s lives are completely devastated, in this case even with their health and oral function extremely impaired due to the extremely inadequate treatment the victims were subjected to.
Because this is Portugal, these disgusting thieves will NEVER be brought to justice or suffer any negative consequences, the victims will NEVER get their money back, on the contrary, they will only lose much more money and decades of their health, paying useless lawyers and the justice system, which in itself is the biggest Portuguese scam.
The following article is a translation (mostly MT). You can find the link to the original website at the end of it.
Victims paid in advance for treatment, in some cases more than 10,000 euros, and were left with an incomplete service. The Leiria unit closed its doors two weeks ago, and the case is going to court.
“I was left without my teeth and my money”
The outburst comes from Susana C., one of the dozens of clients of the Suisse Dental Services (SDS) clinic in Leiria who have been defrauded by this multinational company, which has seven units in Portugal (addendum from the blog author: twelve clinics), most of which are currently closed and their contact details are unavailable.
The clients claim that the treatments they paid for “in advance” were only half completed, and they want their money back, which can amount to more than ten thousand euros per person. The Leiria PSP has already received nine complaints, all of which were submitted this month.
“The victims report that, since the beginning of May, they have not been able to contact the clinic in question, either by telephone or in person”, states the District Police Command, revealing that, according to the elements available, the facts “confirm the criminal typology of fraud”.
In response to JORNAL DE LEIRIA’s request for clarification, the PSP also informs that it has sent the case to the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP) of Leiria for “the possible merging of the different existing complaints and the delegation of the investigation in a concentrated manner”.
Among the victims who went to the police is Margarida Oliveira, who paid 5,600 euros in advance, plus two thousand euros in credit, for an advanced total oral rehabilitation (ROTA). “They took out my teeth and put in four implants, but the final prosthesis never came. They did not follow up on a root canal that was done a year ago. The crown has already fallen off and I have a huge hole“, said the client, who has not been able to get an appointment since the beginning of the year.
After successive appointments and cancellations, Margarida Oliveira went to the clinic in Leiria last week and found the doors closed. There were other people in the same situation, some of whom also filed a complaint with the PSP. “We tried to call, but the contacts were all out of order”, she reveals.
“The only way to connect is through the website and for new customers. In other words, they continue to try to deceive other people,” laments Susana C.,
who went to the clinic to get two implants, for which she paid 1,890 euros. “I don’t know what stage the treatment is at. I know they put the screws in, but they haven’t put the teeth in yet“. she says.
In the case of Hugo Louro, the damage is much greater. He paid 14 thousand euros for two ROTA (upper and lower) and saw the treatment interrupted with “two appointments to go”. However, the temporary prosthesis “broke” and he now has “enormous” difficulties eating. “I just want the work to be done for me.”
In an identical situation is a woman from Pombal, whom JORNAL DE LEIRIA found last week at the SDS clinic in Leiria, and who paid 12 thousand euros. “I had a budget that was twice as much, and since people spoke very highly of this clinic, I decided to do it here. In the end, what was cheap was expensive,” admits the client, who has already looked for another unit to complete the procedure. “The temporary prosthesis that was placed a year and a half ago could break at any moment, and I don’t want to take that risk“, she explains.
Similar testimonies are shared by SDS customers on the complaints portal, where there are almost 300 reports, or on social media. A WhatsApp group, created by victims of Leiria, for example, already has more than 40 members. JORNAL DE LEIRIA tried to contact the clinic, by phone and email, but without success.
Dentists
Order denounces “alleged illegal practice”
The Order of Dentists (OMD) confirms to JORNAL DE LEIRIA that it has received complaints regarding Suisse Dental Services (SDS) that are “currently being analyzed”. The organization also refers to a statement it issued in March following a TVI report on SDS, which reported the presence of unlicensed doctors at the clinic. In that note, the OMD stated that in February 2022, it sent a letter to the General Inspectorate of Health Activities (IGAS) “to inform about the alleged practice of illegal dentistry in clinics of the SDS – Portugal network”. Speaking to TVI, the president revealed that in the last five years, the Order has made “more than ten concrete reports” against the clinic and lamented “a certain inefficiency” of the competent bodies. JORNAL DE LEIRIA also questioned IGAS, but did not receive a timely response. In March, this body informed TVI that, between 2014 and 2022, it had carried out 15 inspections of SDS clinics “in conjunction with the Health Regulatory Entity,” with “a fine of eight thousand euros” being applied.
A country where criminals and the powerful are systematically protected to the detriment of victims and its citizens is the definition of a dictatorship, which is why Portugal should leave the EU.
PORTUGAL ROBBED ME €130.000 EUR AND SIX YEARS OF MY LIFE!
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Unfortunately, I faced same problem with one of the Lisbon’s clinic ‘*****’. What a nightmare it was – ruined teeth, nerves and money. This experience had only added up to my decision to leave Portugal for good. Hideous country and its people.