1. Appointments, Fees, and Payment Terms for self-funding clients
1.1. The exact duration and price of the appointments are outlined in the booking confirmation email. You agree to pay the full fee set out in the confirmation email.
1.2. Upon registration with London Bridge Therapy, your credit/debit card details will be taken over the phone at the time of the booking. Your card details will be encrypted and stored securely using Stripe, an external, online payment platform. You will be charged for your appointments via Stripe in accordance with the timescales below:
1.2.1. For initial assessments, your credit/debit card will be automatically charged the full assessment fee 3-working days in advance of the appointment.
1.2.2. For on-going appointments, your credit/debit card will be automatically charged the full appointment fee on the same working day of the appointment, or the working day prior to the appointment if this takes place on a weekend or bank holiday.
1.3. By booking an appointment with London Bridge Therapy, you agree that your credit/debit card can be charged automatically for appointments as outlined in the timescales above.
1.4. In the event you have two unpaid invoices, no further appointments shall be offered until full payment is received for outstanding invoices.
1.5. Any additional services requested by the you and/or required due to risk management or safeguarding concern, and any liaison with external agencies and/or letter/report writing, may incur additional costs. These costs are considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature of the need for the additional service, based on the agreed hourly therapy rate.
1.6. Following receipt of a final demand, if any payment remains outstanding the invoice may be referred to a debt collections agent to recover the debt, which may include further collection charges and fees and may affect your credit rating.
2. Appointments, Fees and Payment Terms via private health insurance
2.1. For clients funding ongoing sessions using private health insurance, payment by your insurer is due within 30 calendar days of the invoice date. Your health insurer will be billed directly.
2.2. If your insurer fails to pay the invoice in full for any session within 30 calendars days of an appointment taking place, you will become responsible for settling the outstanding balance within 3-workings days of receiving the invoice.
2.3. You are fully responsible for covering the costs of your treatment, so we recommend that you have a full understanding of the level of cover your insurer will provide and if there are any shortfalls or excesses that you will need to pay directly to London Bridge Therapy. Any payments of this nature will take place in accordance with the section above ‘Appointments, Fees, and Payment Terms for self-funding clients’.
2.4. Your insurer will provide you with an authorisation code to cover a set number of therapy sessions. Should you require further sessions it is your responsibility to contact your insurance company to authorise further sessions.
2.5. You will be responsible for monitoring the number of sessions you have remaining as authorised by your insurance company. In the event you attend appointments beyond your authorised number of sessions, you will be fully liable for self-funding these sessions in the event your insurer does not fund them in accordance with the section ‘’Appointments, Fees, and Payment Terms for self-funding clients”.
2.6. In the event you have two unpaid invoices, no further appointments shall be offered until full payment is received for outstanding invoices.
2.7. Following receipt of a final demand, if any payment remains outstanding the invoice may be referred to a debt collections agent to recover the debt, which may include further collection charges and fees and may affect your credit rating.
3. Cancellation policy
3.1. All amounts paid in respect of the clinician fees are non-refundable and non-transferable unless sessions are cancelled outside the cancellation period, as defined below.
3.1.1. Initial assessments may be amended or cancelled without charge up to 3-calendar days before the scheduled appointment. The assessment shall be fully chargeable if you do not attend or cancel for any reason (this includes unforeseen circumstances, such as sickness and personal, unexpected commitments) within 3-calendar days of your appointment.
3.1.2. All further appointments may be amended or cancelled without charge up to 5-calendar days before the scheduled appointment. The appointment shall be fully chargeable if you do not attend or cancel for any reason (this includes unforeseen circumstances, such as sickness and personal, unexpected commitments) within 5-calendar days of your appointment.
3.1.3. For clients funding ongoing appointments using their private health insurance, the cancellation period above still applies and you will be liable to self-fund the full appointment fee in the event you do not attend your appointment or cancel within 5-calendar days. Please note insurance companies do not cover cancelled or non-attended appointments.
4. Terms of engagement with psychological therapy
4.1. Once you are in ongoing psychological therapy the expectation is that you commit to a weekly appointment at the same time and day that your treating clinician will reserve only for you. To optimise the effectiveness of therapy, it is vital that you see this as a regular commitment that is not changed unless absolutely necessary.
4.2. We appreciate that this might be challenging for some clients owing to work or other commitments that may occur unexpectedly. In these situations, your clinician will endeavour to offer you another appointment, either in person or via video call, where possible. This ensures that the continuity of the therapy work is not disrupted. However, if your clinician is unable to offer an alternative appointment for any reason, you are fully liable for full payment of the cancelled session. Any alternative appointment offered must take place during the same calendar week as the original appointment or the original cancelled appointment will be charged in full.
4.3. Psychological therapy is a process that can at times trigger intense feelings. Whilst clinicians at London Bridge Therapy make every effort to ensure that your experience of therapy is a positive one, there may be occasions when the session could trigger feelings of distress that are important to make sense of with your psychologist either at the time of (or in a subsequent) session. Even in such event where you are dissatisfied with the outcome of a therapy session, the session is still fully chargeable.
5. Data protection in accordance with GDPR laws
5.1. In order to be compliant with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) laws, we are required to ensure that we gain consent from all clients regarding our use of their personal data. We confirm what information we hold about you and how we are permitted to use it below.
5.2. London Bridge Therapy will collect certain data from you to meet mandatory requirements regarding clinical notes and record keeping of psychological therapy. There is a legal requirement to keep client notes for a period of time after treatment. This can vary in length depending on your age and ability to consent, but will be for a minimum of 7 years. Your data will be destroyed after this period. Notes will be stored in accordance with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) guidance.
5.3. London Bridge Therapy also collects data to assist in the administration of our business and to provide you with an effective service. We would like to use your contact details to assist with the administration of your appointments, make changes to scheduled appointments and/or send reminders about appointments. To further enhance our service to you, we would like to be able to update you on any information regarding the clinic.
5.4. London Bridge Therapy takes your privacy seriously and will take all reasonable steps to ensure the protection of your data. Please note that your right for your notes and data to be erased may not override the legal requirements to keep clinical notes for the mandatory periods in certain circumstances. In such circumstances where you make a request to delete your notes, guidance will be sought from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) about this before your data will be deleted.
5.5. You can request a copy of any data held about you. London Bridge Therapy will endeavour to provide your requested data within 28-days of the request, in accordance with ICO recommendations.