Yahoo News County Durham woman warns of fake dentist scam conning families out of hundreds of pounds
Dentists and patients have warned scammers are exploiting individuals desperate to secure NHS dental treatment.
According to the British Dental Association (BDA), predators are luring victims with counterfeit websites that claim to secure NHS dental appointments via a pre-payment system.
Professionals have identified cases across England, with scams costing victims as much as £319.10 for treatments.
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Jacqui Nicholson, 62, from County Durham, was duped by the scam after she endured a two-year wait to get an NHS dentist slot. She discovered the fraudulent website through a trusted connection on social media and proceeded to pay £53 for appointments for both herself and her husband.
Mrs Nicholson said the site looked legitimate, featuring an NHS logo, pre-payment options, and providing detailed email confirmations.
She warned: "It looked so real. I even Google Mapped it. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s fake. Don’t fall for it."
As fraudulent activities surge, BDA chairman Eddie Crouch has called for prompt action from the Government. In anticipation of July's general election, Labour made a pledge in its manifesto to ensure 700,000 new urgent and emergency dental appointments.
Addressing the current predicament, Mr Crouch stated: "Criminals are now preying on desperate patients left with no options," adding, "We need real urgency and ambition from Labour on NHS dentistry. Fraudsters will keep seeing real opportunities as long as the new Government’s promises remain unkept."
The British Dental Association (BDA) has reached out to Chancellor Rachel Reeves following the recent Budget announcement, expressing concerns over the impending rise in employers' national insurance contributions from April. The BDA claimed this increase will "significantly add to the financial pressures" faced by dental practices, which are predominantly small businesses.
In its correspondence, the BDA stated: "Practices are running on empty, struggling to recruit or retain staff."
It also emphasised the need for "real reform" alongside "fair and sustainable funding."
Health Secretary Wes Streeting acknowledged the BDA's efforts on Good Morning Britain, saying: "I want to thank the British Dental Association for raising awareness of these kinds of scams, and we’ll be looking at what more we can do within the law to clamp down on that."
He added: "They’ve done the public a real service this morning in giving some practical advice and help to avoid other people being taken in."
Streeting agreed with Eddie Crouch, the BDA chair, on the urgency of addressing issues in NHS dentistry: "Eddie Crouch is also right that we need to stop the rot in NHS dentistry which has been allowed to continue for far too long."
He added: "Now the Chancellor has set the budget and the spending review totals for the next few years, we can negotiate the dentistry contract to deliver on our manifesto commitment of 700,000 more urgent dentistry appointments, but also to do the wider fundamental reform that NHS dentistry needs. So we will continue those negotiations and report back."
