I am not a fan of the Animas billing department

Community Share Your Stories
1

I shouldn't even have to write this letter. Ridiculous. I'm beyond mad.

To whom it may concern,

I will not be paying this bill in the amount of $700 as I feel I have no responsibility towards the amount indicated.

On August 25, 2010 I was approved, at the last minute, as a part of the Animas Access program. I paid $200 for a refurbished Animas Ping insulin pump and was told that my old pump (a Minimed Paradigm 722) would earn me a $700 credit and I would not face further charges.

There was a delay in working with my insurance company and getting a pump to me, as they were backordered, but I finally received my pump on October 15, 2010. On November 11, 2010 I met with a pump trainer and officially began using my Animas Ping pump. Several days after that I mailed my old pump to Animas, using the packaging and UPS label that was provided to me by the company.

I have since been billed 3 times in the amount of $700. All three times I called the billing department and left messages, as all the times it was after hours. I gave my name, phone number, and invoice number. I explained the problem and asked for a return call. I have never received a return call from anyone at Animas about the above mentioned billing issue, so each time I assumed that the issue was resolved. Yet, a few weeks later I would receive another bill and begin the cycle again.

I would greatly appreciate the following:

1) a return phone call from someone in the billing department to confirm the understanding of this issue and to explain to me why this is even an issue

2) for Animas to absolve me of all ‘payment due’, as I don’t owe a penny. If the returned Minimed pump was lost in the mail/never received, I recommend you take that up with UPS.

If you continue to insist that I owe $700, I’d like to return my Animas Ping pump and I want my Minimed Paradigm 722 returned to me immediately.

This is beyond ridiculous and un-professional, and my hope is that this will be resolved upon receipt of this letter.

Thank you.

Kari K____

2

I think you should send the letter. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Animas. Perhaps your insurance company may have had issues with getting the payment…You should also call your insurance company about this as well.

3

I will be sending it first thing tomorrow. It’s not an issue with the insurance. The insurance wasn’t supposed to pay anything either. The Animas Access program allows people to get a refurbished Ping for payment (from the customer, NOT insurance, because it’s not for a full 4 year warranty product, it’s for a 2 year warranty on a previously owned pump). Either the customer pays $900 total OR pays $200 and sends Animas their old pump. I was approved, verbally, by Animas for the full $700 credit for my pump (I had to show them proof of purchase from Minimed, give them the S/N on the back, etc for them to determine the credit I’d get). So that’s where my confusion comes in - I sent them my pump almost 2 months ago, yet they also want another $700 from me.

4

send it. absolutely send it. you are you best health care advocate, and you go, girl!

5

I've been an Animas user for the past three years, and I'm not surprised at all to hear that they haven't registered your returned pump yet, but I am surprised that they haven't responded to your phone calls. In my experience, the package tracking and return receipt process usually takes about two weeks to register at Animas, meaning at least one or two pre-recorded "reminder" calls to send my old pump back to them. But when I call customer support, they can always find it immediately and are incredibly nice and apologetic for the overzealous calls/delayed system. Due to a recent issue with my insurance, I had to speak with the billing department and even they were wonderful and responsive.

I've only called after hours with tech support issues, so I suppose my recommendation is to call during business hours when you can be sure to talk to someone. They have access to the tracking number on the prepaid UPS label for your pump, so they should be able to track it through UPS and inside their company. Again, it's on the inside that the system has always slowed down for me.

Can you check the UPS tracking number to make sure that the package was actually delivered? One thing that may have slowed down the works is if you dropped the package in a UPS air box because the label only buys you ground service. This may have caused some delay on the shipping side, so checking with UPS could clear that up as well.

Good luck! I hope you're enjoying the ping, he's my favorite.

6

Thanks Lizzie! I would have to call them to find the tracking number - I don’t even have it anymore. I shipped it to them about 6-7 weeks ago…

7

Did it ever get sorted out? I’m curious to know if they fixed it yet.