J
JS
Valued member
The sequence of events regarding my experience with KSL Hair.
On the 28th January 2015, I had a consultation with KSL hair in their Glasgow clinic, this was conducted by Mr Simon Lindsay. The consultation was very brief, it felt more like pay the money and not about getting me the best possible results. Simon assured me that we could achieve a full head of hair, ranging from the front to back, quoting your donor area is very good. I felt the whole experience was about trying to sell me the FUE procedure and he had an answer for everything. He asked what I did for a living, in my opinion, this then reflected the price of the procedure. At the time I asked for a contract, which Simon replied you`ll get that sent to you, this never happened. There was a lot of quoted words like Surgeon and Doctor, this making my mind settle, because where else do you get this kind of talk and for it to go horribly wrong. Doctor and Surgeon to me shows competent people and I should not have to worry on the skill of my procedure. Stupidly I paid £4000 as a deposit and was to await the date for the procedure. Simon explained that if I was to cancel the procedure then I would lose my deposit. This was only after I had paid the deposit, which I found really alarming.
On the way home I received an email confirmation regarding the procedure and payments made. Quoting the following: The Procedure is 100% guaranteed and if we don`t achieve 90% regrowth of the implanted grafts we will do the FUE procedure again to make up this percentage. The agreed price for this procedure is £9,000. We have already received a £4,000 deposit, and the remaining £5,000 will be paid in 36 installments of £138.88.
On the 13th March 2015, my surgery was cancelled and reorganised several times over the next while. I received excuse after excuse from the surgeon has doubled booked himself and to the more sinister, the surgeon has mental health issues and has been detained under the mental health act. This is where the excuse started from KSL regarding lost numbers, missing post, missing and lost emails etc.
Email from Andrew Dingwall:
Hi JerryApologies for the delay in contacting you, I've been off the past two days and Gillian hasn't been able to get a hold of me.I've tried calling you but the number we have on the system is tel:077####### which is one digit short, I've tried adding numbers here and there but never found you haha. I believe you are looking to book a train for Thursday, could I ask that you hold off until the morning when I get back into the office, as I've had word that the surgeon is trying to change the schedule due to double booking himself elsewhere. This is a little embarrassing on our part, as although we have our hands tied when it comes to the surgeon, this doesn't make us look good.
On the 28th March 2015, I received an email from Gillian@ksl. Final confirmation of my surgery, including date and amended price receipt following all the cancelations previously
Hi Jerry, Just (another) confirmation email of payments received and surgery details. Sunday 5th April at 8 am you will arrive at 79 West Regent Street, Glasgow, G2 2AW. Please make sure you have eaten breakfast before arrival. No alcohol or exercise a few days prior to your procedure either. The first stage is the extraction process which I would see lasting 2 to 3 hrs. The Second Stage is the implantation process; this can take anything up 4hrs. The Procedure is 100% guaranteed and if we don`t achieve 90% regrowth of the implanted grafts we will do the FUE procedure again to make up this percentage. The agreed price for this procedure is now £8,000. We have already received a £4,000 deposit, and the remaining reduced £4,000 will be paid in 36 instalments of £111.11. As mentioned on the phone, let us know any costs incurred to yourself for the inconvenience of a reschedule and we shall cover them happily. Unfortunately, the last paragraph was confirmed as incorrect, as Simon refused to pay for my train and millage to Inverness.
On 6th April 2015, the day of the procedure I received my contract, I was horrified to find it the complete opposite of what was explained in the consultation. I was under a lot of pressure to just go through with the procedure as I was unable to take the loss of £4000. I also thought what could go wrong, this, after all, is a clinic in the UK and I will have rights if something were to go wrong.
The surgeon (Dr Francisco Mauricio Berrios Merino) that conducting the procedure came in to see me, he explains that I could not have hair implanted front to back. He had concerns that the newly implanted hair would damage the existing hair. He explained it was impossible and he would not be carrying out the procedure I had originally gone in for. This I thought was crazy, how on earth could I go in for a consultation, for it to be so different on the day. Dr Merino administers the local anesthetic. I asked the doctor several questions, each one I found his answer poor. I had a strong nervous feeling after this, I was not sure the doctor and if he was experienced enough. I was so annoyed that Andrew Dingwall came through to reassure me and stop me from walking out. Andrew assured me that the aftercare will work and they stand by their guarantees. (The aftercare consisted of minoxidil and laser treatment, none of which I was consulted on or in fact what I wanted. Going by the NHS neither of them is guaranteed, despite what Andrew insisted. In my eyes, I went in to get a hair transplant, nothing else as I was paying for hair that would last. Since 2015 I have done a lot of research and I have found Dr Francisco to be none GMC registered and he was also not registered with ISHRS.)
Once Andrew managed to yet again convince me this was the best option, he then handed me some medication. The medication was Valium and very strong as it was, but Andrew gave me more than he should of that day. This I also found to be strange, someone not medically trained handing out medication, and going over the recommended dosage. The procedure itself was so rushed, Andrew on several occasions came through to hurry the procedure along as there was someone waiting, again not giving me great expectations. Halfway through the procedure implanting stage, they swapped who was going to be implanting my hair. The person now to be implanting was a girl I had met earlier working behind a desk and who cut my hair. Lauren Black explained to me that she was a hairdresser and had no qualification with her new line of work, it was train as you go and that was how she had been learning. From this one sitting, I was really starting to get worried about my experience with KSL. Once the procedure was complete I noticed the equipment used was being bathed in a red to brown coloured solution, but the other equipment used earlier was now gone. I followed their aftercare to the letter, but it was pretty obvious from the 6th month mark, my FUE procedure was a flop. I never got a copy of the contract I signed on the day of the procedure, even after expressing the importance of this to Andrew. Once the procedure concluded and I was in the waiting area Simon came to me and explained he was not a conman and he was not going to con me, he promised I would get the results I paid for.
On the day I was attending one of my laser appointments Andrew Dingwall asked me into his office. He went on to explain that KSL were offering early settlement deals to customers. The deal was still under the original contract, but was just a great way to save some money. His email is a follows:
Hi JerryPlease find this email as confirmation that you have taken advantage of our early settlement offer for existing clients, in which we thank you for your payment of £1,500.00.
As discussed, this offer was not put in place to cut ties with yourself, but simply to thank you for your business until now. Everything previously agreed at initial consultation and payment with regards to aftercare and results will remain the same. You will continue with the aftercare program, and we will also continue to monitor your hair through periodic reviews, we also 100% stand by our guarantee of your results.
This at the time seemed a good deal and I took up Andrew on his offer. From my time dealing with KSL I have gained a lot of experience in the way they conduct business. I can see now that there was more than one motive for Andrew Dingwall to suggest this. One being my results then were obviously going to be poor and I would be seeking advice on that. Also, I was paying up a direct debit into a KSL bank account, not done through a finance company, meaning I could have cancelled it relatively easily.
I had various telephone complaints to Andrew and Francis as it seemed Simon would continually ignore any complaint directly. There is not even any acknowledgment from KSL, bringing some clarity that my complaint will be dealt with effectively. By ignoring or dismissing my complaints, they are effectively telling me that they don`t value my opinion. I found this strange and contradicting to the email receipts I received from KSL, giving guaranteed results on the procedure.
Finally, I had my complaints heard and KSL offered to do the FUE procedure again free of charge. I received an email confirmation regarding the second procedure:
Please find this email as confirmation of your booked FUE procedure on the 18th of August 2016. On the day you will arrive at 79 West Regent Street, Glasgow, G2 2AW (next door to consultation office) at 7 am, please ensure you have breakfast on the day, as you will be given medication when you arrive, it is important to have something in your stomach. Please do not consume any coffee or spicy foods the day prior to the procedure, or on the morning of the procedure, and no alcohol for 3 days before, and 6 days after, all of which will be explained in your aftercare. A little about how the format of the day when you arrive in the morning we shall go through some standard consent forms and explain to you the medication you must take, just some anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. You will then consult with the doctor and a KSL representative about the areas of the scalp we will be working with, highlighting with a marker the new agreed hairline etc, so you can see exactly what will be done throughout the day. Once that is done, you are happy, and the medication is taken, can we then proceed. The first part of the procedure is the extraction phase, this is where we take all the hairs from the donor area that we will require to give the coverage you need, this can take up to 3 hours. The second phase is a little more exciting, the implantation. Every hair extracted in the first phase will then be implanted into the recipient area, again this can take around 3 hours, but times may vary of course. You will return to the clinic 48 hours post procedure for your first head wash, where we will carry out the first wash to show you exactly how to care for your new hairs in the first 3 weeks.
As mentioned, we will carry out periodic checks and document with photos along the way, every 6 months, to ensure progression is being made and you are happy with the way things are going. I have attached a pre-medical questionnaire to this email, it is a lengthy document, but only a couple of pages need to be filled out, the rest contains further information for yourself.
Any other questions please do not hesitate to contact me or Andrew in the office or via email.We look forward to seeing you on the day Jerry. I understand you will already know all this format but as requested this is to give you confirmation of your date.Kind RegardsIain Russell.
On the 18th August 2016, day of the procedure I was again greeted with a contract, (this one I kept) and the same feeling of rushing through the procedure. I met the doctor conducting the procedure Dr Juan Ruiz Alconero (again not GMC registered) and he administers the local anesthetic. Dr Alconero recommended I take Finasteride as this was the only wat to achieve my results with KSL. (On the way into the operation room I noticed tools layout on a movable bench. The same tools I noticed to be submersed in a red and brown solution once the doctor had completed his work on me). The procedure was quick and I felt again it was really rushed. Andrew Dingwall came in and asking for the procedure to speed up several times. There was a couple of times I felt the procedure wasn`t right and I expressed my concerns to Dr Alconero, who just gave me more anesthetic. I feel he was in such a rush he could not have done the procedure with the skill and care it needed, proving so with a medical condition I have now suffered as a result. The implant stage was done again by Lauren Black, she complained at the time that she was doing very long hours. She added that her eyes were sore and she was finding it hard to concentrate at times. This was obviously worrying, again I was in KSL feeling that this FUE was a flop before I was even done the surgery. At the end of the procedure, I had a feeling that the amount of hair removed, did not match the number of hair implanted. They told me they extracted as much hair as they possibly could, but I have very little hair in the implanted area to this day. I have pictures of the procedure and you can see how far apart the implanted hair is to each other. My feeling is they have done something because the two things do not match. Either they have not implanted the amount they took out, they did not extract the maximum amount, or the skill implanting the hair was not done with the care needed to have a successful transplant. I booked an appointment with my doctor to discuss Finasteride. What I found out from our discussion was horrible and I felt that KSL had conned me. I was seeking an FUE procedure that gave me a full head of hair, this is what I discussed with Simon and in return, I booked the procedure. I did not wish to get hair that may last for a year or two, take medication that may or may not work and I was very clear it was only hair I wanted. The second procedure left me financial out of pocket, I had to turn down a 14 day trip with my work at £350 P/D, a hotel in Glasgow for 3 nights, train to Glasgow, my travel to Inverness and home again. All of the above I asked several times to get reimbursed, this was ignored more times than I could take. Finally, I had a telephone call from Simon, he explained that he would not be reimbursing these costs as it was my responsibility to get to Glasgow etc.
After about 3 months it was very clear that my FUE procedure was another flop, the implanted hair was nowhere near enough and my hair today looks ridiculous. I constantly wear a hat to cover up the horrible mess and feel embarrassed to have my head out on show.
In August 2017 a year after my second failed FUE procedure with KSL Hair, I took to getting advice with legal action against the company. This was something I thought to be straight forward but has been proven to be a little difficult. I researched online who the regulating body was in Scotland and found it to be Healthcare improvement Scotland. On this new information I decided to give them a call, I reported KSL to them to receive confirmation that they would conduct an investigation. Having time I googled KSL reviews and forums, within a couple of minutes I had found a lot of bad reviews. Being concerned I uploaded contact details online, giving instruction on how to contact Healthcare Improvement Scotland with a complaint etc.
During this time having sent countless complaints to KSL, they eventually answered and offered to do a 3rd FUE procedure.
On the 30th of September 2017, I had a meeting to discuss my options with KSL, this meeting was with myself, my partner, Andrew Dingwall and Iain Russell. At the time of the meeting to discuss this, I thought it might have been an option to go through another FUE with them, as a refund was not an option. Andrew Dingwall proving to be quite the salesman again managed to convince me it was the best thing to do. I asked Andrew Dingwall several times to give me a detailed email explaining the 3rd procedure and what was involved.
Good afternoon Jerry It was a pleasure seeing you and your partner today. As discussed, in conjunction with our guarantee, KSL plan to carry out a further procedure to increase density across the scalp from front to back.
We plan to extract the maximum number of grafts possible to create this density to give the desired results, in excess of 2500 grafts will be our plan. We will bring up Dr Matee Ullah who is our director of surgery for KSL hair, who will also bring his team to give you the utmost care and attention on the day. This will be a large sized procedure and I recommend 10-14 days recovery for this.
The above email was pretty vague so I asked Andrew Dingwall several times to give me more detail. He ignored my emails and telephone calls, only to reply when I copied Healthcare Improvement Scotland into yet another complaint, (Andrew Dingwall since 2015 has continually fed me information I take to be bogus, this is not the day and age where emails go missing along with all other means of contact with KSL.) he replied two weeks after with:
Hi Jerry Thanks for taking my call, it is, and always has been a pleasure speaking to you on the phone, I just hope work gets warmer
As mentioned, having now been copied into today`s email, I can see the quoted email to myself which I hadn`t previously received, and I am more than happy to answer the questions you have asked, as this merely reiterates the discussion we had in the office with Iain and your partner in presence, you were more than happy with what was discussed then, so please find below the answers in writing, with the goal to move forward together. KSL hair have never in the past, and will not in the future shut the door on yourself or any other client for that matter and continue to stand by our promise to you. We would love to carry out the further procedure as soon as possible, within the week if we could, but understand the timescales for this are now dictated by yourself and work schedules etc, therefore if it were to run into the new year, you will still be treated the same, and this email is your guarantee of this statement. As per discussions on the 30th September in the office, and requested in writing, please find bullet pointed answers to your concerns;
1. You will be looked after solely by Dr Matee Ullah and dedicated members of his surgical team, which will not leave you from start to finish. Contrary to the other statement in your first point, ALL hairs extracted from the donor site are implanted in the recipient site.
2. Dr Matee Ullah has a duty of care to treat your donor site with care and attention, and I believe we can achieve 2500 grafts from the site, and aim for more if deemed suitable to do so.
3. All expenses from travel to accommodation will be covered by KSL hair, whether this is public transport, or if you feel more comfortable travelling by car, fuel costs.Again Jerry, apologies on my part for the delayed response, but I simply haven`t received an email from yourself.
Looking forward to moving on to the next step with you Jerry.
By this time I was getting exhausted with the KSL experience and decided against the 3rd FUE procedure. They were not giving me any confidence that the company had changed and that the customer came first. My feeling from the first alarm bell was that KSL did not have my interests first and they were more about the money. In October 2017, I received an email from a concerned KSL client. He explained that on companies house, KSL ha put themself into liquidation. Take that what you will but to me that is a typical cowardly way-out.
In 2018, Simon got in contact with me and was promising to resolve this matter with a full refund and pay any costs incurred by KSL. We had various emails back and forth, most of which were done outside of business hours. I feel he was using me at my financial expense, adding a removing this promised refund like it was some sort of game. This has caused a lot of emotional stress to myself and my family, it is horrible to think that a director of a company (that has done wrong and admitted this) could act in this unprofessional way. Some of the emails were as follows:
On the 29th January 2018 at 19:53, Simon Lindsay emailed:
Hi Jerry I hope you are well today? I don`t know about you but I`m really getting fed up with all of this now. It`s not only affecting my companies performance but it`s now affecting me personally. KSL is a family company and this has gone past the business taking flack but it`s now affecting my staff's personal lives. I also have a duty of care to them as much as I have to you as my client. So I would ask you to please consider the following. I`ll offer you a full refund of your procedure cost, plus any additional costs you`ve incurred if you agree to certain terms which I can have sent to you first thing tomorrow. There are no tricks behind this, it`s a genuine offer to stop the sparring contest so we can all move on with our lives. I`ll have your refund transferred to you within 24hrs when the signed agreement is returned to myself.
Please be aware that this same offer will be made to other individuals who I`m aware of had a grievance with KSL Hair Ltd.
My Co-Director Mr Lloyd Hume is CCD as a witness on my behalf. I hope you make the right decision and then we can all move on with our lives again I look forward to your response. On 02 Feb 2018 at 14.29, Simon Lindsay emailed: Hi Jerry, My apologies on the delay today. It`s been very busy. Transfer sorted and will land in your account within the next 24hrs (business hrs) On the 04 Feb 2018 at 08:37, Simon Lindsay emailed: Our deal is hanging on by a thread here but I`ll need to speak with both HIS and my lawyer tomorrow to see how this progresses. You were told and which was acceptable that your payment was processed and would be in your account by Monday. So how am I a liar etc as it`s still only Sunday?
Followed by on 04 Feb 2018 at 05:03, Simon Lindsay emailed: Simple way to resolve this Is Prove it`s not you Jerry. If you not willing to then it`s a clear admission of guilt. I`ll leave it up to you.
To date I am all communication has stopped, none of my emails have been acknowledged, my telephone calls do not get returned and the messages I have left have not been returned. The useless solicitors I instructed to represent me in this case, I no longer use. B&M in Edinburgh left me with a £2400 invoice to settle, they were a total waste of time. The two procedures from KSL were a traumatic and horrible experience. They have damaged my body beyond repair and decimated my donor area. KSL have now made it almost, if not impossible for me to ever achieve the results I originally asked for and paid for in the consultation. Not only have KSL affected my self-esteem but I have some serious nerve damage - occipital neuralgia. This was confirmed by a doctor and I am now taking medication to combat the pain I am suffering. I have to go through this process again, if I ever want to have a life without wearing a hat and to correct the terrible work KSL conducted. Simon or any of the other KSL staff have shown not a single bit of remorse. This has left me financially broken, emotionally broken and with life changing detriment. I can honestly say KSL was the worst mistake I have ever made and I hope to all of us affected, we finally get our justice.
Jerry Smith.
On the 28th January 2015, I had a consultation with KSL hair in their Glasgow clinic, this was conducted by Mr Simon Lindsay. The consultation was very brief, it felt more like pay the money and not about getting me the best possible results. Simon assured me that we could achieve a full head of hair, ranging from the front to back, quoting your donor area is very good. I felt the whole experience was about trying to sell me the FUE procedure and he had an answer for everything. He asked what I did for a living, in my opinion, this then reflected the price of the procedure. At the time I asked for a contract, which Simon replied you`ll get that sent to you, this never happened. There was a lot of quoted words like Surgeon and Doctor, this making my mind settle, because where else do you get this kind of talk and for it to go horribly wrong. Doctor and Surgeon to me shows competent people and I should not have to worry on the skill of my procedure. Stupidly I paid £4000 as a deposit and was to await the date for the procedure. Simon explained that if I was to cancel the procedure then I would lose my deposit. This was only after I had paid the deposit, which I found really alarming.
On the way home I received an email confirmation regarding the procedure and payments made. Quoting the following: The Procedure is 100% guaranteed and if we don`t achieve 90% regrowth of the implanted grafts we will do the FUE procedure again to make up this percentage. The agreed price for this procedure is £9,000. We have already received a £4,000 deposit, and the remaining £5,000 will be paid in 36 installments of £138.88.
On the 13th March 2015, my surgery was cancelled and reorganised several times over the next while. I received excuse after excuse from the surgeon has doubled booked himself and to the more sinister, the surgeon has mental health issues and has been detained under the mental health act. This is where the excuse started from KSL regarding lost numbers, missing post, missing and lost emails etc.
Email from Andrew Dingwall:
Hi JerryApologies for the delay in contacting you, I've been off the past two days and Gillian hasn't been able to get a hold of me.I've tried calling you but the number we have on the system is tel:077####### which is one digit short, I've tried adding numbers here and there but never found you haha. I believe you are looking to book a train for Thursday, could I ask that you hold off until the morning when I get back into the office, as I've had word that the surgeon is trying to change the schedule due to double booking himself elsewhere. This is a little embarrassing on our part, as although we have our hands tied when it comes to the surgeon, this doesn't make us look good.
On the 28th March 2015, I received an email from Gillian@ksl. Final confirmation of my surgery, including date and amended price receipt following all the cancelations previously
Hi Jerry, Just (another) confirmation email of payments received and surgery details. Sunday 5th April at 8 am you will arrive at 79 West Regent Street, Glasgow, G2 2AW. Please make sure you have eaten breakfast before arrival. No alcohol or exercise a few days prior to your procedure either. The first stage is the extraction process which I would see lasting 2 to 3 hrs. The Second Stage is the implantation process; this can take anything up 4hrs. The Procedure is 100% guaranteed and if we don`t achieve 90% regrowth of the implanted grafts we will do the FUE procedure again to make up this percentage. The agreed price for this procedure is now £8,000. We have already received a £4,000 deposit, and the remaining reduced £4,000 will be paid in 36 instalments of £111.11. As mentioned on the phone, let us know any costs incurred to yourself for the inconvenience of a reschedule and we shall cover them happily. Unfortunately, the last paragraph was confirmed as incorrect, as Simon refused to pay for my train and millage to Inverness.
On 6th April 2015, the day of the procedure I received my contract, I was horrified to find it the complete opposite of what was explained in the consultation. I was under a lot of pressure to just go through with the procedure as I was unable to take the loss of £4000. I also thought what could go wrong, this, after all, is a clinic in the UK and I will have rights if something were to go wrong.
The surgeon (Dr Francisco Mauricio Berrios Merino) that conducting the procedure came in to see me, he explains that I could not have hair implanted front to back. He had concerns that the newly implanted hair would damage the existing hair. He explained it was impossible and he would not be carrying out the procedure I had originally gone in for. This I thought was crazy, how on earth could I go in for a consultation, for it to be so different on the day. Dr Merino administers the local anesthetic. I asked the doctor several questions, each one I found his answer poor. I had a strong nervous feeling after this, I was not sure the doctor and if he was experienced enough. I was so annoyed that Andrew Dingwall came through to reassure me and stop me from walking out. Andrew assured me that the aftercare will work and they stand by their guarantees. (The aftercare consisted of minoxidil and laser treatment, none of which I was consulted on or in fact what I wanted. Going by the NHS neither of them is guaranteed, despite what Andrew insisted. In my eyes, I went in to get a hair transplant, nothing else as I was paying for hair that would last. Since 2015 I have done a lot of research and I have found Dr Francisco to be none GMC registered and he was also not registered with ISHRS.)
Once Andrew managed to yet again convince me this was the best option, he then handed me some medication. The medication was Valium and very strong as it was, but Andrew gave me more than he should of that day. This I also found to be strange, someone not medically trained handing out medication, and going over the recommended dosage. The procedure itself was so rushed, Andrew on several occasions came through to hurry the procedure along as there was someone waiting, again not giving me great expectations. Halfway through the procedure implanting stage, they swapped who was going to be implanting my hair. The person now to be implanting was a girl I had met earlier working behind a desk and who cut my hair. Lauren Black explained to me that she was a hairdresser and had no qualification with her new line of work, it was train as you go and that was how she had been learning. From this one sitting, I was really starting to get worried about my experience with KSL. Once the procedure was complete I noticed the equipment used was being bathed in a red to brown coloured solution, but the other equipment used earlier was now gone. I followed their aftercare to the letter, but it was pretty obvious from the 6th month mark, my FUE procedure was a flop. I never got a copy of the contract I signed on the day of the procedure, even after expressing the importance of this to Andrew. Once the procedure concluded and I was in the waiting area Simon came to me and explained he was not a conman and he was not going to con me, he promised I would get the results I paid for.
On the day I was attending one of my laser appointments Andrew Dingwall asked me into his office. He went on to explain that KSL were offering early settlement deals to customers. The deal was still under the original contract, but was just a great way to save some money. His email is a follows:
Hi JerryPlease find this email as confirmation that you have taken advantage of our early settlement offer for existing clients, in which we thank you for your payment of £1,500.00.
As discussed, this offer was not put in place to cut ties with yourself, but simply to thank you for your business until now. Everything previously agreed at initial consultation and payment with regards to aftercare and results will remain the same. You will continue with the aftercare program, and we will also continue to monitor your hair through periodic reviews, we also 100% stand by our guarantee of your results.
This at the time seemed a good deal and I took up Andrew on his offer. From my time dealing with KSL I have gained a lot of experience in the way they conduct business. I can see now that there was more than one motive for Andrew Dingwall to suggest this. One being my results then were obviously going to be poor and I would be seeking advice on that. Also, I was paying up a direct debit into a KSL bank account, not done through a finance company, meaning I could have cancelled it relatively easily.
I had various telephone complaints to Andrew and Francis as it seemed Simon would continually ignore any complaint directly. There is not even any acknowledgment from KSL, bringing some clarity that my complaint will be dealt with effectively. By ignoring or dismissing my complaints, they are effectively telling me that they don`t value my opinion. I found this strange and contradicting to the email receipts I received from KSL, giving guaranteed results on the procedure.
Finally, I had my complaints heard and KSL offered to do the FUE procedure again free of charge. I received an email confirmation regarding the second procedure:
Please find this email as confirmation of your booked FUE procedure on the 18th of August 2016. On the day you will arrive at 79 West Regent Street, Glasgow, G2 2AW (next door to consultation office) at 7 am, please ensure you have breakfast on the day, as you will be given medication when you arrive, it is important to have something in your stomach. Please do not consume any coffee or spicy foods the day prior to the procedure, or on the morning of the procedure, and no alcohol for 3 days before, and 6 days after, all of which will be explained in your aftercare. A little about how the format of the day when you arrive in the morning we shall go through some standard consent forms and explain to you the medication you must take, just some anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. You will then consult with the doctor and a KSL representative about the areas of the scalp we will be working with, highlighting with a marker the new agreed hairline etc, so you can see exactly what will be done throughout the day. Once that is done, you are happy, and the medication is taken, can we then proceed. The first part of the procedure is the extraction phase, this is where we take all the hairs from the donor area that we will require to give the coverage you need, this can take up to 3 hours. The second phase is a little more exciting, the implantation. Every hair extracted in the first phase will then be implanted into the recipient area, again this can take around 3 hours, but times may vary of course. You will return to the clinic 48 hours post procedure for your first head wash, where we will carry out the first wash to show you exactly how to care for your new hairs in the first 3 weeks.
As mentioned, we will carry out periodic checks and document with photos along the way, every 6 months, to ensure progression is being made and you are happy with the way things are going. I have attached a pre-medical questionnaire to this email, it is a lengthy document, but only a couple of pages need to be filled out, the rest contains further information for yourself.
Any other questions please do not hesitate to contact me or Andrew in the office or via email.We look forward to seeing you on the day Jerry. I understand you will already know all this format but as requested this is to give you confirmation of your date.Kind RegardsIain Russell.
On the 18th August 2016, day of the procedure I was again greeted with a contract, (this one I kept) and the same feeling of rushing through the procedure. I met the doctor conducting the procedure Dr Juan Ruiz Alconero (again not GMC registered) and he administers the local anesthetic. Dr Alconero recommended I take Finasteride as this was the only wat to achieve my results with KSL. (On the way into the operation room I noticed tools layout on a movable bench. The same tools I noticed to be submersed in a red and brown solution once the doctor had completed his work on me). The procedure was quick and I felt again it was really rushed. Andrew Dingwall came in and asking for the procedure to speed up several times. There was a couple of times I felt the procedure wasn`t right and I expressed my concerns to Dr Alconero, who just gave me more anesthetic. I feel he was in such a rush he could not have done the procedure with the skill and care it needed, proving so with a medical condition I have now suffered as a result. The implant stage was done again by Lauren Black, she complained at the time that she was doing very long hours. She added that her eyes were sore and she was finding it hard to concentrate at times. This was obviously worrying, again I was in KSL feeling that this FUE was a flop before I was even done the surgery. At the end of the procedure, I had a feeling that the amount of hair removed, did not match the number of hair implanted. They told me they extracted as much hair as they possibly could, but I have very little hair in the implanted area to this day. I have pictures of the procedure and you can see how far apart the implanted hair is to each other. My feeling is they have done something because the two things do not match. Either they have not implanted the amount they took out, they did not extract the maximum amount, or the skill implanting the hair was not done with the care needed to have a successful transplant. I booked an appointment with my doctor to discuss Finasteride. What I found out from our discussion was horrible and I felt that KSL had conned me. I was seeking an FUE procedure that gave me a full head of hair, this is what I discussed with Simon and in return, I booked the procedure. I did not wish to get hair that may last for a year or two, take medication that may or may not work and I was very clear it was only hair I wanted. The second procedure left me financial out of pocket, I had to turn down a 14 day trip with my work at £350 P/D, a hotel in Glasgow for 3 nights, train to Glasgow, my travel to Inverness and home again. All of the above I asked several times to get reimbursed, this was ignored more times than I could take. Finally, I had a telephone call from Simon, he explained that he would not be reimbursing these costs as it was my responsibility to get to Glasgow etc.
After about 3 months it was very clear that my FUE procedure was another flop, the implanted hair was nowhere near enough and my hair today looks ridiculous. I constantly wear a hat to cover up the horrible mess and feel embarrassed to have my head out on show.
In August 2017 a year after my second failed FUE procedure with KSL Hair, I took to getting advice with legal action against the company. This was something I thought to be straight forward but has been proven to be a little difficult. I researched online who the regulating body was in Scotland and found it to be Healthcare improvement Scotland. On this new information I decided to give them a call, I reported KSL to them to receive confirmation that they would conduct an investigation. Having time I googled KSL reviews and forums, within a couple of minutes I had found a lot of bad reviews. Being concerned I uploaded contact details online, giving instruction on how to contact Healthcare Improvement Scotland with a complaint etc.
During this time having sent countless complaints to KSL, they eventually answered and offered to do a 3rd FUE procedure.
On the 30th of September 2017, I had a meeting to discuss my options with KSL, this meeting was with myself, my partner, Andrew Dingwall and Iain Russell. At the time of the meeting to discuss this, I thought it might have been an option to go through another FUE with them, as a refund was not an option. Andrew Dingwall proving to be quite the salesman again managed to convince me it was the best thing to do. I asked Andrew Dingwall several times to give me a detailed email explaining the 3rd procedure and what was involved.
Good afternoon Jerry It was a pleasure seeing you and your partner today. As discussed, in conjunction with our guarantee, KSL plan to carry out a further procedure to increase density across the scalp from front to back.
We plan to extract the maximum number of grafts possible to create this density to give the desired results, in excess of 2500 grafts will be our plan. We will bring up Dr Matee Ullah who is our director of surgery for KSL hair, who will also bring his team to give you the utmost care and attention on the day. This will be a large sized procedure and I recommend 10-14 days recovery for this.
The above email was pretty vague so I asked Andrew Dingwall several times to give me more detail. He ignored my emails and telephone calls, only to reply when I copied Healthcare Improvement Scotland into yet another complaint, (Andrew Dingwall since 2015 has continually fed me information I take to be bogus, this is not the day and age where emails go missing along with all other means of contact with KSL.) he replied two weeks after with:
Hi Jerry Thanks for taking my call, it is, and always has been a pleasure speaking to you on the phone, I just hope work gets warmer
As mentioned, having now been copied into today`s email, I can see the quoted email to myself which I hadn`t previously received, and I am more than happy to answer the questions you have asked, as this merely reiterates the discussion we had in the office with Iain and your partner in presence, you were more than happy with what was discussed then, so please find below the answers in writing, with the goal to move forward together. KSL hair have never in the past, and will not in the future shut the door on yourself or any other client for that matter and continue to stand by our promise to you. We would love to carry out the further procedure as soon as possible, within the week if we could, but understand the timescales for this are now dictated by yourself and work schedules etc, therefore if it were to run into the new year, you will still be treated the same, and this email is your guarantee of this statement. As per discussions on the 30th September in the office, and requested in writing, please find bullet pointed answers to your concerns;
1. You will be looked after solely by Dr Matee Ullah and dedicated members of his surgical team, which will not leave you from start to finish. Contrary to the other statement in your first point, ALL hairs extracted from the donor site are implanted in the recipient site.
2. Dr Matee Ullah has a duty of care to treat your donor site with care and attention, and I believe we can achieve 2500 grafts from the site, and aim for more if deemed suitable to do so.
3. All expenses from travel to accommodation will be covered by KSL hair, whether this is public transport, or if you feel more comfortable travelling by car, fuel costs.Again Jerry, apologies on my part for the delayed response, but I simply haven`t received an email from yourself.
Looking forward to moving on to the next step with you Jerry.
By this time I was getting exhausted with the KSL experience and decided against the 3rd FUE procedure. They were not giving me any confidence that the company had changed and that the customer came first. My feeling from the first alarm bell was that KSL did not have my interests first and they were more about the money. In October 2017, I received an email from a concerned KSL client. He explained that on companies house, KSL ha put themself into liquidation. Take that what you will but to me that is a typical cowardly way-out.
In 2018, Simon got in contact with me and was promising to resolve this matter with a full refund and pay any costs incurred by KSL. We had various emails back and forth, most of which were done outside of business hours. I feel he was using me at my financial expense, adding a removing this promised refund like it was some sort of game. This has caused a lot of emotional stress to myself and my family, it is horrible to think that a director of a company (that has done wrong and admitted this) could act in this unprofessional way. Some of the emails were as follows:
On the 29th January 2018 at 19:53, Simon Lindsay emailed:
Hi Jerry I hope you are well today? I don`t know about you but I`m really getting fed up with all of this now. It`s not only affecting my companies performance but it`s now affecting me personally. KSL is a family company and this has gone past the business taking flack but it`s now affecting my staff's personal lives. I also have a duty of care to them as much as I have to you as my client. So I would ask you to please consider the following. I`ll offer you a full refund of your procedure cost, plus any additional costs you`ve incurred if you agree to certain terms which I can have sent to you first thing tomorrow. There are no tricks behind this, it`s a genuine offer to stop the sparring contest so we can all move on with our lives. I`ll have your refund transferred to you within 24hrs when the signed agreement is returned to myself.
Please be aware that this same offer will be made to other individuals who I`m aware of had a grievance with KSL Hair Ltd.
My Co-Director Mr Lloyd Hume is CCD as a witness on my behalf. I hope you make the right decision and then we can all move on with our lives again I look forward to your response. On 02 Feb 2018 at 14.29, Simon Lindsay emailed: Hi Jerry, My apologies on the delay today. It`s been very busy. Transfer sorted and will land in your account within the next 24hrs (business hrs) On the 04 Feb 2018 at 08:37, Simon Lindsay emailed: Our deal is hanging on by a thread here but I`ll need to speak with both HIS and my lawyer tomorrow to see how this progresses. You were told and which was acceptable that your payment was processed and would be in your account by Monday. So how am I a liar etc as it`s still only Sunday?
Followed by on 04 Feb 2018 at 05:03, Simon Lindsay emailed: Simple way to resolve this Is Prove it`s not you Jerry. If you not willing to then it`s a clear admission of guilt. I`ll leave it up to you.
To date I am all communication has stopped, none of my emails have been acknowledged, my telephone calls do not get returned and the messages I have left have not been returned. The useless solicitors I instructed to represent me in this case, I no longer use. B&M in Edinburgh left me with a £2400 invoice to settle, they were a total waste of time. The two procedures from KSL were a traumatic and horrible experience. They have damaged my body beyond repair and decimated my donor area. KSL have now made it almost, if not impossible for me to ever achieve the results I originally asked for and paid for in the consultation. Not only have KSL affected my self-esteem but I have some serious nerve damage - occipital neuralgia. This was confirmed by a doctor and I am now taking medication to combat the pain I am suffering. I have to go through this process again, if I ever want to have a life without wearing a hat and to correct the terrible work KSL conducted. Simon or any of the other KSL staff have shown not a single bit of remorse. This has left me financially broken, emotionally broken and with life changing detriment. I can honestly say KSL was the worst mistake I have ever made and I hope to all of us affected, we finally get our justice.
Jerry Smith.
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