Healthgrades Reviews

I rated a very poor dentist on HealthGrades.com and because I gave a very poor rating, this survey was not recorded or recognized by HealthGrades.com. When I rated an excellent dentist on HealthGrades.com, my survey was recorded and recognized on their website and also confirmed in an email to me. This website is not properly serving consumers and patients of doctors and dentists by giving "good to excellent" ratings on bad doctors and dentists when they are not deserved! My rating on an awful dentist, who performed the worst dentistry in my entire life requiring $25,000 to correct by another dentist, was not even recorded by HealthGrades.com.

I'm yet another victim of the Healthgrades scam. I didn't notice the $9.95/mo. unauthorized charges until 12 months had passed (it's my fault). I found the page on their website and terminated this "service" and sent an e-mail to their customer service people. I also mailed a letter requesting full reimbursement. If a refund is received, I'll advise via a new posting.

There is failure to provide promised assistance for support or services. I tried to cancel and it doesn't let me on the computer; I can't get a live person so I have faxed all information to them. I just tried them tonight and I thought they charged me twice but my husband said there are three charges pending. I hope that their fax number is correct, and I hope that they will honor their contract saying you can cancel in the 1st 24 or 48 hrs. This is bait and switch advertising. It is improper and inferior service. You don't need to buy their service because it doesn't give any real information. I am sick with lyme disease and didn't need this.

I ordered a report on a doctor not realizing I could have gotten the same information from my health insurer's website. Apparently, placing this order for this one report automatically enrolled me in a monthly service. I checked by bank statement recently and found 2 charges for $9.95 for this monthly service. I called Healthgrades and couldn't get through to a person. They give these long instructions on how to cancel the service on their website or by sending them an email. I called my bank and they would stop payment on the automatic debit for a $35 fee or if I sent Healthgrades an email. They did not comply with my request to stop these deductions and I had a copy of the email. My bank would at that point stop payment for free. These companies that live off of unethical behavior are pathetic! This will end up only costing me $20-$30 dollars. But the amount of time it takes to take care of something like this is very wasteful.

I called my credit card company and they were not helpful except they did provide me Healthgrades' phone number and website. It is extremely difficult to contact Healthgrades. It's the voicemail run-around.

I have been billed for 10 months at rate of $9.95 for a subscription that I never ordered or authorized. If you call company, you get recording run-around, but stay on the line and eventually a real person will pick up (after period of silence). On 7/20/10, they agreed to credit all charges back to me. We will see.

Health Grades lists doctors and their practices and patient evaluations. My health grade page shows a primary location in a small rural community where I have a small clinic twice a month. My main location in the Birmingham Area is listed as a secondary location. I need to fix this and the Google map that has been in error for 2 to 3 years. Cannot find phone number to Health Grades to talk with someone. Have sent them an email. We are losing many patients because of this error. Loss of patients. Displeased patients.

I would like to alert people to another problem. I am a psychiatrist. I googled my name some time ago and found that Healthgrades gave me all one **** , thus a very low rating. This was based on 3 people who supposedly filled out surveys. Some of the questions on the survey do not even apply to psychiatrists and there were not any comments such as narrative responses. If the people I really worked with are motivated to fill out the survey and give me all the lowest marks, wouldn't they say what they were unhappy about?

I wish to terminate my membership at Health Grades. Please do so for me because I don't see how to do that and I had no idea that I was getting into a monthly service.

Back in the winter, I ordered a report on a particular physician. I received the report and was charged $9.95. Okay so far. Since then, I am charged every month for $14.95 for a "watchdog service" master charge has been of little help. They said I should call direct. I did six steps in the telephone procedure to cancel this charge. Now, they say I need password which I never heard before. I tried to get a human voice and got bounced back to another extension, automated of course.

Health Grades offers a web site which they purport to provide reports on physicians for a fee of $12.95. Upon ordering, they charged my account for the fee but delivered nothing. Health Grades also refused to answer my e-mails by which I attempted to get either the report or a refund. In 15 years of making internet purchases, this is the most brazen blatant scam I have ever encountered. Beware. I've lost $12.95 to this scam.

I have been billed for reports I did not order. I have sent emails to HealthGrades but I would like to talk to someone at this company. Can you furnish a phone number for HealthGrades? Thank you!

HealthGrades markets a product called the "Healthgrades Background Report" or the "Physician Quality Report.” This is a one-time report of a physician. After ordering the Physician Quality Report, HealthGrades automatically enrolled me in a monthly "Watchdog E-mail Notification" service. HealthGrades billed my credit card $9.95 per month for several months before I noticed the unauthorized transactions. HealthGrades agreed to refund me the total amount of unauthorized charges; however, they continue to engage in this deceptive practice.

I bought a report on a Dr. They charged me $12.95. A few weeks later I was billed 9.95 for a 2-week trial that you automatically sign up for; it’s not very obvious when you do. I was upset but called this number and they were happy to refund the $9.95 and canceled the subscription for me. I was very upset at fist, but when you call they will make good. So call it and get your money back. It almost bounced my checking account.

Healthgrades markets a product called the "Healthgrades Background Report" or the "Physician Quality Report". This is a one-time report of a physician. After ordering the Physician Quality Report, Healthgrades "automatically enrolled" me in a monthly "Watchdog E-mail Notification" service. Healthgrades billed my credit card $9.95 per month for several months before I noticed the unauthorized transactions. Healthgrades agreed to refund me the total amount of unauthorized charges. However, they continue to engage in this deceptive practice.

I was charged $9.95 on May 25, 2010 for an action I did not order, on my credit card. This is the second time I've asked them to correct this problem.

I ordered (online) a report of a doctor for my parents to learn about his surgical reputation, experience, etc. I received a credit card statement for duplicate charges for the same transaction date as well as one more for a day almost 2 1/2 weeks later. Instead of expecting a charge of $7.95 plus $12.95, I received charges for $7.95, $12.95, $7.95, $12.95 all for the same date and another $9.95 on a later date. I do not understand the duplicate and additional charges. I should have been charged $7.95 and $12.95 one time only for a total of $20.90. Instead, I was charged $30.85 too much.

Their website offered me "one free report on a doctor of my choice." I requested information on a doctor here in Montana. They gave me a very poor report, things that were already public information. I thought that was the last of it, but now I see they have charge me four different charges against my credit card, all in just one month.

I used HealthGrades once and before completing the buy, I was assured the next page would contain information on how to cancel after the trial period. It did not. Their customer contact does not work. There is no way to cancel. They apparently then charge your credit card monthly until you cancel your credit card. Read other reviews, all with the same experience. The "report" they provided I could have gotten from free internet sources. I emailed them three times, got no reply. My credit card had to be canceled completely.

Over the past two years, I have used HealthGrades.com to get reports on doctors and hospitals in our area. Typically, the company charged me $12.95 per report. I do not have a problem with that. My complaint is that from June 2009 through May 2010, Health Grades, Inc. has charged my credit card an additional $9.95 monthly fee for a subscription I never asked for, nor approved. That totals to $119.40 that they have stolen from me. Obviously, I have been rather lazy and have allowed this to continue. However, today, I decided to stop their practice and saw on the Internet that they are doing the same thing to lots of people. I will attempt to contact them today to get off their list. I will be back on this site if I need help stopping them.

As soon as I noticed a recurring billing on my credit card from Health Grades after purchasing a Doctor Report, I found a page on their website where you can cancel the "subscription service" by entering your email address. I'm posting a link here in case it can help others in the same situation: **.

I ordered 1 report on a doctor last Jan. of which I was charged 12.95. My visa card is being charged 9.95 each month, although I did not sign for anything extra, namely their "Watchdog Notification." I called only to be told to go into their website. I did this and told them that I wanted no additional services and to stop charging my visa. I just got my March statement and there is an unauthorized 9.95 charge. I am calling my visa service to report them and will call the attorney general if need be!

Health Grades signed me up for a subscription without my permission and made unauthorized charges to my account. I have emailed them asked that they contact me. There was no phone number to contact them directly.

I ordered two reports on doctors from Health Grades in the early fall of 2009. My AmEx card was charged $12.95 for this service. I recently noticed that Health Grades was continuing to charge my card $9.95 each month, although I had not ordered anything additional. I was finally able to get the customer service phone number though Consumer Affairs website complaints. Thanks! Their rep. agreed to stop the service and refund the six months of charges that weren't authorized. We'll see if this takes place. I feel that although their doctors reports are apparently accurate, Health Grades is operating a borderline scam.

Every month, they add the $9.95 charge to my Discover Bill. Now I have to see if I can get someone at their web-site to stop charging for something I didn't ask for nor do I receive since the first time I ordered a report on a doctor. Based on everyone else telling the same story on this web-site, I just found I do not know what I can expect that will be different. I do not know what to do then. What will be the next step? I do not know if I have a receipt at this point, so I do not know how to fight it. Is there a class-action suit against them? I will refuse to pay each month but what do I do to stop this harassment if I am not successful with them?

I order one report and they have continued to used my checking account. I am just now beginning to find out how much money they have taken. P.S. Your site would not delete WV and USA from button section. Sorry.

I found this website back in January. I was looking for info on a dr. Got my credit card statement and was charged a total of $27.85 without my authorization. My credit card is taking care of this. Just to let you know, you better cancel this as of now! I have tried many times to contact you for cancellation.

I ordered a report on a doctor I was considering consulting for surgery. I received an acknowledgment/receipt indicating I had been charged $12.95 which is what I expected. On my next credit card statement I identified a Healthgrades.com charge of $9.95 which I had not authorized. After checking the original email receipt and reading the fine print, I realized that I would continue to be charge $9.95 per month for "Watchdog Notification" alerting me to changes in the doctor's report unless I canceled the service. I had already been charged one month for nothing. I called the number above and spoke with Customer Service after they had neglected to answer my emails requesting a refund. After speaking with customer service, a credit was issued. Many people would not go to this effort and Healthgrades is continuing to rip them off. This is a public company and they should know better.

Healthgrades.com is a systemic ripoff device. The public information they sell is worthless. You will have a very hard time getting them out of your bank account. There are many BBB complaints on them.

I ordered a report and paid for it. Now, they have charged my account two times for $9.45. Bad practice, a scam for sure. Thanks.

I just got off the phone with the woman at the complaint number below on this thread, and she refunded me the four months I have been charged. I am happy she did this but ** off that it happened in the first place. They absolutely need to write in big print, that the card will be charged monthly. Bad business practices here! I was originally charged $9.95 per month for four months.

I, too, have been pick-pocketed by Healthgrades. How ironic it is that this website provides Healthgrades space for advertising! Right next to all the complaints I see here, is a Healthgrades ad on, which I can click just in case I wish to be scammed by them again. Are you kidding me? I will never, I repeat, never ever again use Healthgrades,com, and I will be happy to spread the story of my bad experience, as I am here, many, many times to repay them for their trickery.

I entered into what I thought would be a one-time transaction with the business Health Grades. Instead, they have signed me up for a service which I did not want and they are charging me monthly for it. Also, it is very difficult to figure out how to cancel this service that they have scammed me into from their website. I am going to report them to the Attorney General of Ohio. I got a $10/month loss for a service that was never wanted.

I looked up a doctor last summer and got very little information, but was charged $9.95 which I assumed was a one time charge. However, there has been a $9.95 charge every month since on my MasterCard. I finally got an e-mail from Healthgrades saying that my watchdog subscription which I never signed up for in the first place has been successfully turned off. I just got my latest credit card bill and sure enough they charged another $9.95. Along with that I got a long form from the credit card company asking for tons of information which I don't have.

They illegally use credit card info to deduct unauthorized monthly charges. When you buy a physician’s report, company says it is throwing in a "one month free subscription" to its newsletter. Nowhere does it say that you will have to opt out to avoid having a future fee charged. Under the guise of purchasing a report, the company is actually signing you up for a lucrative monthly subscription to a newsletter that, to my knowledge doesn't even exist. This is a disgrace to the medical profession. The BBB should be ashamed to be even rating this fraud. People who use this site are obviously feeling vulnerable, looking for help. Like me, they aren't paying careful attention to their credit card statements every month to see that this company is stealing $9.95 from them each month. This scam must be stopped

I ordered several reports from Health Grades in early 2009 as I was having vein surgery and wanted to compare doctors. Several months later I noticed a charge on my credit card of $9.95 to Health Grades for additional services I did not order. Then I looked at all past credit card bills and saw they had been billing me that same amount for months. Shocked, I went back to my original Health Grades order receipt and read in "tiny print" that once you place an order you are "enrolled" in their automatic billing system. What a consumer "rip- off" since that information was not given until after I placed my order. I contacted Health Grades and received only part of the money back they had charged me. I will not do business with this company again and would not recommend them to anyone as I feel their practices as I experienced them were dishonest.

I used this website for a one time report on 2 different doctors and then began being billed monthly ($9.95) for a service I did not want. I wrote emails on July 22, 2009 asking to cancel this subscription and to date, I am still being charged the $9.95 per month. I tried calling the phone number given by the SVP and was given a very short time to leave a message. I have also sent an email to the email given by the SVP and hope that all the money I have been charged since July 2009 be rescinded.

I was looking for a report on my doctor. Healthgrades.com showed up on my Google search and the teaser information about my doctor showed up. Since the thing I am most concerned about, being in NY, is that my doctor seems young, inexperienced, and might have gotten her degree from a foreign Caribbean school, I wanted her educational information. Healthgrades.com showed the educational information as being locked and available for purchase but when I did pay for the report, what they sent me had no information about the doctor or her background. Not even her hospital affiliations. I emailed customer service to say that I didn't get what I paid for but of course I haven't heard from them. Also they automatically signed me up for some $9.95 per month watchdog program.

Like everyone else, I was victimized by the method used by Health Grades to scam people. They are allowed to continue their operation because too few victims file a written complaint with the Colorado Attorney General's Office. The address for the AG's office can be found on the Colorado government website. The AG's office will not take action until a large enough number of victims gives them a cause to go forward. Your chance of economic recovery is slim in these types of scams.

This is a response to complaints regarding the public website of HealthGrades, healthgrades.com. HealthGrades is the leading independent healthcare ratings organization, with more than 8 million individuals visiting the site each month to research quality ratings and information that is available on every hospital, physician and nursing home in the country. Our mission is to Guide America to Better Healthcare, and we live that mission every day.

HealthGrades is a scam. They charge my credit card $9.95 every month without my authorization.

In February of 2009, I used the site for a one-time report. This month, I realized that they have been charging me $9.95 a month for a subscription that I never signed up for. When I emailed them for cancellation of this service that I never requested, I received a "no respond" acknowledgment of my email, and have heard nothing since. They refer to these kind of Web sites as "lobster traps" for obvious reasons.

I purchased a report on a doctor last October 2009 and paid a onetime fee which was what I wanted. I read all the fine print to make sure I was not signing up for anything beyond the onetime fee. I started to get monthly charges for $9.95, which I did not notice until January 2010. I was finally able to track down these charges to a clause added to a receipt email from Healthgrades. Non response to an email receipt should not mean they get to sign you up for a service that you never asked for. This is a fraudulent practice.

I used their service a little over a year ago one time and got ripped-off. I had them give me a background check on one doctor for a set fee, and that was it--or so I thought. Upon receiving my credit card bank statement, I realized that these people continued to draw from my account every two weeks. Their reason for stealing from me was that I had agreed to their shenanigans, which was a lie. These people are crooks! They caused me a great deal of stress as I had to contact my bank, fill out forms and all the rest of what it takes to straighten the mess out. These people should be prosecuted!

I never even used this service but my credit card was charged three months in a row for $9.95 which I never authorized. I called the number on my credit card statement and they refunded all charges and cancelled my "subscription." I found this page while googling the company and figured I would post the phone number for others who are having this problem.

I used their services in July and August to check on some plastic surgeons for a friend. I was to have been billed $9.95 for each reference check just like they did a year or so ago. I didn't notice but they have been charging my credit card $9.95 every month since, as though I've subscribed to a service.

My case seems to be one of many. I ordered a onetime report on a physician, never knowingly subscribed to anything, but have kept being charged a fee of $9.95 a month. My so-called account page with them actually states that there is no active subscription. My credit card company keeps telling me to cancel as they cannot do anything without me cancelling my subscription. However, first of all, why should I cancel? This would mean acknowledging that I subscribed in the first place. Second, according to the automated message of the customer "service" number, the only way to cancel is through the webpage. However, on the webpage there is no way to do so. I have been charged $9.95 for the past 6 months. As I pay nearly everything with this credit card, my statements are huge and these $9.95 do not immediately catch your attention. But that's exactly the intention of these criminals.

I ordered a report on a doctor but after the initial amount, I have been repeatedly billed $9.95 on my credit card every month. I have emailed them but they have not contacted me. Thanks to Brian who wrote on how to cancel this service. It is $9.95 a month that could have been better spent elsewhere.

I ordered a report on a doctor in Bakersfield. Subsequently, after paying for the report with my debit card, I have been billed $9.95 for November and December of 2009. They have charged my checking account without my authorization.

In October 2009, I went to their website to get a one-time report on a local doctor. The charge was $9.95 made to my Visa card. Now, in November, I am again charged another $9.95 for another report, which I did not ask for or agree to. Evidently when you pay for one report, you are then charged monthly. The website does not indicate that this would be a monthly charge. I have emailed them this night and told them to desist, and reimburse my credit card for the extra charge. I will report this to the Texas and the Colorado State Attorney General's Office. This is fraud! In addition, their telephone number takes you to a menu which never connects you with a living person. Obviously, they do not want you to be able to speak to a company employee. Obviously I should have checked your site for other complaints, of which there are many exactly like mine.

Similar to many users posting complaints regarding HealthGrades.com, I initially purchased a onetime report on a doctor in November 2008 and since then up to today, December 2009, I have been charged $9.95 monthly. I already contacted my credit card bank and will try to contact Healthgrades tomorrow via the phone number stated in my statement. If they don't give me back my money, I will file dispute with them through my credit bank for this scam. How do you get charged monthly for a onetime payment? Since when does anyone have the right to auto-bill you without your approval? We're in tough times, nobody steals from me and gets away with it. Let's see what happens.

I, too, have had an unsuccessful attempt to reach this company. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in March of this year, I went online to find out information about the surgical oncologist that had been recommended to me. Unfortunately, I ended up with Health Grades. I was charged $12.95 for that one report. Now I'm being charged $9.95 per month for a "supposed subscription" to their service. I never gave them permission to automatically have that charge deducted from my account each month, but that is exactly what they are doing.

I purchased a report about a doctor. Then several months later, I started getting a $9.95 charge on my credit card each month. I tried to cancel my subscription by logging into the website, but it won't allow me to log on. I'm finding it impossible to cancel this subscription (that I never signed up for in the first place). I've been charged over $50 so far. I'm going to be charged more unless I cancel my Discover card.

I purchased a one time report for an OB/GYN when I was pregnant. The price for that service was something around $12.95. However, after 6 months (after having my baby and recovering), I realized that healthgrades.com has been charging me $9.95 per month. I tried to contact them, but they don't even have a customer service number. I emailed them today but I am not very positive that someone will contact me. However, I am going to file a dispute claim with my bank and see what happens.

I purchased a doctor's report on HealthGrades.com for $13.95. Unbeknownst to me, they also slap you with a hidden monthly membership fee of $9.95. I already cancelled it but they keep charging me. There's no way to contact them except through an email, which they never reply to. I demand a complete refund. I'm not alone in this scam. This site has a long list of complaints against this fraudulent company https://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/healthgrades.html. Thank you.

They screwed me over, big time. I was told I would be charged $12.95 for a doctor's report and was charged $20.90 as said on my email. I have emailed them 3 times to discontinue my monthly membership, which I was unaware of until the email, and they refuse to get back to me. I also asked about the difference in cost, no response. There is no phone number, no address, and just a form to fill out to get a hold of them, so now I question if it is even an ex-email address. I need to figure out how not to be charged on a monthly basis of which I did not agree to and to get a refund for the first cost, since it was not what they said.

I bought a one-time report and was signed up for a Watchdog subscription that I would be charged for unless I cancelled. I didn't even know it signed me up until I noticed the charges debited from my account monthly.

I ordered a report from Healthgrades before looking at all of the complaints on this website. I found their phone # by looking in the "Investor Relations" section of the website. By calling, I got a recorded message telling me how to cancel. If you want to cancel your subscription, do the following: log in; click on "my account" in the upper right corner; scroll down to "subscription services." There is a little link to click on that says "cancel subscription." Within 60 seconds, I received an email confirmation that my subscription was cancelled.

I continue to be charged $9.95 a month for a service I am not getting. I want it stopped but I cannot stop the subscription. The method to do it is not working, nor can I get anyone on the phone to take care of it. Cost continues to be deducted from my credit card.

I paid for report from Healthgrades.com as a one time purchase in 2008. They started charging me $9.95 per month for watch dog. I did not agree to this and they charged my credit card without my permission. They have not replied to me and keep charging. My credit card company says to cancel the subscription but they are not answering.

On June 2, 2009, I ordered a physician Quality Report. I paid for only this report and nothing else and ever since Health Grades Report has charged me $9.95 with no reason. I didn't even know who it was that was charging me until I asked American Express what it was about. I sent an e-mail to the company but they keep charging to my card every month.

I have been charged a fee of $9.95 by Health Grades for nothing. I requested a report for a doctor and paid for the requested information but since then have been charged a fee for what, I am not sure. I have received nothing in the mail or on the internet. I have emailed them and asked them to stop charging my credit card and return the 6 months of unapproved charges they have taken from my credit card account. Thank you.

I have a happy update to my previous report about HealthGrades. After cancelling my "subscription", I also sent HealthGrades an email demanding that they return my money. After filing my complaint with consumeraffairs.com, I contacted my bank and made a claim against HealthGrades for the unapproved charges. Between October 20th and 21st, HealthGrades returned the 6 months’ worth of charges to my account. It pays to follow up; my thanks to consumeraffairs.com for providing a public forum for consumer complaints.

On May 14th of this year, I purchased online information on a particular physician from Health Grades Incorporated. I used my debit card for the purchase. The purchases totaled $13.99 and $8.59. Today, October 22, 2009 I viewed online my bank statements from June to October of 2009 and I found that Health Grades Inc. has been billing me $9.95 a month from June to today. I did not request a subscription to Health Grades Inc. and I purchased the physician report with the understanding that I would be billed only for the report itself. I have received nothing for the $9.95 monthly billing fee that Health Grades Inc. has deducted from my checking account.

I certainly wish that I knew that your website existed, before requesting information about a Dr. Bhiro, another scam artist! He was listed there, but that is. No other information was given about him! He charges $350.00 a visit, and gave my son a wrong diagnosis! Now, upon checking my bank account, I see that Health Grades continue to charge me! They give no phone number to contact them. What can I do to stop them from continuing to charge me? Please help me. Although the amounts aren't that much, I have no way of contacting them to stop any more payments. I have read many similar complaints on your site.

I, too, ordered a one-time report from Health Grades on a Neurosurgeon for upcoming back surgery performed in February 2009. I didn't knowingly authorize to continue to pay for an ongoing "Watch Dog" subscription. I now see that they have been charging my bank account monthly since February. My fault for not vigilantly checking every transaction in my account (but I spent months recuperating from surgery and physical therapy) and not combing through my bank account. I find Health Grades business practice deceptive and predatory on people who are ill or in pain and willing to pay for a little peace of mind. I canceled my "subscription", requested a refund through Health Grades website and contacted my bank. My bank has initiated a dispute claim. I'll let you know the results.

Lucky for me that I checked my PayPal account concerning another legitimate purchase. As stated in other complaints against this website, they are thieves. Do not use them. Once they have your credit/debit card details, they'll continue to withdraw money. The initial report (which is all that the consumer thinks that they are purchasing) is not great either. Now I must call and spend my time running after an illegal transaction.

I ordered a one-time report from HealthGrades.com and just noticed that they have continued to bill my credit card for a subscription I was "automatically" signed up for. I didn't catch it for a few months. This is a "hidden" fee that is in some very small print and supposedly gives me watchdog status. This is very sneaky and I will never use them again. Please alert consumers to this scam.

I found HealthGrades while searching for info on a doctor that I was planning on having an ACL reconstruction surgery done with. You've read all the stories. People think it's a $12.95 one time charge then get recurring monthly charges for $9.95 because they didn't cancel a "watchdog service" that they were automatically subscribed to. Whether it's in the fine print or at the bottom of a receipt in your email inbox, consumers aren't noticing it. People don't associate a recurring fee with a "one-time charge" for a report. So most people wouldn't think or remember to cancel an auto-subscription that starts 2 weeks after you got your report. However HealthGrades wants to explain it, it's deceptive and it's pissing a lot of people off. They need to change their policies asap. Make the watchdog truly optional instead of something you have to remember to cancel. That is BS.

I purchased a onetime doctor’s report for $12.95 in February 2009. It is September ‘09, and I was looking over my bank statements and realized that I have been charged $9.95 monthly for some report that I neither want, use, or agreed to since March ‘09! I called immediately to have the company cease billing my account, and the representative told me that I indicated that I wanted a "free" watchdog report for 14 days at the time of my purchase, and after that, the charge is $9.95. Incidentally, about a month ago, I did receive a "watchdog" alert on the doctor my inquiry was about, and when I tried to use the link to find out what the alert was, it asked me for money to view it. At the time, I had no idea I was being charged, but certainly $9.95 a month since February should have entitled me to view whatever mundane information they have on him.

I just wish I had read your complaints before I tried to get a Dr. report from Health Grades. I managed to get one report on disciplinary action and then was locked off the site. I had approved $12.95 for a "comprehensive report." I was subsequently sent an email with a number ** but when I tried to access the site with that number, it was denied as an "incorrect number." I sent an email and asked for a refund if they could not provide me with the information I paid for. That was on Friday. It is now Tuesday and I have not received an email from them. So today, I am notifying my Visa card to deny all charges. Thanks to your site.

I had requested what should have been a true report on a specific MD and ended up being supplied a few facts available free of charge elsewhere. I had checked their hospital ratings also and found them useless. They should not be in business. When I emailed my ire at the lack of info in the report, I only received an email of subscription cancellation. When did I subscribe?! Then, I checked your website and found it to be a deceptive practice. Their report business is also deceptive. I am from a medical family and found no useful info from HealthGrades. In fact, I found legal action issues on my own, and of course, ignored by HG. They only provided a few facts available from the state medical licensing board and charged $12.95.

I just finished reading the very same issues concerning the hidden recurring costs for what I intended to be as one time search on HealthGrades for an elderly friend of mine. Someone should look into their deceptive website which does not seem to have any entry point into one's account to cancel the membership. I am still waiting to hear from them to cancel the membership.

I filed a complaint last week on July 15th against Health Grades. I had contacted Health Grades through their website to insist they cancel the hidden membership I seemed to have joined in and asked that they refund me the two months of charges they had applied to my bank card. While I have not heard from them directly, they did refund the two months of charges back to my account less than two business days after that. I am very pleased that they responded so quickly and feel it is important to share that information with other consumers.

I did a one-time research on a doctor a year ago, and now, they continue to charge me $9.95 a month, which I did not authorize. I wish it did not take me so long to notice this charge. There is no phone number, so I am calling AMEX for assistance on disputing this charge.

I purchased a one-time report on several doctors. I was curious about one on 5/27/09 for $12.95. I just found 2 more charges against my credit card for June 15th for $9.95 and July 14th for $9.94. It was never my intention, nor was there a clear statement on HealthGrades part that there would be an ongoing fee charged to me.

My Visa was charged $9.95 by HealthGrades for a one time purchase and then charged $9.95/month for a subscription I don't recall signing up for. I contacted HealthGrades by phone and got a recording to go online to discontinue the subscription and could not find the page to do this. I called my bank Visa and had them block any further withdrawals on 6/8/09, which they did. I am not going to dispute January to May bills. However, I feel this is rather deceptive and difficult to unsubscribe. I should no longer be charged the $9.95 as per U.S. Bank.

I want HealthGrades taken off my credit card as I no longer want or need it. I have tried many times to get it taken off with no success. I am very disappointed that it has not been done. Do I have to go to the BBB to have this done?

I posted on May 10 here about the charge from Health Grades for their Watchdog service that I didn't sign up for (I found it in the small print at the very last confirmation step). I disputed it with my credit card. My May 15 credit card statement says that "this dispute has been resolved in your favor." So my advice to everyone is dispute it with your credit card asap.

I also purchased a doctor's report without thinking to check my favorite consumer's website, ConsumerAffairs.com. I also noticed the $9.95 charge today when it downloaded in Quicken. I immediately cancelled online and asked them to refund the charge. I did try purchasing the doctor's report again and saw that when you do the purchase, Step 2 is where they mention it. It's not in blue. It's off to the side like an advertisement. If they don't respond within three days, I'll call the credit card company and dispute the charge.

I purchased one time report on a physician and now have monthly $10 credit card billing for some sort of updates (that must have been buried in their purchase agreement). This is very sleazy and I would never have agreed to this if the purchase agreement spelled this out clearly. So far, two months of billing. I would be happy to participate in a group action if enough people have been duped by this company.

Like the other person reporting this company, I ordered a Doctor's Report from Healthgrades.com. I, too, found an additional charge of $9.95 two weeks later on my bank statement. As their site lists no number to call them, I used their online form submittal. I explained the situation and never received any sort of response outside of the canned "we got your email and will respond shortly" auto-generated email.

I ordered a few reports on doctors from www.healthgrades.com in February. Then in March, I see an additional bill of $9.95. I called them. It's their policy to give you free 14-day monthly updates. After 14 days, they start auto billing you for a monthly update. I had no idea this would happen. Who would want updates on a doctor review anyway? THIS IS A SCAM! I had to call them to cancel the billing. Had I not noticed the charge, I would have been continuely billed $9.95 a month.