Thousands of people up and down the country have lost teeth – not to mention many hundreds of euros – as dental chain “O Meu Dentista” has declared insolvency.
The shock came last Friday when clients turned up at the dental outlets in major shopping areas to find a sign on the doors saying they were no longer in business.
In the Algarve, where the chain had a clinic in AlgarveShopping, clients have spoken about what has suddenly become a real-life nightmare.
“We’ve been left without teeth or money”, said Sílvia Nogueira, 46, of Tunes. “We don’t know what to do”.
Albufeira resident Lucinda Cambedo has lost €12,000 and says she feels “cheated”.
The problem is that despite money spent for work still in progress, clients appear not be getting refunds.
A communiqué by O Meu Dentista – which had 12 clinics throughout Portugal – has simply told clients “who to get in touch with for an explanation of what is going to happen”, explains Económico website.
Owners Dizin Saúde had been trying to restructure the company following a dip in business over the last few years, but they claim the process “was not producing results” making continued activity “and the compliance of commitments assumed with clients, staff, collaborators and suppliers unviable”.
Dizin Saúde’s communiqué stressed that it had tried “various scenarios to try and avoid filing for bankruptcy” but all of them have proved “fruitless”.
