In summary
- Cancel or reschedule with more than 48 hours’ notice: full refund of any deposit, or held as credit. No fee.
- Cancel or reschedule with less than 48 hours’ notice: £50 deposit is non-refundable. For procedures, we reserve the right to charge the full appointment fee.
- Same-day bookings: if you book and cancel on the same day, you are exempt from late-cancellation fees — we recognise that 48 hours’ notice was never possible.
- Exceptional circumstances (bereavement, sudden serious illness, family emergency): late-cancellation fees waived on request.
- If we cancel: full refund of everything you have paid, including any deposit.
How to cancel or reschedule
You can cancel or reschedule any appointment through one of these channels:
We confirm every cancellation by text message or email. If you don’t receive confirmation within one hour during clinic hours, please contact us again.
If you cancel more than 48 hours before your appointment
You can cancel or reschedule freely, with no fee. Any deposit you have paid is refunded in full to your original payment method, normally within 5 working days, or held as credit toward a future appointment if you prefer.
Rescheduling at this notice is straightforward and we’ll usually find you a new slot within the same week.
If you cancel less than 48 hours before your appointment
The £50 deposit is non-refundable and is not held as credit. For procedural appointments (hair transplantation, minor surgery, ultrasound, joint injections) we reserve the right to charge the full appointment fee, since clinician time and procedure-room time have already been allocated to you.
This applies regardless of whether you cancel formally, ask to reschedule late, or simply do not attend (“no-show”).
Why we have this policy. Clinical time is a scarce resource. An appointment slot reserved for you and not used cannot easily be filled at short notice, and another patient may have been turned away from that slot. Late-cancellation fees reflect the operational cost to us and to other patients waiting for an appointment.
Same-day bookings
If you book an appointment for today and need to cancel today, you are exempt from late-cancellation fees. Forty-eight hours’ notice was never possible, and it would be unfair to apply the policy.
The same applies if you book in the morning for an evening slot on the same day — same-day equals same-day.
Same-day no-shows (you book today and don’t arrive without contact) are not exempt; we ask you to call, WhatsApp, or text us as soon as you know you can’t make it.
Exceptional circumstances
We may waive late-cancellation fees in genuine exceptional circumstances, including:
- Sudden serious illness affecting you or a close family member
- Bereavement of a close family member or partner
- Hospital admission
- Childcare emergency (e.g. school closure with no alternative cover)
- Public emergency or transport breakdown affecting your ability to travel
- Family or domestic emergency
Please contact us as soon as you can and explain the situation. We do not ask for evidence, but we do trust that the waiver is being used for the reasons listed. The decision rests with the Clinical Director or Practice Manager and is made case by case.
If we need to cancel or reschedule your appointment
If we have to cancel or reschedule — due to clinician illness, equipment failure, or any other reason — we will contact you as early as possible and offer the earliest reasonable alternative.
If you choose not to accept the alternative, your full payment, including any deposit, will be refunded within 5 working days.
We do not charge fees, apply credit notes, or otherwise penalise patients for cancellations originating with us.
Deposits explained
We take a £50 deposit at the point of booking for most appointments, including:
- GP and specialist consultations
- Diagnostic appointments (ultrasound, ECG)
- Mental health assessments
- Aesthetic and minor surgery
- Hair transplant initial consultation
For hair transplant procedures and larger surgical bookings, the booking deposit is higher (typically 25% of the procedure fee). Specific deposit amounts are confirmed in writing at the time of booking.
Deposits are deducted from your final bill if you attend, refunded in full if you cancel with more than 48 hours’ notice, and forfeit if you cancel with less than 48 hours’ notice (except where the exceptions on this page apply).
Missed follow-ups
For follow-up appointments included in the price of a procedure (for example, scheduled post-procedure reviews at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and beyond), missed follow-up appointments do not generate a refund or credit, since the follow-up is part of an overall service that was paid for upfront.
We will, however, make reasonable efforts to reschedule a missed follow-up at no additional cost — please contact us to arrange.
Repeated late cancellations
If you cancel or fail to attend three or more appointments within a 12-month period without exceptional circumstances, we reserve the right to:
- Require full payment upfront for any future bookings (rather than just a deposit)
- Restrict your ability to book certain appointment types
- Decline further appointments at our discretion
This is rare and we always discuss it with the patient first.
How refunds are processed
Refunds are returned to the original payment method (card, bank transfer, etc.) within 5 working days of the cancellation being confirmed. Your bank may take an additional 1-3 working days to make the refund visible on your statement.
If for any reason a refund to your original method is not possible (for example, an expired card), we will contact you to arrange an alternative.
If you disagree with a charge
If you think we have applied this policy unfairly, please contact us first and we will review the case. If you are still unhappy, our full Complaints Policy applies, including independent escalation to the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS).
Related policies
Contact
For cancellations or rescheduling, please use the channels at the top of this page. For policy questions:
- Email: info@mhwclinic.co.uk
- Phone: 020 7916 0029
- Address: MHW Clinic, 97-99 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1DT
