Hi,

I am looking for people who were banded with TLBC in Toronto (now Slimband) to see if they have been advised that they are no longer going to support us free of charge. I called their last week and I was told that they no longer can afford it financially and it is not fair to their new memebers to honor those old contracts. They honored them for a awhile but since Dec 2013 they can no longer and as patients we are no longer obligated to seek services(fill and defills) from them since we don't have any contractual obligation with them. I can't seem to find a contract that I would have signed with them, not even sure if I got one. Does anyone else have a copy of their contract? I can recall being told that I had lifetime support .I still have a lot of questions that I didn't get to ask when I called because I was frustrated and emotional about the situation but I plan to call back and get more answers. If anyone has a simular experience or has more answers I would like to hear from you. I'm not sure what I am goiing to do with this information, I am contemplating contacting a lawyer to see if they are obligated by the contract or what my options are but I am trying to reach out to others who may be facing this same situation.

Hope to hear from someone.

Tamara from Sudbury, Ontario

Edited January 12, 201412 yr by tboyd

Deborah! I found you. Remember me? We both had our correction surgies on October 31st 2013. We connected before surgery but when I went to find you post-op on the Slimband community to check in to see how everything went, your account was deactivated. I will assume the kicked you off just as they did me.

Send me an email to takeaction2014@gmail.com

Kat

^{I have a note that says a life-time support system for the price I paid. It's at the top of my Quote Invoice which is on TLBC Letterhead.}

^{If you want to see it, please email me at takeaction2014@gmail.com}

^Kat

I recently had some dealings with SB and was very unimpressed with the result. In fact I have been going back and forth since last July (2013), and my complaints of pain in my abdomen have been mostly ignored. I got the same story about how a fill was now $200, and assorted reasons why TLBC no longer existed.

I also cannot find my contract, I can find every other piece of paper associated with the procedure, including the receipt that I was issued. I am a very detail oriented person and misplacing my contract would not be something I would do, and I cannot recall ever signing one.

During my recent dealings with SB I asked for a copy of my contract which they said they did not have, because SB is not TLBC and as such had no obligation to assume the contracts entered into by TLBC, nor were they obliged to treat any patients from TLBC. In fact the person I spoke with said that SB had "graciously taken on Dr. Yau and his patients." They also said that they kept NO files from TLBC.

I called my lawyer, he researched it, said that neither SB or TLBC was registered by industry Canada. If you go to:

https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/scr/cc/CorporationsCanada/fdrlCrpSrch.html?crpNm=Slimband&crpNmbr=&bsNmbr=

You can search Slimband, Slimband Inc. etc and nothing comes up. This may mean that Slimband Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of another company. Keep in mind that originally, TLBC was The Prince Arthur Medical Clinic Inc, that also owned the financing company that you could use to fund the surgery.

"Slimband" is a registered trade mark. So if you search the trademark database:

http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/trdmrks/srch/vwTrdmrk.do?lang=eng&status=OK&fileNumber=1395712&extension=0&startingDocumentIndexOnPage=1

The current registrant is Slimband Inc. and the old owner is The Prince Arthur Medical Clinic Inc.

Slimband is not registered with the Better Business Bureau, but if you search them there, you will find:

http://www.bbb.org/kitchener/business-reviews/physicians-and-surgeons-weight-reduction/slimband-in-toronto-on-1188653

And that the business was started in 2006. As well, the BBB rated Slimband as a D-. There is no obligation to register with the BBB.

In a further call to SB I was told that if I wanted to see Dr. Yau, I would have to have a referral from my regular family physician, so I asked for a copy of my file to give to my GP. Earlier they said they had no files, on this call I was told it would cost for copying etc. Ultimately I paid about $40 for my file.

In my file was the 9 page document that I did sign called "Laparoscopic Banding Surgery" which had me acknowledge and sign off on all the risks and that Dr. Yau had explained same to me, etc etc. The contractual part of this document discusses the issue of self pay because the procedure was not covered by OHIP. There is no discussion of after care in any of the documents I was given.

However, while I was waiting for my file I spoke to a Slimband representative and I asked her specifically for a copy of the SLA (service level agreement) that was in place. She told me that there was no SLA in place in 2007. I was not given a copy of the current SLA, even though I asked for one. I have repeatedly asked for a copy of the current SLA and have been ignored each time.

Your results may vary, but in my discussion with my lawyer, because there is no service contract in place, and neither I, nor the clinic have any type of contract/ document discussing after care, it would be a case of he said, she said. Further he advised me that usually, in Canada to sue (not just doctors), one must be able to prove economic/financial loss. At this point, I have no loss, and I may be out $200 if I need a fill. That would be a matter for small claims court. I would need to have a whole lot of fills before hiring a lawyer would be worth the cost. If I had to pay for a revision, it might be worthwhile to pursue.

When I was banded I was told that if I need to convert to bypass (the sleeve was not an option back then), I would be responsible for paying for the anesthesiologist but not the surgery. Currently gastric bypass is covered by OHIP, so I would assume that if I needed a revision, it might be covered. If I ever do need a revision, I will research all of my options before deciding to go forward.

Having said all of that, I am disappointed with this current news, and I hope that the new doctors will take over where Dr. Yau left off, time will tell.

As an aside, I did have an ultrasound, and a barium xray that indicate that I had a very slight dilation of the esophagus. I had a 0.5 cc defill and will have a follow up xray in a few weeks.

Can someone please send me the information they have regarding to legal action.

Banded 2003 Dr. Jofee

problems from 2010 - October 31, 2013 when I went in for a revison and was berated and yelled at by Dr. Yau 15 minutes after surgery.

Thanks

Deborah

deborah.online@hotmail.com

Deborah send your email to

takeaction@gmail.com and they will respond to you?

Thx

Ahhhh! I made a huge mistake by sending out the wrong email address.

The email is 2014takeaction@gmail.com.

I was wondering why I hadn't received any emails.

So sorry. If you emailed to takeaction2014@gmail.com PLEASE resend your email to 2014takeaction@gmail.com

I'm soooo sorry.

Edited February 22, 201412 yr by bellacatgirl

Sorry I messed up also.

2014takeaction@gmail.com

Is the correct address. Thx for clarifying!

Hi Tamara

I just sent you an e-mail.

Tom, Toronto

Banded July 6 06

Wt. Loss: 160 lbs

I would like to join the Toronto Group for legal action.

Please help! Where in GTA can I get a much needed fill? I called a couple of clinics and just to join them costs #500 (in Mississauga) and $5.000.00 (in Barrie). Dr. Hazrati supposedly does fills (Yonge and Finch) but he is simply never available. What is the point?

Tom. Could you please email me at 2014takeaction@gmail.com?

RoseIvy. Please also email me at 2014takeaction@gmail.com and I can give you more information.

It is impossible to get a fill in Toronto. Slimband told me that Dr. Yau resigned, therefore they are no longer obliged to 'take care of me'. NO FILLS FOR ME!!! I am getting seriously fat! PLEASE HELP!!!!

Is Dr. Yau not still running his private practice? Can we go to his office in Scarborough to get a fill?

ROSEIVY, I gave you contact information for band adjustments did you contact Sabrina?

Jagosta, I beleive Dr Yau is still working from his office in Scarborough. You would need a referral from your GP to see Dr Yau since he is a surgeon/specialist. I am waitng for an appoinment as my referral was sent on March 17th...it has been 3wks and i still havent heard. I am going directly to my family doctor 2moro so I will follow up and find out what is going on.

Same thing with me! I can only 'talk' to his answering machine. It just sounds like another rejection to me!

Also, I even have an appointment with Sabrina, but my GP won't sign a consent form because she doesn't know her! Does anyone know a doctor who would sign the consent form for Sabrina?

Edited April 8, 201412 yr by RoseIvy

Hi Kreemypeach, I tried to send you a message but i dont know if it worked. Can you send me the info for sabrina the fill nurse? I am in depserate need of a fill!!