Corporations are people too: MedEQUIP tries to save face through repeatedly lying

As I complain to my husband about the much-hated, much-talked-about-in-our-household Med EQUIP--the medical supplies company that my insurance company forces me to use--he reminds re, "Remember, corporations are people, too."

Apparently they are, because this company would apparently rather save face by lying repeated (verifiable lies, mind you), and hanging up on their customers, rather than actually solving a problem or having good customer service.

Here's the latest: I get a call roughly every month from MedEQUIP asking if I need my Dexcom sensors. "Yes," I tell them every time, "Still a diabetic." Some months they are a few days late in calling, some months they are a week or two late. (Why not just automate the process? We'll get to that later.)

This month, after coming back from a trip, I went to grab a new sensor, but I didn't have any left! Odd, I thought, I didn't get a refill call yet. So I called The Dreaded MedEQUIP (they get an angry fist shake every time I drive by their office), and they told me this very verifiable factoid:

"According to our notes, we called you on October 13 to refill the order."

Here's the thing--my number is a GoogleVoice number and every call, missed call, voicemail, and text message can be looked up in my GoogleVoice inbox. So I looked. Oct. 11, missed call from my mom. Oct. 16, voicemail from my dad. October 13: NOTHING.

They simply lied to me.

I was pretty stern with the woman, letting her know that this was not acceptable and telling her that it is seriously not OK for me to be off my sensors (bordering on rude, but still within the bounds), and next thing I know, I'm HEARING THE DIAL TONE. Lady hung up on me! I called back, but the office had since closed. I called again this morning, and the woman I am used to dealing with, Vicky, was not in the office yet. Not to mention that I need my #$@!ing sensors.

This is not the first time MedEQUIP lied to me.

Last June, when my Dexcom receiver died (the USB port gave out), I ordered a new one through MedEQUIP. Several days went by; nothing. Three weeks passed and still no receiver. So finally I went and camped in the MedEQUIP office (thinking about doing that again today), and talked with Vicky, who told me that it was held up because they were waiting on insurance approval.

I later verified that this was absolutely false, and that the insurance had approved it within a few days.

If you are looking for a medical supplier for sensors that it reliable rather than ego-driven and substandard, my advice is to order through Dexcom and complain to the insurance company, your endo, anyone, so that MedEQUIP is held accountable for its distinctly mediocre service. At least Dexcom will be motivated to get sensors to you on time (they want to move more units, after all). They are also available when you need them, and will overnight sensors in a pinch.

*As a note, I found out that Blue Care Network (University of Michigan's largest insurance provider) does not allow companies to autoship sensors, nor does it allow 90-day fills of sensors. WTF?