Why Trusting Rehab Referral Services Can Be Risky
April 30, 2024
3:49 pm
Table of contents
Referral agents are there to sell.
Just as someone trying to sell you insurance, double glazing or a new car they are motivated by commission.
All the well-established centre’s have caring, dedicated staff who work to very high ethical standards within tight clinical frameworks.
They will not sacrifice safety for profit and will exclude clients who cannot be safely accommodated.
However, a lot of websites may look as if they are drug and alcohol rehab centre’s, but they are not.
Anyone can set up a referral website: It is not a regulated sector.
We are addictions clinicians each with over three decades of experience in assessing, diagnosing, prescribing for and treating people in rehab centres,.
Here we share our advice with you so you can make an informed choice.
Referral agents are there to sell, we are here, solely, to give free advice.
What are referral agents?
Simple: They are middlemen who are there to make large profits.
Anyone with the right contacts and knowledge of the rehab sector can set one up.
All you need is a decent website.
While there may be rules around what you can put on a Google ad, it cost’s very little to set up a website.
Usually they are run by people who have been in a rehab centre who have learned how the sector works and/or they used a referral agent to find a rehab centre.
There is no regulation around being a referral agent. Literally anyone can do it.
Their websites make it look as if they have their own centres: They don’t. Some will use pictures of genuine centres or simply use pictures from the internet.
What are the issues when using a referral agent?
If your job is to sell then you will be expected to do so. Indeed, if you don’t, you will be looking for another job.
Agents are set sales targets and are pitched against colleagues to encourage performance.
Referral agents are not clinicians.
While they may have been through rehab that, in no way, qualifies them to advise others, especially on something so important.
A referral agent merely wants your name and phone number, how much you can spend and which part of the country you live in.
Key Takeaways on Referral agents are there to sell
- Referral agents are there to sell, driven by commission, but lack regulation and may misrepresent themselves.
- Many referral agents make exaggerated promises and exploit clients for profit, often passing their details to multiple rehab centers.
- Fake rehab centers exist, deceiving clients and using stolen images to appear legitimate.
- Find Me a Rehab offers impartial advice from experienced addictions clinicians to help clients find appropriate treatment.
Why do rehab centres work with referral agents?
Because they help to fill beds!
Some will use Whattsap or telegram while others will email your information.
While you are still talking to them they will be emailing centres with your details. They do this to cement a flag in the ground.
If you go into the centre they will be paid a hefty commission.
Because they want to make a sale they will make promises that rehab centres can never fulfill.
it is not unknown for referral agents to promise olympic size swimming pools, caviar for breakfast and a butler: They will, literally, do anything to get you to make a booking.
Non contact referrals typify why Referral agents are there to sell
When a referral agent sends your details to a rehab centre some will also send your details to every rehab centre in the country.
They do this to stake a claim.
If you don’t go into the centre you discussed with them but go into another one, through another referral agent, they will ask for split of the commission.
In order to stop the rehab centre contacting you directly, before the second referral from the second agent, they will alter the phone number just enough so the centre can not call you but not enough that it can not be linked on paper.
Rouge practices
Some referral agents are recovering addicts who have relapsed.
They will hound rehab centres for their commission within an hour of your admission.
Most will pursue you, constantly , both before you make a booking and after discharge.
They set reminders on their databases to contact you within 2 weeks of discharge to try and get you to go back in.
If you do, they get more commission.
Where a rehab centre is struggling to fill beds, there is a referral agent who will push clients towards that centre but charge commissions of up to 50%. The more serious issue is that the referral agent will pressure the centre to take more risky clients.
Fake rehab centres
Referral agents advertise centres that do not exist.
They do this to entice you as some areas of the UK don’t have centres.
When you speak to them they will tell you that the centre is full, undergoing maintenance or isn’t the right one for you. Any excuse simply to get your details.
One example was Lifeline Surrey run by a convicted criminal. She used pictures takes from Right Move for a country house and private gym.
When her illegal rehab services were shut down, she continued to advertise them solely so she could sell on callers details to reputable rehabs. It was only when the liquidator ordered her to stop that she removed the websites.
Owing hundreds of thousands in tax and staff wages she fled to Thailand and immediately became involved in another rehab centre.
This is a perfect example of why Referral agents are there to sell.
How can Find Me a Rehab help?
We are addictions clinicians.
Between us, over the decades, we have worked in the majority of the UK’s rehab centres.
As we are not tied to any particular centre our advice is impartial, as well as being free and confidential.
We provide this free service for anyone seeking residential treament.
Treatment at home we charge for.
Get help today
Call, email, live chat or whattsap an experienced addictions clinician on any aspect of addiction, detox, rehab, home detox, therapy, relapse prevention and aftercare.
We can advise you on treatment options, treatment plans, locations, costings, logistics and availability.
Only legally registered services are signposted.
Referral agents are there to sell. We are here to give free advice.
Need help finding the right rehab for you or a loved one? Get in touch today and take the first step toward recovery.
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