Initial Medical Avis 

I have been an Initial customer since 2019 for clinical waste and sharps collection at my clinic in Kent, so I am extremely disappointed by how this situation has been handled.

For years, my regular drivers — Gary, Darren and Jim — all who were fantastic. They understood that I am deaf, work alone and do not have fixed working hours, so they would text me on the morning of collection to check I was at the clinic and arrange a suitable time. For example, I would tell them I was available between 9:30am and 12:30pm and they would make sure to arrive within that window. It was a simple arrangement that worked perfectly for years, and I never had a problem with missed collections.

When my previous driver left Initial earlier this year, I specifically asked for this arrangement to be explained to the new driver. Instead, it was ignored, resulting in TWO missed collections.

When I complained, Initial’s solution was to move to email-only notification and tell me that if I wasn’t there when the driver arrived, the collection would simply be carried out the following week.

That is completely unacceptable. I work alone and don’t have fixed hours. If the driver does not communicate with me and arrives when I am not there, I could potentially go weeks without a collection and be left with a full clinical waste bin that I cannot use. This is not a minor inconvenience… it directly affects the way I am able to operate my clinic safely and compliantly!

What makes this even more frustrating is that Initial had a system that worked successfully for YEARS, with previous drivers simply communicating with me. There was absolutely no reason to make the process more difficult and less reliable.

I have also had serious concerns regarding a quarterly price increase. I was not given what I consider to be clear, meaningful notice explaining the increase, the new price or when it would take effect. The only “notice” I was subsequently shown was a generic line buried in very small print on an invoice showing my previous rate.

A significant price increase should not be something a customer has to discover retrospectively on an invoice and then have to question. At the very least, I would expect a clear and prominent explanation of what the new charge is, when it takes effect and the basis for the increase.

I also raised a business name change and a problem with the customer online portal back in APRIL. These issues were left unresolved for months. The business name was only eventually updated after I raised the matter again as part of my formal complaint, while the online portal issue STILL remains unresolved.

But the most appalling part of this entire experience was the evidence I was sent regarding one of the missed collections.

During the dispute, Initial sent me a photograph as “proof” that the driver had ‘attempted’ the collection.

THE PHOTOGRAPH WAS NOT OF MY PREMISES.

It showed a completely different door at a completely different looking property (a white door with a glass panel and door number hand written on a note stuck on the glass!). My actual clinic has a solid black door with the number in silver metal plate font drilled on the door and looks absolutely nothing like the property and door shown in the photograph! I’ve had to tell them to look on Google street view to see for themselves that it isn’t my premises.

I find it absolutely shocking that a photograph of what appears to be somebody else’s premises was provided to me as evidence of an ‘attempted’ collection at my clinic.

After all of these failures, I requested to terminate my contract without fees, I have now been told that I am liable for a 90 days’ notice period, an early termination fee AND a further payment for the notice period, totalling more than £250.

I am disputing these charges given the repeated service failures, the missed collections, the unresolved issues I raised months ago, the problems surrounding the price increase and, most seriously, the fact that I was provided with photographic “evidence” to support their claim of an ‘attempted’ collection, despite the photograph clearly showing a completely different property and having no resemblance whatsoever to my premises!

I have been a customer since 2019. After years of being happy with the service, the way this has been handled has been extremely disappointing and, quite frankly, appalling!

I would NOT recommend Initial based on my recent experience. If you are a small business looking for clinical waste collection, I would strongly suggest looking at alternative providers before entering into a contract with them!

The best customer service!
I have amazing, reliable, very professional driver Carl Smith. Been working with Initial medical company for over 3 years and cannot recommend them enough. Everyone is very helpful, from admin staff to drivers.
Highly recommend

We use initial and it’s a great service. John the man that collects and brings our bins is very helpful, polite very efficient at his job .

Very good service. Always timely, polite, friendly staff, helpful and professional. Many thanks.

Friendly and helpful staff. Always polite and cheerful. Would recommend.

Karl is an absolute credit to the company. He collects our orange clinical waste, and every visit is a pleasure. He is always friendly, professional, and incredibly helpful, with a smile on his face no matter the day. His positive attitude and willingness to go the extra mile never go unnoticed.

We genuinely look forward to seeing Karl each time he visits our practice. It's rare to come across someone who consistently provides such outstanding customer service while making every interaction so pleasant. Thank you, Karl, for all your hard work, you are truly amazing and a real asset to your team!

Jude collects my medical and sharps waste. She is friendly and professional.

always a pleasure to see Dan.
lovley chap .
always asks how we are .
nothing ever too much.

Gary Edge is a very professional initial team member. He is always polite, and friendly to everyone he meets. Gary is very good at communicating with each clinical area to make sure all their needs are met. Clare wood. ESS supervisor. RAF Marham.

Gary is always helpful and friendly. He always checks if we need any more bags and lets us know when he is next coming to us and also when he is on holiday.

Hi a really friendly guy who communicates well with us regarding sacks and ties.
Always has time to say hello to us and Kim
Excellent service

Thank you

Just wanted to give a huge shout out to Noel Pye.
This guy is so friendly and happy when he visits our practice, always has a smile on his face.
Great customer service!

David is always very friendly and helpful whenever I speak with him.

Noel was very friendly and efficient. He knows our team, what we need and comes on time. Thanks!

Reliable and efficient.

Noel is very pleasent when he comes to out care stystem, alway polite, smile on his face, well mannered, bin are change each time and cleaned.

Noel is always friendly, helpful and efficient. Thank you

Terrible service.

Good luck trying to speak to someone.

I have been chasing a service that we pay for not only there has been no resolution. I am still paying for a full service and not having my sharps container collected.

John in one word, he is a pleasure to deal with always has a smile on his face and does a great job

Gary is always happy to help and is polite, courteous, efficient and a credit to the company. When visiting Brooklyn House Dental Practice