One month wait for a brief email enquiry...
I called the Colchester office a few times (on different days and times) but wondered if the phones are unmanned as no one answered. I then made a brief email enquiry. After one month, I received a response. That's not the level of customer care I would hope for or expect. Maybe they're actually good at what they do, but that response time is disappointing, particularly for a paid service of this amount and for this reason.
I suppose the demand is so high for these services that the loss of a potential customer is of no consequence.
In her initial email, Rhiann attributes the one month response time to staff being on annual leave. When I left a Facebook review with my comments above, she then wrote a follow up email attributing the slow response time to an inbox not being monitored and referred to my enquiry coming from their website (which it had not -- I wrote an email). The same email address I wrote to was posted on Facebook by Sensational Minds to promote 10% off new client assessments. This was prior to the replies I received.
After the Facebook review was left, Rhiann then called me and spoke at length about the email address not being monitored, etc. This was a call out of the blue, and she hadn't asked if I was free to speak, and honestly I felt blindsided by it. It did not feel like a conversation but a prepared defence I was subject to hear, as I probably said less than 15 words in the 3 minute call.
Interestingly, Facebook reviews are no longer visible on their page.
The autism.co.uk website states that private Autism assessments do no require a referral. However, Sensational Minds request an NHS referral, despite being a private/paid for assessment. I'm not knowledgeable about the industry, but it feels like using the NHS as "triage" or prescreening by requesting it from my view. As a parent, it delays even asking for an assessment privately funded until the NHS appointment and referral is made and subjects a child to another appointment which seems unnecessary. Having researched other companies, I haven't come across this from other private providers.








