A WOMAN who paid thousands of pounds for cosmetic surgery for her daughter was forced to take the clinic to court after the operation was cancelled.

Shirley Fenlon, 74, paid the Belvedere Private Clinic in Knee Hill Abbey Wood, £4,500 for a tummy tuck operation as a present for her daughter Diane, 47.

But despite getting a small claims court finding ordering th clinic to pay back the £4,500 the clinic did not pay.

Now, a check on the Belvedere Medical Group Ltd which owns the clinic, has revealed the group filed for a Corporate Voluntary Arrangement (CVA )in December last year.

The device is used to help rescue insolvent companies.

Mrs Fenlon, from Joan Close, Eltham, says eventually the clinic offered to pay the money in monthly instalments, before finally giving her daughter a cheque two weeks ago.

The operation was due to take place on June 30 last year.

Her mother says when Ms Fenlon arrived at the clinic, she was prepared for the operation, but was distraught when the surgeon told her the surgery was cancelled because there was no doctor to supervise her overnight.

Attempts to reschedule the operation failed and Mrs Fenlon eventually paid for her daughter to have the surgery elsewhere.

She then tried to get her money back from the Belvedere Private Clinic.

Initially she was told she would receive a cheque in a couple of days, then in a few weeks, and by March this year she was forced to take the matter to court.

The clinic was given an April 19 deadline, but the money was not paid.

Mrs Fenlon claims the debt was only paid and the cheque cleared, after she threatened the clinic with the bailiffs.

A spokesman for the clinic said: "After the resolution of certain misunderstandings, this situation has now been satisfactorily concluded."

The Belvedere Private Clinic is now a separate company from the Belvedere Medical Group.