Slow-paying customers would be singing a different tune if you kept them under lock and key. That doesn’t make it right.

Apparently, three staffers at Doctors Medical Center in Duluth, GA, didn’t get that memo. Dr. John Laurusonis and office assistants Leslie Ann York and Alexander Acquah were recently charged with false imprisonment of a patient when questions arose about her ability to pay a bill.

Police say the patient, Frances Bales, was seeking treatment at the clinic for arm pain when she was held there against her will. Initially, Bales was told that her visit, including X-rays, would only cost $98. She was visiting from out of state, and didn’t have health insurance.

The assistants took her debit card and driver’s license when she entered, but Bales was shocked when presented with the actual bill for the tests: a whopping $755.

After the dramatic increase, Bales informed the doctor and assistant that she didn’t have enough money for the services. That’s when they directed her into their “billing office,” where she was forced to sit and call friends and family members to come up with the funds.

The staffers claim it’s just not true — they allowed her to leave the office several times.

But Bales has an explanation for that: At one point, they allowed her to grab a paycheck from her truck, but to keep her from driving away, the employees held her keys and unlocked the vehicle using the electronic key fob.

According to the clinic’s lawyer, “patients are told in advance that they are responsible for settling their bills before they leave, and that the clinic’s charges are reasonable and customary.”

Tags: Doctors Medical Center, Duluth, Slow-paying customers, Unpaid invoices, X-rays