Dear Mary: How can I check if my dentist uncle really meant to charge me?

Q. My uncle, who is a brilliant dentist, has looked after my teeth since I was little. He also sees my children and although he runs a private practice, he has never charged me at all. I am now pregnant with my third child and told him this on my last visit. I wonder if this could be the reason why I received a bill in the post for the consultation — my first ever. He has a new secretary. How can I find out whether the secretary has sent me the bill by mistake, or indeed whether my uncle has decided that he has to draw the line somewhere and is now going to start charging? He did not mention anything to me.
— Name withheld, Leeds

A. Send a cheque along with the bill but enclose them within a newsy letter to your uncle so you can write personal on the envelope and thereby bypass the secretary.