Prescription charge.

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Lastgr8farouk

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi,
I've been a type 1 diabetic for 49 years.
Today I received a £60 fine for non payment of a prescription back in October when my medical exemption cert had apparently expired.
In December I spoke to the NHS business service authority who said get one by 21st of December and there will be no charge.
I had a new one issued on 20th November 2023
What are they playing at???
Any ideas would be appreciated
Thanks
 
Does the paperwork for the fine provide details of how to appeal / challenge the fine?

Also speak to the Pharmacist within your GP's Surgery. Even if your Surgery does not dispense meds, there will be a person within the Surgery Team who provides advice to the Surgery on prescribing and other medication matters. That person may be a direct member of the Surgery personnel or may be a subcontractor to the Surgery, but will answer as if he/she is a direct employee. Whichever doesn't matter - I'd be very surprised if such a pharmacist does not exist within the Surgery Team or such a person does not know how to simply resolve your dilemma.
 
Thanks for your reply,
Yes there's challenge info on the back of the letter
I will speak to the pharmacist too.
I'm smiling in complete disbelief while texting back.
It's so ridiculous
There's no way I'm paying it
I've emailed my local MP and the MP who arranged for this to stop happening to diabetics 8 years ago.
I'll have a conversation with the business services authority tomorrow.
For a start they've lied to me following my conversation with them in November.
Let's hope it doesn't progress to bailiffs.
If it were to that would be even funnier.
Thanks for taking the time to respond
How ridiculous !!!
 
It will be a computer-generated letter @Lastgr8farouk They’re usually very good about sorting things out if you give them a call or explain in an email.
 
He wasn't very understanding when I spoke to them in November.
Made to feel like I'd purposely abused the system hence my lack of trust.
I'll hope for a more positive response tomorrow.
 
Lastgr8farouk said:
Let's hope it doesn't progress to bailiffs.
Click to expand...
Hello, I was once student renting a room with a landlord who owed parking fines. I opened the door as the sole ocupier of the house on my way to college? (Greeted by bailiffs? On opening the door.)
Don’t mess with (or let it come to bailiffs.) in my experience. They can take more than needed for the fine. They also don’t do the “bailiff thing” for the love of it. They charge & invoice for the “service.”

Best wishes, sorting this out.
 
Can your GP / Nurse backdate the new exemption paperwork to October '23? That should take care of the fine.

The reason I say this is because, when I was first diagnosed, I paid for several prescriptions before my exemption paperwork was completed. The nurse then backdated the paperwork to the date of my diagnosis and I received a refund for those prescriptions. I didn't have to ask, the refund appeared automatically. It was very slick.
 
The exemption certificate is as a matter of course backdated to a month before it is dated from the info I read the other day, so I wasn't diagnosed with diabetes until mid Feb and the form completed on 19th Feb but my exemption was dated from the 19th January 2019 before I even developed symptoms of diabetes and expires the 19th Jan this year, just under a month before my 5 years "Diaversary".

So if you applied for a replacement exemption in November 2023 then it should have been backdated to exactly a month before, but if you had medication in between that date and the expiration of your exemption certificate, even if it was only a few days, then I believe you are liable for the fine.

The problem is that you declare on the prescription when you collect the medication that you have a valid exemption certificate, not that you are exempt from payment or have a condition which gives you an exemption, which of course you do. I don't really understand why they can't just mark our records for those of us with Type 1 or Type 3c as having a permanent exemption, since they haven't come up with a cure yet, but you have to follow along with the system, I guess.
 
rebrascora said:
I don't really understand why they can't just mark our records for those of us with Type 1 or Type 3c as having a permanent exemption, since they haven't come up with a cure yet.
Click to expand...
I assume it is due to being easier to administer ... for the bureaucrats if not for us.
It is probably also the reason why it covers all of our medication regardless of whether it is related to diabetes. I didn't have to pay for the very strong anti-histamines I had due to catching bed bugs in a hotel or the cream used to treat my scratched cornea (my only climbing accident) which makes little sense.
 
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