Another unjustified penalty charge - this time for not paying for prescriptions

[Teddyzz]

Two years after I disposed of my car for scrap at an authorised waste treatment facility

I received a letter from debt collectors saying that I'd ignored letters from the DVLA about failure to tax/SORN the ca

r and that I owed a couple of hundred pounds.

I had received NOTHING from anyone.

 

I'd only kept the paperwork I'd received after scrapping the car for six months

and that included the bit of the registration document that you keep after you return the "scrapped" bit to the DVLA.

 

 

I rang the waste treatment facility and they said "you're lucky" they had the information that was just about to be deleted.

 

 

The gave me all the details that had been electronically sent to the DVLA.

I then compiled a letter to the debt collectors that gave them all the details in a very unfriendly way.

Not heard from them since.

 

A few months ago I'd been to the Doctors and got a prescription for several items.

I decided that I'd get a prepayment certificate as it would be cheaper.

The NHS site was down for most of the day,

 

 

much later on I managed to get on and buy one.

I received the email confirmation and the money went out of my bank.

I then went to the chemist.

 

This morning I received a letter from the NHS Business services Authority saying that they were giving me a penalty charge totalling £98.40 for prescription items I'd received in February having stated that I'd got a prepayment certificate

when "we could not find evidence" that I had one.

 

I then had to go over to the chemist to check that I hadn't received something in February before I'd got the prepayment certficate.

I hadn't.

The letter is wrong and I've now got to spend MORE time to prevent them from trying to charge me more money.

 

Defending yourself against penalty charges takes time, worry and effort.

I shouldn't have had to do anything in respect of either.

These organisations should pay for the hassle they create.

Is there a way of making them do so?

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG. Sorry you were missed.

 

Initial thoughts. Check the website to read the terms and conditions. It may say that you are not covered until you receive the certificate/card. If so you may be stuck with the penalty although I would still challenge it.

 

If the email says you are covered then you can send a copy of that along with a redacted copy of your bank statement to show the money was paid. They should then cancel the penalty.

[merlin100]

I've always bought my prepayment from Boots. My prescriptions are sent automatically to My local Tesco. I usually buy a 3 months prepayment (£29.50). If it's any interest to you, I once asked at Boots if I could use the exemption straight away and they said yes, just present the receipt to Tesco and all is fine. The pharmacist at Tesco also confirmed this as it usually takes around a fortnight for the card to arrive through the post. Been doing this for two years now and not had any problems(yet).

[*RainbowTears*]

Morning Teddyzz,

 

Try the following link & either call or email them so you can get this sorted with the minimum of stress.

 

They are really good at getting any issues sorted out very quickly, as I've found out 1st hand.

 

http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/PrescriptionServices/4666.aspx

[silverfox1961]

I have checked on the website linked by RainbowTears and it states

 

If you applied on the internet, you should have received an email containing a Sales Reference Number. If this is the case, you can be sure your application has gone through.

https://contactcentreservices.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/selfnhsukokb/AskUs_HWHC/template.do?name=How+do+I+collect+any+medication+that+I+need+before+my+Prepayment+Certificate+%28PPC%29+arrives%3F&id=16023

 

As you state that you received an email, that should have had the reference number on it. Forward a copy of the email as proof you paid.

[panther12]

I was chased with 4 nhs penalty charges after claiming free nhs dental treatment. I had ticked that I was in receipt of income related ESA (which I should have been getting and thought I was) but turns out I was only getting contribution based ESA which doesn't entitle you to free NHS. I got it sorted with the DWP and they backdated the IR-ESA to a date that preceded the NSH penalty charges but the NHS insisted that as I was not getting IR-ESA at the time I claimed that I was then the civil penalty charge and surcharge stand.

 

If you read the legislation there is a section that says: "The Act provides that a patient is not liable for a penalty charge if they can show that they did not act wrongfully, or with any lack of care, in respect of the payment in question." In my case I simply threw this back to them in a letter and basically told them to either **** off or issue a claim which will be defended in the county court. I never heard from them again.