To ask for help with a prescription PCN???

[butididnttickthebox]

Posting here for traffic, really. I received a PCN from the NHS today, stating that I had claimed a prescription by ticking the "maternity exemption certificate" box, between early Dec and early Jan. But I haven't!
I checked my bank statement and annoyingly there is a debit card payment to the pharmacy in Nov, then Feb. I've emailed my GP to get info on what scripts I was given between Nov and Feb, as I'm not sure if the November one was for three months (my dosage changes etc).
I've sent a challenge via email, just stating that I have never not paid for a script, and am waiting for info from my GP, but is there anything else I can do??? I have no idea why that box would have been ticked, and I have never not paid when I've picked up my meds. I may have paid in cash in Jan, well I must have done as I've never taken them for free!
I don't want to pay £52.00 plus the £8.80 again

Anyone?

Another hopeful bump...

You can ask for a copy of the script, it will be clearly dated. You should then be able to match this up with one of the dates in your statement.

I’ve had something similar, a statement such as yours will suffice. What I also do now is when I fill in the back of the script I score through the exemptions part and add the amount paid into the box.

What does bother me is that as a patient I am held accountable for a mark in that piece of paper which could’ve been added by anyone who’d handled it afterwards.

Thanks @CurcubitaPepo. The problem is, I've been told by my GP that two were issued in December. There's no debit on my account for the date that's covered for this period. But I must have paid in cash as I have categorically not had any prescriptions for free. I'm going to call the pharmacy and see what they say. Am so utterly furious about this!

Ah ok. I’d still phone up the pcn people and speak to them.

I had this with boots. For about a year they marked me down as claiming an exemption on every script i had. I hadnt though. I paid them for each and every one. So they were getting paid by me and then getting paid by the nhs and then i was getting fined!! I paid 2 before i realised as my husband has ms and he does sometimes forget things. When i found out it was the pharmacy i was livid. I wrote a complaint and they gave me a letter confirming it was their bad practice and i got them all cancelled and the ones i had paid refunded. It was very stressful though and its much more common than you think.

Contact the number on the letter. If it is the first PCN you have received, then a sign written letter confirming you paid should be sufficient to get the charge cancelled.

So they were getting paid by me and then getting paid by the nhs and then i was getting fined!!

This is appalling. So often when you pick up a prescription, the pharmacy says, just sign and we'll fill out the rest. Now we know why!

I get these for my son. He is severely autistic and has learning disabilities. I just email and they cancel them. They won’t talk to me as I’m not his guardian as he’s 20. All correspondence is in his name but he can’t talk! They tell me to tick box K on prescription which I do but still I get them. Just phone them.

I’ve had this as well. I paid and the pharmacist told me to sign and they’d fill out the amount (multiple scripts so didn’t know off the top of my head) and they obviously ticked an exemption box afterwards. Luckily I paid on credit card- did you pay on a different card by any chance? Or if it’s a store like Asda or Boots, did you buy anything else and pay altogether so you’ve missed the transaction on your statement?

I think the prescription forms need changing so you sign either the top part to say which exemption you’re claiming OR the bottom to say you’ve paid.

Happened to me 4 times - I ended up having to pay very hefty fines - a signed letter saying you’ve paid is not enough; you need physical bank statements or a receipt from the chemist if paid in cash. The arguments I had have been horrific and the interest the put on mine was shocking - paid out nearly £800 in the end; even a solicitor wouldn’t help because they “had the proof” and I didn’t - I always pay in cash and didn’t have any receipts .... this was for four scripts in the same month at the same chemist so I no It was a fault at the chemist but nobody was having it... my solicitor advised the next step would be a court summons; so I ended up paying... I now pay on my card

I had this, I was accused of ticking maternity and hadnt. They harassed me for 6 months until I got the pharmacy to write a letter to state that this was untrue. No apology or anything even though it was their mistake. It has to be on letter headed paper.

Wonder if we are in the same location...

@BenjiB box K is to say your son gets Jobseeker’s Allowance

Is that the right one for him? As it doesn’t sound like he’s capable of looking for work at the moment!

@ChronicallyEarly. He gets UTC in his own name but there isn’t a box for that yet so they told me to use box K .

Yikes. Both my son (SN) and I have medical exemption certificates (for different things). When they've expired and we've been without them -because I was a bit tardy re-applying, rather than me paying and them giving me an official receipt so I can claim it back they've just said it's OK and not charged because the medication is specific to why we get them free. Seems that could get me in trouble even though I accepted their word in good faith.

Starfishmummy regardless of what the medication is for, you're only exèmpt if you have the medical exemption. Always pay and get the FP57 receipt if you're in that situation again, or you could receive a PCN.

Just spoke to the pharmacy, who have checked the system and do have a record of mr paying. They're writing me a letter which they said will override the PCN. So fingers crossed that's enough!

And an email came through from the NHS PCN people just now saying that they have received my declaration so I don't need to pay and the case it closed! So there you go
I now have a prepayment certificate so fingers crossed I don't have to deal with that again. Sorry so many of you have had it too. So stressful.

Thanks PurpleRose. It shouldnt happen again because by the time mine is due for renewal again I'll be exempt on age grounds (unless they change the rules) and ds is also now exempt for two reasons because he's on an eligible benefit as well as his medical reason: so he will be covered one way or another.