Maternity Exemption Prescription Penalty Charge!

[SmileCheese]

On Friday I received a letter for a penalty charge notification for claiming free prescriptions without a valid medical exemption. I submitted the form for exemption due to pregnancy after receiving it at my second midwife appointment (I only remember because it was a different midwife who gave it me and I saw the same midwife for all other appointments).

Apparently you are meant to receive a certificate/letter back after they process the form which you then show to get the free prescriptions/dental care. Clueless me as a FTM had no idea to expect anything back so naturally didn't chase it when no such letter arrived.

I rang the number on the charge letter this morning and the women who answered said it was my own fault for receiving the charge as apparently everyone knows you receiving this letter/certificate. I genuinely had no idea and at no point has anyone ever asked for it when I have collected prescriptions or visited the dentist during my pregnancy or after (my baby is now a month old).

The women on the end of the phone was pretty unhelpful but said she would waive the fine but I'd still have to pay the prescription charge, which I was happy to do and then she dropped the bombshell that any other fines I received for both prescriptions and dental treatment would not be waived and I'd have to pay them in full!

The fine I received was from October and I collected prescriptions every week, sometimes more than once as I had Gestational Diabetes so I'm looking at potentially 3 months worth of fines! Is there anything I can do about this? I feel like I've been let down by the fact no one ever explained I'd get a letter to show and no one ever asked me for it. I'm not sure how I could have known about needing a physical letter.

Each fine is the charge for the prescription and a £90 penalty fee an amount I wont be able to afford should I receive one for every prescription I've collected. Is there anything I can do at all, other than pray I receive no more fines.

NemophilistRebel hopefully you also avoid fines. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Please do write to your MP. You’d be amazed how much difference a political voice can make in these sorts of cases.Please do write to your MP. You’d be amazed how much difference a political voice can make in these sorts of cases.

I'll try to get in touch with our MP and see what they say. I'm hopeful though that once I receive the blooming certificate I'll be able to get the £18 back and have leverage over any other potential fines I may receive. I'm also glad to see that this that has enlightened a few others who were as clueless as me, it will have been worthwhile going through all this stress if it prevents at least 1 person getting penalty notices.

Ladies, don't forget to update them if you move too.

I moved out of county and recieved a fine too, even though the pharamcist noted my card number and all the other details were still mine (DOB, NHS No., Full name etc), just the address had changed.

The pharmacist always asked me to show my card when I ticked the maternity exception box and would write my exception number on the prescription paper that they kept.
DS is nearly 9mo so i still use mine if i need a prescription and i was and still do have the card that they ask to see.

Exactly the same thing happened to me, they waived the penalty but I had to pay the prescription charges. I thought the form I had filled out from the midwife was enough, I didn’t know I was meant to get a certificate or card or anything

@traveller11 I’ve just moved and haven’t even thought of this! Thank you!

There's been quite a lot of publicity over the past little while about this sort of thing. I think they must be cracking down on free prescription fraud.

If part of the system is that the pharmacist must write down the certificate number I'd get in touch with the HO of the chemist you use and ask why they don't ask. It would take seconds and would surely cut off a lot of fraud before it even happens as well as making sure genuine claimants have received their certificates.

Surely op would be medically exempt if diabetic anyway or does this no longer apply.

Yes, but you still have to apply for a medical exemption certificate (which is a credit card sized thing.) They didn't mention this when diagnosed, though, and it was only my pharmacist asking why I was paying that got me to apply. They sometimes check, but not always (though they recognise me by now), and even when they have checked, I'm not convinced they can have properly read the name and expiry date, just seen I have a card which looks like an exemption cert.

I think it would be helpful to be told you get something physical when you apply - so many things happen online these days, there's no reason to expect it otherwise. If repeat prescriptions are ordered online at a pharmacy you go to often, then an online record should be enough, though I can understand if you got a prescription from an unknown pharmacy, then they should have to see the cert.

I think it would be helpful to be told you get something physical when you apply

It would have been useful to know to expect something back as then I would know to chase it up when it didn't arrive.

Although having spoken to my midwife yesterday it seems there is confusion over what you actually recieve back. Apparently you no longer actually get a card just a piece of paper.

"My" pharmacist manages to check each and every time I pick something up to ask "you have an exemption D certificate, don't you". Takes no time at all. My GP explained to me that I needed to send off the application, and wait to receive the certificate. So I think that's definitely supposed to happen and a lot of people in that chain were just a little bit lazy. It's ridiculous to expect you to just know, it's not intuitive really.

And just as an FYI really, you no longer get a plastic card, it's just a piece of paper now.

Yes, it is just a letter now.

It's ridiculous to expect you to just know, it's not intuitive really

It really isn't and as shown by this thread it differs depending on where you are as some midwifes submit the form electronically and others like my midwife fill it in for you. I can see from looking at the form yesterday that it does indeed say you will recieve an exemption certificate back once the form is processed but that's not much use if you are not the one reading it to fill it out. It would be so much easier if they just added it to your medical information from when you had your booking on appointment until your child reached their first birthday.

you no longer get a plastic card, it's just a piece of paper now

A card would make more sense as you could put it into a card slot. A piece of paper is much more likely to get mixed in with receipts and unless you have a large purse it's going to take up much more space than the card did.

A card would make more sense as you could put it into a card slot.

Yes but a paper certificate is more environmentally friendly and creates savings for the NHS - www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/exemption-certificates/maternity-exemption-certificates. All the information on this is very clear and easily publicly available if you'd looked.

a paper certificate is more environmentally friendly and creates savings

I was merely musing that it would be easier to have a card in a purse than a piece of paper. I don't doubt it is more environmentally friendly but I can imagine many people would absent mindedly discard the piece of paper especially if they cleared out a bunch of receipts. I also doubt it really saves the NHS that much money in the grand scheme of things, there are plenty of ways they could save more.

All the information on this is very clear and easily publicly available if you'd looked.

I'm going to be honest I hadn't looked for information because I had assumed everything was sorted when the midwife filled in the original form. I didn't know I needed to look for the information as to my knowledge it was something I had mentally ticked off. I suspect I'm not alone in not researching.

The card used to be more convenient, yeah. My paper certificate (it's just an a4 letter,) is extremely dog eared and tatty from being in my handbag for 9 months - even though not once has pharmacist or dentist asked to see it!

even though not once has pharmacist or dentist asked to see it!

At least it's not just the pharmacists and dentists where I am that don't ask . It makes me feel a little better to know others are just as lax with checking. Although I garuntee should you ever forget your handbag when picking up a prescription that would be the time they asked to see it.

I had similar - have you changed address by any chance?

Don't feel bad, it's not your fault. In the pharmacy it's obvious that you're pregnant / a new mum so it's logical to assume you don't need further proof.

have you changed address by any chance?

No change of address it just looks like the form never arrived with them so it was never processed. The women I spoke to did recommend to send the new form via tracked postage but at our surgery they give you a prepaid return envelope in which to send it back so it seems a waste of money to pay to send it.

Unfortunately you’re only entitled to claim maternity exemption help with health costs if you specifically have the certificate - you can’t claim simply by virtue of being pregnant or by having a baby recently. There’s a difference so you weren’t actually eligible if you didn't have the certificate.

It also doesn’t matter whether you were informed correctly by the midwife or not, it’s your ultimate responsibility as you are the person claiming for free/subsided healthcare

So in my opinion, although you feel like it’s harsh, the penalty was appropriately given, you were very lucky that the fine was waived

They’ve got rid of the cards “to save the environment” but I swear it’s because the government wants to make the system user-unfriendly and hit people with fines for administrative mistakes (as opposed to genuine frauds)

Thank you for this post OP it has reminded me that I should diarise when my current prepayment period ends, so that I don’t get stung.

It also doesn’t matter whether you were informed correctly by the midwife or not, it’s your ultimate responsibility as you are the person claiming for free/subsided healthcare

But as a first time mum you simply won't know about these things as you have never had to deal with them before so of course you trust what those who do this everyday why would I question the professionals or presume to know better??

You don't need to bring the certificate with you, usually. I took a picture of my certificate but my pharmacist actively declined when I offered to show her. Dentist asked for it but they let me know before I went.

OP, I think you should enter the prize draw!!!

Oww taking a picture of it is a genius idea, I would never have thought of that.

OP, I think you should enter the prize draw!!!

It may be the lack of sleep, DS has a severe case of FOMO so fights going to sleep, but what prize draw?

Do they still issue the card/certificate?

I have a prepaid prescription set up and they no longer issue anything

When you informed the pharmacy that you were entitled to free prescriptions, there were signs nearby warning you about the consequences of free prescription fraud. There’s a declaration on the prescription leaflet, which you would have signed too.

Being a first time mum can be overwhelming but it doesn’t make you incapable of following this up with a phone call, or googling the proper process if this is a service that you’re interested in, as no one wants to be accused of fraud or fined etc. NHS advice is to pay first and claim a refund later if you’re unsure if you’re eligible for help with health costs or not.

The midwife is medical staff, not admin staff so I’m not sure if a complaint of this nature would be upheld against them. By all means, file a complaint and see if the trust issues you a refund of the £18 themselves?

I’m not trying to pile it on thick though. Perhaps you’d have a better chance at mitigating any impending fines by emailing them your proof of postage receipt to show them that your application form got lost in the post? Do you definitely not have an online/digital certificate?

Sorry OP! It's on the back of my certificate (pic above), they're asking people to take a survey about the certificate for a chance to win a 50 pound voucher. Reckon you have some valuable feedback!

I think OP is aware what she SHOULD have done, but there's the letter of the law and there's the spirit of the law. "Them's the rulez" IMO is exactly why often it feels like things are going to the dogs, make a mistake and it's your own fault, no room for compassion or even common sense.