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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Bloody Borris!

178 replies

NotTheBaby · 27/11/2021 22:12

Due to go on holiday on Monday. Announcements made tonight but travel agents not open tomorrow. No idea when the new rules start, government website still says the old rules. I’ve got Lateral Flow tests already but now they’re a complete waste of money and I have to spend hundreds of pounds (which I don’t have spare!) buying PCR tests to replace them. I know we have to protect the country, and I know it’s my own fault for travelling during a pandemic, but I wish they’d decide what they’re doing and then announce it with all the details rather than this stressful drip feed 😭

OP posts:
ThesecondLEM · 27/11/2021 22:14

Surely you should have factored the extra costs of pcr into your budget anyway.

ThesecondLEM · 27/11/2021 22:15

But yeah, it's a massive fucking worry who we have making decisions on our behalf

NewbieAlert · 27/11/2021 22:16

I’ve got Lateral Flow tests already but now they’re a complete waste of money
Aren’t they free?

Ylvamoon · 27/11/2021 22:17

Will you travel company have updates on their website?

Original poster
NotTheBaby · 27/11/2021 22:18

@ThesecondLEM no I didn’t. I only needed a LFT and ordered them with plenty of time. If we had weeks then I could move stuff around, but finding out two days before I go hasn’t given me much notice?

OP posts:
Kummerspeck · 27/11/2021 22:19

If they announce things way in advance people just find ways to get round the rules, look at all the idiots who rushed back off holidays earlier this year to beat deadlines with no care for whether they increased risks for others by doing it.
I'm sorry your plans and costs have to change but it is a risk you take by booking holidays now (and I say that as someone who had to cancel one earlier this year)

daisypond · 27/11/2021 22:19

Aren’t they free?

No, you have to pay for them. Definitely not free.

GreenLunchBox · 27/11/2021 22:20

LFTs are free aren't they?

If money is tight you shouldn't be going away in the middle of a pandemic

HaveANiceFuckingDay · 27/11/2021 22:20

@NewbieAlert

I’ve got Lateral Flow tests already but now they’re a complete waste of money Aren’t they free?
No , you can't use the free NHS LF tests for holidays abroad
NotJustACigar · 27/11/2021 22:20

Lateral flow for travel isn't free, mine was £17. I'm on holiday at the moment (visiting an elderly parent I hadn't seen in over 2 years) and will need to sort a pcr and self isolation on my return. I don't mind and think it's the right thing to do, just a bit unfortunate I had to buy the lateral flow which is now useless.

loobylou10 · 27/11/2021 22:21

I don't understand. Lft's are free aren't they?

loobylou10 · 27/11/2021 22:21

Ah ok - crossposted.

GreenLunchBox · 27/11/2021 22:21

@daisypond

Aren’t they free?

No, you have to pay for them. Definitely not free.

You can just pick them up at a pharmacy cant you?
GreenLunchBox · 27/11/2021 22:22

Oh, right

Coronado2 · 27/11/2021 22:22

Lateral flows for travel aren't free.

When you plan travel of course you plan for all the costs. Why would you plan for PCR costs when told lateral flows are what you need though? I'd be annoyed in your situation op.

lljkk · 27/11/2021 22:23

Sympathies, OP. We may soon lost £1000 on travel plans (to see my elderly parent abroad, how dare I...), if everything goes pear-shaped and it turns out we just can't travel. I don't blame Johnson, though. He's annoying as Hell but the pandemic isn't his fault.

I hope the LFTs will still be accepted for your journey.

Original poster
NotTheBaby · 27/11/2021 22:24

No, normal LFTs are free but travelling ones you have to pay for. They come with a code and are checked

I know i took a risk travelling during a pandemic but it was rolled over from last year and we seemed to be doing so much better I went for it. It’s not that I have no money, I’ve just carefully budgeted to afford it (single parent, I need to be careful!) and it’s so close to the end of the month now. I’m not saying we should have months of notice, but a week to get sorted would have been nice

OP posts:
TinaYouFatLard · 27/11/2021 22:24

You cannot use the “free” tests for travel. People who travel must be punished for doing so and pay for something that is widely available.

You have my sympathy OP.

LibrariesGiveUsPower45321 · 27/11/2021 22:25

Totally understand your frustration, but it’s the risk you take going overseas at the moment. We all knew there was a high risk of things kicking off again in winter.

LibrariesGiveUsPower45321 · 27/11/2021 22:26

I hope you get clarification ASAP though.

Toottooot · 27/11/2021 22:26

That’s the risk you take booking a holiday in these times - rules are forever changing. It’s shit but nothing is guaranteed.

Darbs76 · 27/11/2021 22:27

Lateral flow tests are free to use to check you have Covid at home etc. For travel they are around £18 each (mine were last week for coming back from Poland) and you cannot use the free ones, you need to enter the ref number for your test into your passenger locator form.

It is annoying not knowing what’s going to happen. The PCR’s are more expensive. I went to my brothers wedding in Poland, I wouldn’t have travelled otherwise and it was stressful.

Chloemol · 27/11/2021 22:28

@NotTheBaby

No, normal LFTs are free but travelling ones you have to pay for. They come with a code and are checked

I know i took a risk travelling during a pandemic but it was rolled over from last year and we seemed to be doing so much better I went for it. It’s not that I have no money, I’ve just carefully budgeted to afford it (single parent, I need to be careful!) and it’s so close to the end of the month now. I’m not saying we should have months of notice, but a week to get sorted would have been nice

Oh dear.

Perhaps you would like to speak to the virus and ask them to stop changing and in this case possibly being more vaccine resistant so you can go on holiday

It’s not Boris’s fault

And at least he has learnt from Delta

EileenGC · 27/11/2021 22:31

I'm sorry OP. It's very annoying that they have announced a new rule but haven't actually given any details about it, or said when it comes into effect.

That said, and I'm honestly not victim-blaming here, but this is why you shouldn't book any tests until a day or two before you're coming back. Booking them before even leaving the country sounds a bit much. If you tested positive today or got symptoms whilst away, they would've also been a waste of money.

They come with a code and are checked
Except no one actually checks them. I'm still waiting for my confirmation email that my photo has been verified... a photo I uploaded 3 weeks ago...

This is why people were angry about paying for LFTs. No one checks them so it's a waste of money any way you look at it.

Dogmum40 · 27/11/2021 22:32

So Sorry for jumping in on this thread but which are the 18.00 tests you that are travelling are using? I have a transferred holiday from last year and the test centres we are looking at are 120 each? If there’s a cheaper alternative please please could you send me a link! Thank you 🤩 and yes OP the notice period is completely shite I totally agreed with you