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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

NHS prescription penalty charge

89 replies

Knickerbockerglories · 13/03/2023 14:52

I am hoping someone has some experience of this and can advise me…

my husband and I both take long term medication and have previously bought the yearly pre payment prescription card.

I switched to a monthly direct debit and thought I/we had switched his too, clearly we didn’t and he has been ticking the prepayment option for about a year without realising.

last month he got a penalty charge notice after an ‘automated check’ I phoned and explained and offered to back pay the years card, and they basically said tough he would get the fine. Fair enough, our mistake. I went online that day and set up his direct debit for the monthly option which auto renews each year- we won’t be caught out again!

problem is he’s just had another charge notice for the month after the last one… so probably another penalty fine… will these continue for the full year or so he missed so be about £1,000 in total?

if they look at the system they can see it was an error after paying the annual charge regularly for years before…. Do I ring them again or will that just highlight the other times (which he’s more than covered in the first fine).

I know he’s technically in the wrong but it was a genuine mistake and he’s paid the fine and set up the DD option to make sure it doesn’t happen again…

any advice? Has anyone had anything similar?

OP posts:
HappyHolidai · 13/03/2023 15:08

This was covered in the Guardian quite recently. The penalty system for prescriptions is absolutely unfair and yes based on this he is likely to be fined multiple times. Good luck with MP, media, etc...

Guardian article

MCorbett86 · 13/03/2023 15:11

Your husband is an adult and therefore is expected to be on top of his affairs. It is not really that hard to keep on top of your direct debits. What would he think that you had done it for him? Does he need support in managing his finances? Unless there is a medical reason behind why this confusion occurred (i.e. you are a formal carer for him and it is a clear and genuine error), if he is fully independent then he will just have to take responsibility and pay any fines that arrive - and get on top of his own direct debits!

HappyHolidai · 13/03/2023 15:11

It should flag it at the pharmacy, or at least immediately the paperwork goes back to NHS BA but it doesn't get picked up. There is another article about a pregnant woman who had exactly the same problem even though she was entitled to free prescriptions because somebody hadn't properly filled in a form.

Whole thing needs properly digitising and a penalty appeal system that looks at what is reasonable.

MCorbett86 · 13/03/2023 15:13

YABU if he has no medical reason as to why you are managing his finances/cannot take charge of his own direct debits. YANBU if there is a medical reason, and you should lodge a formal appeal with supporting medical evidence etc. and I am sure you will be successful.

Rowthe · 13/03/2023 15:13

Yeah they are really hot on the fines.

They dont miss them.

Try and ring them and see if you can speak to someone.

I got a fine when they made a mistake and the person was able to cancel it.

melody1771 · 13/03/2023 15:14

I would ring! He set up the new DD as soon as he knew he needed to. Plead to their better nature...if they have one.
Good luck.

Bimbleberries · 13/03/2023 15:18

MCorbett86 · 13/03/2023 15:11

Your husband is an adult and therefore is expected to be on top of his affairs. It is not really that hard to keep on top of your direct debits. What would he think that you had done it for him? Does he need support in managing his finances? Unless there is a medical reason behind why this confusion occurred (i.e. you are a formal carer for him and it is a clear and genuine error), if he is fully independent then he will just have to take responsibility and pay any fines that arrive - and get on top of his own direct debits!

It's not that unusual for one person to be in charge of setting things up on a shared account, and the direct debit coming out isn't that clear about what it is or anything - it also is spread over 10 months rather than 12, so you could get confused. I remember when I first noticed it hadn't come out for two months, and being surprised and thinking I wasn't covered, but I hadn't noticed the same thing had happened in earlier years as I wasn't keeping such good tabs on my diirect debits then (and of course in that case, I was covered, but hadn't realised). It's not a huge amount each month, so you could perhaps just not notice it if you thought someone else had set it up for you and there was something coming out of the account.

I'd phone them back and explain the mistake again, and hope that the steps you've taken since will make it clear it was a mistake. Sometimes the pharmacist ticks the box for me anyway and I don't have to sign so it's not like the procedures are watertight from their side either.

MCorbett86 · 13/03/2023 15:18

@melody1771 Why should they have a better nature though? How will they be able to differentiate between a genuine mistake or someone who deliberately did not set up a direct debit and then call and say 'they forgot' one year down the line? They have to take a stern approach as I am sure they deal with a lot of chancers - not just PPCs but also those that claim free dental care fraudulently etc.

How hard is it to keep on top of your direct debits? Especially with banking apps now making them so clear?

TrivialSoul · 13/03/2023 15:19

If his pre paid certificate had only just run out then I would say plead your case but to have had a years worth of prescriptions and not expect to face any consequences is a bit much. We all know that the NHS is struggling so pay your fine and keep a better check on your direct debits.

Rowthe · 13/03/2023 15:22

TrivialSoul · 13/03/2023 15:19

If his pre paid certificate had only just run out then I would say plead your case but to have had a years worth of prescriptions and not expect to face any consequences is a bit much. We all know that the NHS is struggling so pay your fine and keep a better check on your direct debits.

So they should pay upwards of 12 grand?

MCorbett86 · 13/03/2023 15:24

I totally agree with @TrivialSoul. For a one-off insurance I am sure NHSBA would be more sympathetic and believe that this was a genuine mistake. The fact that a year has passed and multiple prescriptions have been obtained will make it almost impossible to convince them that this was a genuine mistake. Indeed, I would say your best option is just to take the hit and learn the lesson. Pay any fines that come in and don't call up NHSBA to discuss and try to mitigate this. It is very unlikely they will accept that this could have been a genuine mistake, and you may just flag yourself up for a potential prosecution on the basis of how many items were incorrectly claimed. Making a mistake once is acceptable, twice maybe not, many times and it is seen more as deliberate.

MaggieFS · 13/03/2023 15:25

Oh bloody hell, I have no idea if mine is still valid! I think the last one I did (after a break to due receiving maternity exemption) I had to pay online. Does that mean I won't get a letter in the post? I've had these for more than twenty years and always get a letter to know to renew!!

ThreeblackCats · 13/03/2023 15:26

you scam the system, don’t be upset when it catches up with you and bites up you on the arse.
whether you scam the system on purpose or by mistake is irrelevant.

Your DH’s unwitting fraud is still fraud of the NHS. Either pay for each item when you pick up your medicine or show your prepayment card, but don’t plead innocence and expect leniency when you’ve had 12 of free prescriptions that he is not entitled to.

MCorbett86 · 13/03/2023 15:27

@Rowthe That's assuming they obtained 120 prescriptions. In that case I am sure the NHSBA would expect them to be more on top of their paperwork, given how important prescriptions are to their daily functioning. Surely a pharmacist would have asked to see evidence of a PPC at some point were that many items being subscribed? If your £12,000 figure is correct, I would certainly say this is more of a case of fraud than genuine error.

MCorbett86 · 13/03/2023 15:27

@MaggieFS - get checking now! Don't leave it to chance.

CiderJolly · 13/03/2023 15:30

ThreeblackCats · 13/03/2023 15:26

you scam the system, don’t be upset when it catches up with you and bites up you on the arse.
whether you scam the system on purpose or by mistake is irrelevant.

Your DH’s unwitting fraud is still fraud of the NHS. Either pay for each item when you pick up your medicine or show your prepayment card, but don’t plead innocence and expect leniency when you’ve had 12 of free prescriptions that he is not entitled to.

It’s not fraud if it’s not deliberate.

Capybaraaa · 13/03/2023 15:30

MaggieFS · 13/03/2023 15:25

Oh bloody hell, I have no idea if mine is still valid! I think the last one I did (after a break to due receiving maternity exemption) I had to pay online. Does that mean I won't get a letter in the post? I've had these for more than twenty years and always get a letter to know to renew!!

They email you a month before expiry. Can't remember if they still send a letter.

You can check here: services.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/check-my-nhs-exemption/start

Hoppinggreen · 13/03/2023 15:32

If this is an honest mistake your H still owes quite a lot of money and the fine is being applied fairly.
Its awful when as mistake costs so much I know but you can’t prove it wasn’t deliberate so I don’t see why they would let you off

Agreeable · 13/03/2023 15:33

CiderJolly · 13/03/2023 15:30

It’s not fraud if it’s not deliberate.

Show quote history

Lol, of course it can be classed as fraud even if it wasn't deliberate.

CiderJolly · 13/03/2023 15:38

Agreeable · 13/03/2023 15:33

Lol, of course it can be classed as fraud even if it wasn't deliberate.

Show quote history

There has to be intent for fraud to have taken place. An honest mistake is not fraud. A quick google will tell you this.

MaggieFS · 13/03/2023 15:51

Right, panic over for me at least but a potentially close call.

I located the email with the last certificate which expired late Jan.

I have also located an email in my spam folder which arrived on Boxing Day giving me notice to renew.

By fortunate coincidence, today is the first prescription I have had to collect since it expired so I have just renewed online.

I think it's pretty poor to only receive ONE email reminder. Appreciate the onus is arguably on me to remember the date and arguably on me to check my spam, but I don't think that's great.

MaggieFS · 13/03/2023 15:52

MCorbett86 · 13/03/2023 15:27

@Rowthe That's assuming they obtained 120 prescriptions. In that case I am sure the NHSBA would expect them to be more on top of their paperwork, given how important prescriptions are to their daily functioning. Surely a pharmacist would have asked to see evidence of a PPC at some point were that many items being subscribed? If your £12,000 figure is correct, I would certainly say this is more of a case of fraud than genuine error.

Granted I don't have that many prescriptions, but I have never been asked to show maternity exemption cert nor PPC to a pharmacist. I used to, but I guess the job has been given to the centralised team who then do fines?

Ariela · 13/03/2023 15:56

I think you just have to pay the fine even though it was a genuine mistake the onus is on you to pay it. Same as MOTs and car insurance, onus is on you to keep a check and know - I write MOTs etc on the calendar for the forthcoming year as we have about 6 vehicles to keep track of. In the same way we won't get a refund for the prescription fees I paid for DH's prescriptions after he was 60 because I did not know they were free over 60 (I thought free if a pensioner), ditto years ago when pregnant as I didn't know they were free and the poor pharmacy were over-busy and too understaffed to think to ask as they assumed we should know.

WingingIt101 · 13/03/2023 16:07

HappyHolidai · 13/03/2023 15:11

It should flag it at the pharmacy, or at least immediately the paperwork goes back to NHS BA but it doesn't get picked up. There is another article about a pregnant woman who had exactly the same problem even though she was entitled to free prescriptions because somebody hadn't properly filled in a form.

Whole thing needs properly digitising and a penalty appeal system that looks at what is reasonable.

This was me!!

Midwife didn't send off the maternity exemption form and I had no idea I should have received an actual certificate. I stupidly assumed that writhing their own internal systems it would see I had in fact been pregnant and had a baby.

When I questioned the fine I was told they would wipe the fine as I should have been entitled but it was a paperwork error but that I still had to pay the prescription charge. Even though they could clearly see there was no way I could have not been entitled.

It's a shambles.

OhNoYouKilledKenny · 13/03/2023 16:08

Didn't he ever have to show his cert to the pharmacy when he collected his scripts?
I have to show mine each time.
Although they no longer give you a plastic card, they send a letter of certification if you're paying on DD once the renewal takes place.
Doesn't anyone check their DDs anymore? Or even wonder when a bill is due?