Got a text saying positive

[doodledo92]

Just spoke to a friend who is isolating due to having symptoms.
He booked in for test, turned out he couldn't make it for that day, tried to ring to change the time but couldn't get through so never had the test.
He received a text message 48 hours later saying his results had come back positive!!!
He NEVER had the test!!

This happened to anyone else? Seems a bit strange to me!

@doodledo92

Just spoke to a friend who is isolating due to having symptoms. He booked in for test, turned out he couldn't make it for that day, tried to ring to change the time but couldn't get through so never had the test. He received a text message 48 hours later saying his results had come back positive!!! He NEVER had the test!!

This happened to anyone else? Seems a bit strange to me!

He couldn't make it? This is where the story starts to fall down. He's isolating, what other plans did he have that clashed?

I think there should be fines for missed tests. They're like unicorn shit at the moment

Well that’s brilliant isn’t it , he booked a test but then didn’t bother going.

I always wonder why this is always about someone’s ‘friend’ also.

@lifesalongsong

Isn't it more likely that when people are booking tests they are inputting their contact details wrongly? With all the stress of the booking system it would be easy to type the a wrong digit meaning that the text goes to the wrong number

Does the system involve human input of contact details at any point?

The text has your name and date of birth at the top so it would be easy to tell if it’s not meant for you

I have registered a lot of tests (care home) and yes you do have to enter your mobile number but you have to enter it twice so unlikely to be an incorrect number.

I know two people who had this exact thing happen
Booked a test didn’t go ( don’t know why you wouldn’t)
Never got tested yet received a text saying they had a positive result

Admin error ? Or is someone else told their negative when they aren’t

Why and how would someone be isolating and book a test and then be too busy to go??

You're isolating.... you can't possibly be busy!

Maybe it’s a deliberate glitch? If you can’t be arsed to go get tested, you’ll be allocated positive to try to stop you going out and about?

I mean, that’s a crap & ridiculous suggestion, but this is a crap & ridiculous testing system set up by idiots, apparently...

Why couldn't he make the test when he's meant to be at home self-isolating?

Some people wont be able to attend tests involving a 4 hour round trip. So it's not totally outrageous people miss tests.

It's not good but I suppose theres going to be a % of incorrect results isnt there.

If this happened, the recipient could and should call 119 to follow up and find out what happened. But nobody should be booking tests they don't intend to use, so this kind of idiot won't ever follow up.

@BexR you don’t get allocated a test site. You have to choose and confirm. So if the only option is one miles away (which you can’t get to) you don’t select it.

Maybe the OP's friend doesn't drive and had his offer of a lift to the testing centre withdrawn after he'd booked it?

Some woman i spoke to the other day said the exact same thing! Made an appointment but couldnt attend and then got a positive text.

Interesting. If he needed a test then didn't have one, he needs to behave as if he had a positive test. Maybe the system defaults to no show = advise positive test so people self isolate

And this woman couldnt attend because she worked in a care home and was supposed to be tested twice a week but the home had no tests sent to them so she booked a test center. She was not self isolating because she didnt need to. So not everyone missing a test is isolating.

He couldn't attend due to his girlfriend not being able to take him. He doesn't drive so couldn't go himself and no one else was willing to take him due to his symptoms.
Like I said once his girlfriend told him she couldn't take him he tried getting I touch to cancel/rearrange his test time but could get through to anyone

Sadly much of the NHS admin is outsourced these days and these mistakes happen far too often in our trust, with data breaches routinely happening.

@doodledo92 why couldn’t his girlfriend take him? If they lived together she should also have been isolating with him and not going out.

If they don’t live together he shouldn’t have asked her for a lift and should have got a home test. It asks you about transport options (car in household).

A colleague of mine had an email saying his antibody test was positive!!

He has never had an antibody test

They do live together. He just said she's started to feel ill herself (different symptoms). That's all I know didn't ask anymore about her.

What's it matter anyway! He tried to call to rearrange/cancel couldn't get through, so went online and applied for one to be posted!
The fact is he got a text saying positive. Without being tested!!

Obviously if you don’t go you get a positive test result, that’s how it should be in my eyes. Can’t make it-stay in until you can

@doodledo92 actually it matters a lot. There is a crisis with people not being able to get tests who desperately need them and then there's people like your friend booking tests without first checking with his only transport option that he can actually get there

Don't blame the system for not being able to cancel! Blame him for not sorting his life out

Getting a random positive result is another matter

R*edcups64
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I totally agree!

I have never thought of that before!
But yes totally make sense

Yes, surely these are scams? The purpose of which I'm not sure though!

You get notified by text and email. Hopefully if he got someone elses text the person who should have had the results got the email so they know the result too.

I booked a test for my daughter the other day. I was typing so fast on my phone when availability finally came up that I mistyped my car registration. I was going fast to get it booked before the slots filled up. I guess it's possible to get phone and email details wrong too but you put those details in at least twice.