Travel day 2 test - Please help

[stilldazed]

Please help, I live overseas and after 2 years I'm finally going home!

I am filling out the passenger locator form and it is asking for a test booking reference, when I click on the link on the government site they are all really far away, I will be staying in rural wales with no transport. Can anyone recommed a postal services that is accepted by government website and doesn't cost afortune (I am travelling with 3 DCs) I was hoping to pay £20 but I've seen prices as high as £80 which for 4 of us I just can't afford.

I'd be grateful for any advice or to hear from people with recent eperiance smile

I totally agree, it seems like a massive money making ecercise. All over Euorpe the tests are done in local pharmacies and cost 20 Euro...How anyone can justify a price of £89 is insanity.

I'm surprised there has not been an uproar.

People have been seperated from loved one for nearly 2 years and then have to pay a primium to government nominated companies to have a simple test carried out....

@stilldazed

Suprima - It's asking for a code on the Passenger locator form

I know…which is why I have advised you to book the cheapest possible Day 2 test (ExpertMedicals £28) as you are literally paying for a code for the form.

If it doesn’t arrive for whatever reason, NHS will tell you to go and book a free NHS PCR.

I’m just back from a trip to the UK and I used Nationwide Pathology for my Day 2 test. It was £40 and I really recommend them because the whole process was a breeze and I had no issues with them.

You get an email with your booking reference as soon as you order the tests.
Test arrived on Day 1 (Thu), I took it Friday pm and posted it priority to Leicestershire where their lab is. They received it at 10am on Saturday and I had the result that same afternoon.

You read so many bad reviews online of tests not showing up, booking references never arriving after payment, results taking ages (not that it matters if green/vaccinated). NWP had amazing reviews and I’ll be using them again in a few weeks when I need to travel again, because it was all very simple and professional.

Check you can use them from Wales, but I was in East Anglia and had no issues.

Ps that sounds very company advertising-like but I’m a regular poster if you want to check This constant swapping between emails and Mumsnet isn’t helping my choice of formal/informal writing…

I’m questioning the whole day 2 process here in terms of being effective! I’ll do it and pay ££ because I have to but.. you are really just paying for a code on a form right? Are government officials checking the follow up from all the tests to make sure they are done correctly and timely? No. True, it’s just another money making scheme/ a way to make it £ to travel.

@Delatron

I’m questioning the whole day 2 process here in terms of being effective! I’ll do it and pay ££ because I have to but.. you are really just paying for a code on a form right? Are government officials checking the follow up from all the tests to make sure they are done correctly and timely? No. True, it’s just another money making scheme/ a way to make it £ to travel.

They are not

People have been chasing their results from the companies themselves as they have not received them, usually on hold for hours to far flung call centres.

You are paying for a code.

So it makes a mockery of the whole process. Basically get the code as cheap as you can and don’t stress if the test turns up late. All you need is the code which you get when you purchase

Hello, I think if you are travelling directly to Wales you have to have tests done by the Welsh system (CTM), you can't use a private company. Scroll down to Post arrival testing.

gov.wales/travel-wales-covid-19-testing-and-isolation

I only know as my sister has just arrived from the US and chose to stay in England instead until after her isolation.

@stilldazed

I totally agree, it seems like a massive money making ecercise. All over Euorpe the tests are done in local pharmacies and cost 20 Euro...How anyone can justify a price of £89 is insanity.

I'm surprised there has not been an uproar.

People have been seperated from loved one for nearly 2 years and then have to pay a primium to government nominated companies to have a simple test carried out....

You're comparing lateral flow with PCR.

I’m in Germany and can get a PCR for 34€. But it does vary country to country - my family in Spain paid 120€ each for a fit to fly PCR a couple of weeks ago. There were 75€ tests available, a 1.5h drive away…

@Suprima

ExpertMedicals is the cheapest day 2 (£28)

Unreliable service, but all you need is the code to put on your passenger locator form.

If it doesn’t show up- NHS Covid helpline will direct you to go and get a free PCR done at a test site.

There really is no point in paying £50-60. You literally only need the code for entry to the UK.

We tried purchasing with them, but couldn't get past the first page. Entered our details, hit submit and nothing happens 🤷🏻‍♀️

The entire thing is a money-making con.
All these companies have popped up out of nowhere.
DH found 4 separate sites from the govt list which were identical web pages. No doubt there are more.
Says 'from £19.99' but strangely those tests are sold out. Even stranger, they have the £59.99 tests available 😡
it all makes me so angry.

@stilldazed I hope you see this before you book a test in England. If you are staying in Wales you need to book a a test through the Welsh government page, this will be delivered to your address in Wales, you take the test on or before day 2 and then send it back via a priority Royal Mail postbox. The results are processed by one lab and out into the Welsh NHS system. It costs £88. There is only this one option for people travelling to Wales.
When you book the test online you will get two emails, one is confirmation and the second is the receipt with booking reference. You put this booking reference on the PLF.
I just travelled to the UK from abroad and am staying with family in Wales (landed at Birmingham airport) and this is what I had to do.
This is the link

quarantinehotel.ctmportal.co.uk/Quarantine/Home.aspx