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Original poster

Track and Trace calculated date wrongly - no grounds for appeal?

87 replies

Sparklefish99 · 07/10/2021 04:32

My son had a positive LFT last Thursday so I ordered a PCR test. It didn’t arrive until late on Saturday so he took it first thing on Monday morning. The results came back positive on Tuesday. I had the call from track and trace and they asked about his symptoms etc. I said that he didn’t have symptoms now, but did the previous Thursday and explained that he’d had a positive LFT on that day too. I then had a follow up email from them which calculated his isolation period from the Monday (when he took the PCR) not the Thursday (when he had symptoms and a positive LFT). This was obviously wrong so I called to explain the situation fully expecting them to admit the mistake and change it. However I was told that once the date was in the system there is nothing that can be done! This was so incredibly infuriating as it clearly was their mistake. I asked if they could listen to the recording of the conversation, but they refused and just reiterated that the date given for the end of his isolation period had to stay and that there was no grounds for appeal.

This now means that he would have to miss almost an additional week of school unnecessarily. He’s in the sixth form and I really don’t want him to do this, especially as there’s no online lessons etc.

Has anyone else had this experience and managed to appeal? (I was told that there was no appeal process even though it’s clearly their mistake). I’m also tempted just to send him in anyway, 10 days from the positive LFT, and just hope they don’t check.

OP posts:

Whatwentwronghere · 07/10/2021 05:10

It's just unfortunate he didn't do the pcr on Thursday. Could he not have got to a test centre?
I'm not sure how it works in schools, would he have to show proof the time had expired?

SinoohXaenaHide · 07/10/2021 05:19

They haven't made a mistake. He had a positive test on Monday so the calculation starts on Monday. If he had done the test late on Saturday when it arrived the period would have been 2 days shorter. Its perfectly sensible for there to be no appeals process. What a waste of limited resources that would be. He will be fine. The extra few days won't do any harm.

Nyancat · 07/10/2021 05:20

I'd send him back 10 days after first symptoms/positive lft. They're might not be a mechanism to change their record once input and saved but he shouldn't have to isolate longer than necessary because of their error

Original poster

Sparklefish99 · 07/10/2021 06:42

It is a mistake because the isolation period should start from when he had symptoms. This is how my daughter’s was calculated.

OP posts:

LorenzoVonMatterhorn · 07/10/2021 06:44

This happened to me on the app. I just ignored it.

Original poster

Sparklefish99 · 07/10/2021 06:44

The nearest test centre that had slots was an hour round trip and I didn’t have enough petrol. Also when you register to get a PCR test they make it clear that they prefer people to use the postal tests and leave the slots at the test centres for key workers.

OP posts:

Silkieschickens · 07/10/2021 06:44

My daughter was also given longer than the 10 days since symptoms started, she was given 5 days from PCR test and they said that was a rule.

Original poster

Sparklefish99 · 07/10/2021 06:56

“If he had done the test late on Saturday when it arrived the period would have been 2 days shorter. “

Well, no, because then it would have sat in the postbox until Monday morning (arrived too late for Sat collection) and it’s made clear that you should do the test on the same day that you post it, so it might not even have been valid, adding extra delay. That is why he didn’t do it until Monday morning.

OP posts:

Thirtyrock39 · 07/10/2021 06:59

I think it's priority postboxes for tests so it would've been collected Sunday
My understanding is it's from when symptoms start especially if you've had a positive lateral flow on that day

Thirtyrock39 · 07/10/2021 07:00

Surely sixth form should provide online learning ?

dementedpixie · 07/10/2021 07:02

I'd time from symptoms starting and ignore T&T

xksismybestletter · 07/10/2021 07:03

Do the school check anything to return?

dementedpixie · 07/10/2021 07:04

@SinoohXaenaHide

They have made a mistake as isolation is calculated from symptoms starting not the test date plus he had a positive LFT on the date of symptoms

Original poster

Sparklefish99 · 07/10/2021 07:04

@Thirtyrock39

I think it's priority postboxes for tests so it would've been collected Sunday My understanding is it's from when symptoms start especially if you've had a positive lateral flow on that day

There wasn’t a Sunday collection at the local priority box. The nearest with a Sunday collection was a 45 min round trip but I didn’t have enough petrol.

OP posts:

Piggy42 · 07/10/2021 07:06

I would ignore and go from date of symptoms. That’s how my ds’ was worked out. They’re wrong.

AttaGirrrrl · 07/10/2021 07:06

I’m pretty sure a PCR has to be taken within 48 hours of an LFT for the LFT positive to ‘count’. For future reference, priority boxes are also emptied on Sundays.

Hollyhead · 07/10/2021 07:07

Just ignore it, calculate it based on the actual rules which is when symptoms start.

20viona · 07/10/2021 07:11

This happened to my friend and she ended up doing 13 days isolation they said there was nothing they could do. Ridiculous

Cao77 · 07/10/2021 07:17

I would be careful about ignoring the isolation period given by T&T, even though it is a mistake. When my son tested positive a letter was sent to his school confirming him as positive case, which I received a copy of, it also outlined the £10k fine if you were caught not isolating. Hence, if I'd have sent him back to school before the isolation period, school would have been able to report this...did you register your son's sixth form information when ordering the test?

Gherkingreen · 07/10/2021 07:25

The isolation period should start when symptoms start, or with no symptoms, on the day of the + PCR test.
Then 10 full days after that date should be counted. There seems to be confusion about the 10 day thing. When I spoke to T&T they said the day of symptoms or test is day zero (not day 1) and then 10 days full should be counted as the isolation period. Which in my head is 11 days.
I don't think many people are going with this system, most count the first day of symptoms as day 1.
If you're confident your DS had symptoms, use that date. T&T won't contact school, you can just tell them when he will be back.

OxAl82 · 07/10/2021 07:30

This happened with my daughter. The T&T woman didn’t know what she was doing and said her isolation end date was x date and I said no, she had symptoms so should be 3 days earlier but the T&T woman insisted it wasn’t from when symptoms started , it was from receiving postive PCR result. However much I said it was from start of symptoms she wouldn’t listen. For a week I tried every Avenue to get it changed because I didn’t want her to miss the start of school. I was told by 3 different people I could email to get it changed until I rung for about the 5th time and got someone that at last seemed to know what they were doing and said no, you can’t change it once the first T&T person has put it on system! How in this modern day they date have an edit button for their system I don’t know! T&T were completely useless for us. Giving out wrong info or being unsure. Rung my mobile to check I was isolating- I could have been anywhere!

Original poster

Sparklefish99 · 07/10/2021 07:30

@AttaGirrrrl

I’m pretty sure a PCR has to be taken within 48 hours of an LFT for the LFT positive to ‘count’. For future reference, priority boxes are also emptied on Sundays.

The local priority box is not emptied on a Sunday - I did check! Only some of them have Sunday collections.

OP posts:

Anyother · 07/10/2021 07:30

We had similar for my son. Test and trace calculated from the day of the test rather than from the days symptoms started. This is because he had the typical teen symptoms rather than the three that the government are still insisting on so they counted him as symptomless and calculated from the day of the test. (Even though he'd already had days off school for being unwell). When I called them back to query they said there was no way to change it. So he will miss extra days of school for no reason. Very frustrating. I have no idea if they will have contacted school - I assume they have.

Barkingdog · 07/10/2021 07:32

Why is his school not providing online lessons? There's no excuse not to nearly two years into the pandemic. Your annoyance should be with them rather than track and trace.

Original poster

Sparklefish99 · 07/10/2021 07:33

@OxAl82

Very similar to my situation - so infuriating! The second person I spoke to agreed it was a mistake but said that once it was recorded in the system it couldn’t be changed. Makes no sense at all.

OP posts:

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