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

[Sparklefish99]

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.

Test and trace changed the isolation date for my dc based on the symptoms as dc didn’t have one of the main symptoms until four days after their positive lateral flow test. When I explained I’d been given a different isolation date, I was told that it had been overridden.

T and T argued with me that it was from the date of the +ve PCR result and didn't seem to take on board the fact that the result could take days to come back. Luckily I spoke to DD's school when she had a +ve LFT with symptoms and they calculated when she could go back to school. T and T people are shite don't seem to be that well trained.

I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that the reason it's not possible to edit the isolation date is because it's not about public health - it's about control.

I've dealt with the T & T people 3 times for our family and I always give the date symptoms started which have always been in advance of the test.

With me and DD our symptoms were sickness and nausea and vertigo and track and trace accepted these Symptoms and we got our period calculated accordingly.

If you know you are right, just ignore the date they've given you.

They may have followedthe letter of the rules. If doing a PCR test when there are no symptoms I think the date of isolation runs from the date of the test. If you had done the PCR test soon enough after the positive lateral flow then the isolation date may have run from the date of the positive lateral flow and if you had had symtoms at the time of the PCR test the isolation would have run from onset of symptoms. Lack of petrol was an added inconvenience which has now meant a longer isolation.

As others suggest, returning a postal test via a priority postbox might have been better because collections are done 7 days a week. You’ll know for next time but its a nuisance this time how things have worked out.

It was a priority post box but it didn’t have a Sunday collection! Not all priority postboxes have collections 7 days a week. I checked this at the time. It clearly stated no Sunday collection on the Royal Mail website.

How do you contact them? Or do you wait for them to contact you? Am anticipating this with DD who had a positive lateral flow on Monday, but PCR test result not back until Wednesday

@IncredulousOne

I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that the reason it's not possible to edit the isolation date is because it's not about public health - it's about control.

Don't be daft. Public sector IT systems are notoriously clunky. Staff might not be that IT savvy.

Our priority box doesn't do Sunday collection either

I had the same, they wrote the wrong day down which would have meant DD would have to isolate for 20 days!

I actually spent 5 days calling being passed from dept to dept. Eventually spoke to PHE only to be passed back to where I had started. Made an official complaint which eventually came back after a month saying sorry blah blah.

Bottom line is, there is nothing you can do. So save your sanity and don't bother.

Luckily school took the view that it was ridiculous and let DD back to school on the correct date.

I called again and they said again they couldn’t change it. The positive lateral flow test should have counted (and so would have allowed them to backdate the start of the isolation period) but even though I had confirmation of this as I’d logged it, it wasn’t in the system because I hadn’t added the code they gave me in the confirmation text message to the app (my son doesn’t have the app). If I had logged it on the app they would have been able to change it. I don’t really understand why it’s not in the system if I’d received a confirmation from them.

@Bordois. Assuming you are isolating because you had covid (rather than as a contact), ignore what you were told. You emphatically must not do another pcr at the isolation period as it could well still be positive and then they will make you isolate all over again. You are not meant to pcr again for ages because of possible lurking viral material. A friend got into a pickle in a manner similar to this

@MarthaJonesPhone Thank you - his school are saying the same.

I know its utterly ridiculous that they can't edit their screens. They asked me what date symptoms started and I told them and the operator wrote a completely different date. He said oops sorry but don't worry its easy to change!!

Were the symptoms he had on Thursday one of the main symptoms (cough, fever, loss or change of taste/smell)? If not they aren't counted as a symptom and they have correctly calculated the date as 10 days from the date of the PCR (they won't count LFT results). If he did have one of the main symptoms on the Thursday, call 119 and dispute it.

@MegaGengar Yes, he had the classic symptoms

@MegaGengar but they’ve said they absolutely can’t change it although they agree it’s a mistake

Can you get them to put a note on the system to say that they know it's a mistake and actually his release date is XX? It's very difficult (impossible) to change the actual end date on the system but they could put a comment in the notes with an amended end date given that it affects school etc

Did you register the LFT as positive?

I had a similar situation and they did change my dates from the PCR to the positive LFT a few days earlier (when symptoms started) but, I had to register LFTs for work.
I'm not sure they actually changed anything, but told me to go with the LFT date as day 0 as I had 2 lots of dates, one from each test.

Yes I did and had a text confirmation but as I didn’t then log it on the app (my son doesn’t have the app) it wasn’t in the system.

Well if you had a text confirmation of the +ve LFT I'd use that plus the date of symptoms starting if T and T try to say you're breaking isolation early.

If they've admitted that the date is wrong they can hardly fine you for doing the right thing when you've got the text evidence (but in my experience they're useless so won't pursue it anyway). I'd go with what the school say.

Is the moral of the story then if symptoms and positive lateral flow, then treat as positive and don't bother with a PCR to confirm?
I'm not aware of anyone with positive lateral flow that has then returned a negative PCR.

Tiredoftiers I think maybe you are right. And I think it's ridiculous that the symptoms that are commonly acknowledged by scientists as seen in teenagers and double jabbed adults are not counted for quarantine purposes.

@Sparklefish99

Yes I did and had a text confirmation but as I didn’t then log it on the app (my son doesn’t have the app) it wasn’t in the system.

I don't have the app, but as another poster said, if you've got a confirmation text from the LFT then can you go from that?

In all honesty though, if DS doesn't stand to be penalised from it (I would have been, would have needed to take sick leave to cover the remaining isolation days which would have opened me up to possible sanctions for being off sick) I would just go with the dates you have, if you can get school to issue work?
It's quite clear that they haven't got a scooby what they're doing and that's quite concerning when you consider the fines they can impose for breaking the 'rules', even when you haven't.

You will unfortunately have to go with what T&T have advised you. You may be penalised and fined if you don't. It is unfortunate that you were not able to enter the code provided as this could have helped. Your son will definitely not be able to return to school without sticking to the dates T&T have now advised.