NHS penalty charge for prescriptions despite being pregnant?

[SenoraSurf]

I sent my form off in the post that I got from the midwife in December at booking apt (I'm due in July). I have had HG and been collecting my prescriptions by ticking the 'maternity' box on the prescription form ever since.

I never got anything back once I sent the form off but assumed all was ok. I have received a penalty charge in the post as apparently they have no knowledge of my being exempt and they've listed my prescriptions I've collected and a charge etc.

What do I do? Was I supposed to get something back when I sent the form off? I really don't want to be paying a £50 charge! The midwife said to appeal it but how the heck do I go about that?

Thanks in advance

You should have received a card with your exemption number. I would start by chasing that up to find out what's happened to it then go from there.

They dont give out cards but you should have got a letter with a number

Yes you should have received an exemption certificate which you need to show when you claim free prescriptions.

Follow the instructions for appealing/challenging that come with the penalty charge. If you did not have a valid exemption certificateat the time you will have to pay, even if you were eligible to have the exemption.

Just call the nhs business services authority they’ll ask for evidence of your exemption, scan it over with your reference number (it will be on the letter) and they will write it off. Don’t worry about it it happens frequently I spend a lot of time appealing patient charges.

A headed letter from midwife or scan appointment will be sufficient evidence.

@IVEgottheDECAF Iv got a card with my certificate.

How long have you had it?

Im 27 weeks and my certificate states "we no longer send out cards"

They don't send out cards anymore. I got one last week and it was just a letter.

Also due in July. I sent my form off around Feb and received my exemption letter back within about 2 weeks 😕

@IVEgottheDECAF I think it must be a recent change, I'm 26 weeks and have a card?

Thanks for your replies. I haven't received any letter or card in the post so I'm assuming that's the first hiccup! I sent the form off that they gave me so guess I will have to ring up and see where that's got to.

I feel so silly for not chasing anything up sooner. I naively put it down to 'classic NHS' being slow but perhaps it's an admin error!

Will call them up on Monday and fingers crossed they will override it!

I got a penalty letter even though i had a card, i rang them and it's because i had forgotten to tell them i had moved house so address didn't match the prescription/certificate. They cancelled the penalty straight away. Have you changed address or anything since applying?

@IVEgottheDECAF I'm 33 weeks

I got my letter today to say they don’t do the cards anymore but to tick box D on prescriptions and this will be checked. Maybe your midwife or GP forgot to send the form?

With my last pregnancy in December I got a card. It was more like a laminated bit of thick paper and came attached to the letter. Things might have changed though?

It changed from cards to letters in approx Feb this year. I had to chase my exemption and when I phoned up they said it wasn’t uncommon for the application forms to fail to reach them.

I had the exact same. I know ignorance isn’t an excuse but with dd there wasn’t an exemption card or letter, we just got free prescriptions automatically because I was by ticking the pg box. I also have hg and have been on medication since 4 weeks. Because of being unwell family would collect my prescription and I just asked them to tick the pg box. I initially asked the chemist at the surgery to confirm it would still be free because I was pg who said yes. I had a lot of prescriptions because of this and did this every time. At my booking apt I asked mw if this was ok and she said it was fine and filled out the relevant form and said it would be backdated. No probs.

So the exemption came but was only dated from 4 weeks before booking in, which was at 9 weeks so dated from 5 weeks, by which time I’d already had prescriptions.

I got a charge for a prescription before the exemption started but when I was pg and required a prescription for pg reasons.

I gave the letter to a family member who is a solicitor to see if I had to pay or could question and looked online at people’s experiences. I was advised that despite the fact I was pg and because of this should have had free prescriptions, the small print means they could insist that I pay it because at the time I didn’t have an exemption. I believe before the exemption arrives strictly speaking you should pay and then claim the money back from the nhs.

So, you could try countering it but effectively you didn’t have the exemption to get the prescription at the time so from a legal POV as unfair as it is they can say you have to pay.