I was fined despite paying for an NHS prescription

Last Christmas I was prescribed antibiotics for a post-operative infection. The pharmacy assistant insisted, despite my questioning, that I was exempt from prescription charges.

Two weeks later I returned with another prescription, and was told that they had made a mistake and I was liable for charges after all. I paid the outstanding fee on the spot.

I have since received a letter from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) stating that I will be fined for non-payment of the original prescription.

I have provided evidence of payment, and my pharmacist has written to it confirming the error, but the NHSBSA says both are inadmissible.

Reviewers reporting a similar experience on Trustpilot compare NHSBSA’s intransigence to the Post Office’s behaviour during the Horizon scandal, and I have to agree.

LM, Leamington Spa

The number of blameless people fined by the NHSBSA for non-payment is a scandal that I exposed and have covered repeatedly. They include new mothers and cancer patients who are entitled to free prescriptions but who, due to an oversight by medical staff, were not registered for an exemption certificate.

The NHSBSA, which checks patient exemptions on behalf of the NHS, insisted that, because you didn’t pay the charge on the day you collected the prescription, you were liable for a fine, which is five times the prescription fee plus the original charge.

It reversed at speed when I got in touch and, hours later, informed you that you were in the clear. Its statement implies it repented its intransigence unprompted.

“Following investigation, we recognise that, in this case, the patient realised the error and acted quickly to correct the issue before receiving an inquiry letter from the NHSBSA. We have therefore been able to close the case and remove the penalty charge in this instance,” it says.

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