Hi all, new to the forums so a quick introduction:
My names Blake, 22 years old and i've been T1 Diabetic since i was 16, insulin dependant.
Much to my shock today after coming home from work i had a letter on my doorstep from the NHS 'Business Services Authority' making a demand for £96.60 due to not having a valid medical exemption certificate when i claimed a prescription in september 2014.
When i was 16 years old, through to the age of 18 i was entitled to free care due to being in full time education. From this point onwards i assumed that as i was diabetic my prescription costs would be automatically covered by the NHS as we are entitled to free healthcare. I was never told about a certificate i needed to apply for by my healthcare professionals, my doctors or my pharmacy. For the past several years when i've picked up my prescriptions they've merely asked me do i / don't i pay, to which i state i'm a diabetic and they tick a box on the back of the prescription and then prompt me to sign.
So today when this letter dropped through my letterbox you can imagine i was in quite some shock. An advisor told me it's not your condition that entitles you to free prescriptions, but your certificate and that i must pay up. Why should i have to pay a charge for medication that by rights i am entitled to completely free of charge, but because i didn't have a certificate that said so i'm now slapped with a charge of nearly £100.00.
So my question to anybody out there with similar experiences is how i should go forward with this, has anybody ever had a penalty waived ? Either way i'm not paying as i don't see why i should, i've only ever had my diabetes medication on prescription anyway, so why should i pay a penalty of £80.00 designed to protect public funds from those claiming for things they wasn't rightfully entitled to when i am ? I guess i'll see them in court.
My names Blake, 22 years old and i've been T1 Diabetic since i was 16, insulin dependant.
Much to my shock today after coming home from work i had a letter on my doorstep from the NHS 'Business Services Authority' making a demand for £96.60 due to not having a valid medical exemption certificate when i claimed a prescription in september 2014.
When i was 16 years old, through to the age of 18 i was entitled to free care due to being in full time education. From this point onwards i assumed that as i was diabetic my prescription costs would be automatically covered by the NHS as we are entitled to free healthcare. I was never told about a certificate i needed to apply for by my healthcare professionals, my doctors or my pharmacy. For the past several years when i've picked up my prescriptions they've merely asked me do i / don't i pay, to which i state i'm a diabetic and they tick a box on the back of the prescription and then prompt me to sign.
So today when this letter dropped through my letterbox you can imagine i was in quite some shock. An advisor told me it's not your condition that entitles you to free prescriptions, but your certificate and that i must pay up. Why should i have to pay a charge for medication that by rights i am entitled to completely free of charge, but because i didn't have a certificate that said so i'm now slapped with a charge of nearly £100.00.
So my question to anybody out there with similar experiences is how i should go forward with this, has anybody ever had a penalty waived ? Either way i'm not paying as i don't see why i should, i've only ever had my diabetes medication on prescription anyway, so why should i pay a penalty of £80.00 designed to protect public funds from those claiming for things they wasn't rightfully entitled to when i am ? I guess i'll see them in court.