Doctor/ GP charging for medical certificate/ sick note??

[Mr Vee]

Hi guys n gals,

I required a letter from my GP for my university due to exam extenuating circumstances. The thing is, my GP makes a £10 charge for this!! :eek:

Anyway, i required the letter for a due date, but the surgery receptionists who type up the letter messed up and this resulted in the letter not being done on time to submit to uni. (i.e. the letter was useless to me)

I even went to the surgery on the due date and the letter wasnt ready so i got a lil mad and told them i dont want the letter anymore and stormed out.

So now im in the situation where the surgery are saying your letter is here and its going to cost £10. :mad:

What i want to know is, do they have any right to even charge this £10 charge? If they do then should i pay this? Where do i stand?

Please can someone help :confused:

[Nile]

Hello Mr Vee

I think your thread will be better placed in the 'Health' board, so I'll move it across for you.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1009335#post1009335)) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email abuse@moneysavingexpert.com (abuse@moneysavingexpert.com).

Regards

Nile

[trinnylilac]

I think your g.p can charge for this, I work for an insurance company and when we request medical reports from g.p's they charge and we pay £15,

The fact that the letter wasn't done in time is another matter and you can only speak to the receptionist and explain the situation . They might waver the cost but then again might not.

[cattie]

Yes unfortunately gp's can charge for letters & filling out forms & if you find one who makes no charge you are very lucky indeed.

[mr_rush]

Non-NHS work has to be privately paid for. The British Medical Association has a list of suggested prices for a variety of private letters/examinations etc. £10 is a reasonable fee

[lolly5648]

If you explained at the time that you needed the letter by a certain date then they broke the terms of the 'contract' and I dont see why you should pay.

[Mr Vee]

yes, lolly5648... thats exactly it! You have hit the nail on the head there... i told them i needed it by 2days time and thats their usual turn around time... but they didnt meet the date (deadline) so useless!

[Toothsmith]

I am sure the practice will have a complaints proceedure. They all should have.

I would write a letter of complaint just simply stating that you needed a letter from the doctor.

You were told there was a charge, and agreed to that charge, but you needed the letter by a specific date which you told the receptionist.

The letter was not prepared by the required date, and yet, even though it is no longer of any use to you, and that you haven't taken posession of it, you are still being asked to pay for it.

You feel this is unfair, and please could they look into the matter.

Hopefully, that should get a better response than you just storming out!

[Mr Vee]

thank u. well said, toothsmith - judge judy couldnt have put it any better! :)