medicine - if doesnt work why cant get refund 18 October 2005 at 8:12PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Health & Beauty MoneySaving 12 replies 2.3K views

wallet_2

trading standards / sale of goods act allows refund where something doesnt work.

is their a loophole wherereby a prescribed drug ie Phorpain with ibuprofen doesnt do nowt to releive. Why cannot i take it back for alternative. or am i expected to stump up anoth £6.25 to try something else

safesound

Because common sense says that different people will react differently to different medicines, and its not their fault that you are the 1 in 5000 or whatever that it doesnt have any effect on.

ben500

I'd have a refund! The reason most don't get a refund is simply because they don't ask!!

rushnowt

safesound wrote:

Because common sense says that different people will react differently to different medicines, and its not their fault that you are the 1 in 5000 or whatever that it doesnt have any effect on.

I agree with what you say, however it does make ya wonder tho, and surely the OP has a valid point to some extent, I purchased some of that nit foam stuff, whatever it's ruddy called, dont it bug ya when ya can't remember the name of summat lol, anyway, used it all on my daughters hair but it never worked, i was really peed off too at almost £10 a can, i almost wrote to the company about it but didn't bother

bedshaped

I assume you mean Phorpain gel?

Why not just take Ibuprofen tablets ? They cost pennies compared to the gel and may well be more effective than something applied topically to the skin.

This is of course assuming that you're not asthmatic, have a peptic ulcer, have a history of kidney disease or have problems taking aspirin or any of the other related drugs in the Non steroidal anti inflammatory drug (NSAID) class.

You're quite right though Ben, Not enough people do ask for a refund.

I'm a qualified Pharmacy Technician and worked in a hospital pharmacy. We regularly re-dispensed NHS prescription free of charge when the patient had needed a change of medication only a couple of days into their treatment.

As always, If you don't ask you don't get!

bluep

I would think that a nit shampoo not working is a better case for complaint than painkillers especially as it is a commercially available product rather than prescription. The company producing the shampoo probably has a customer services line just the same as if you bought a load of pampers nappies and they leaked.

If a prescribed medicine doesn't work then it is surely a matter to discuss with your GP rather than the company that produces it. Painkillers particularly are difficult to judge whether they are the right level of painkiller as people experience pain differently and have differing pain thresholds. The £6.25 is a NHS prescription charge as well, not reflective of the cost of the drug (unless I misunderstood the OP).

However, you do have my sympathies - I find for really really bad migraines, the only thing that will shift it is prescription painkillers that are so strong they just knock me out for 4 hours. Hope you find something that helps.

divadee

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safesound

rushnowt wrote:

I agree with what you say, however it does make ya wonder tho, and surely the OP has a valid point to some extent, I purchased some of that nit foam stuff, whatever it's ruddy called, dont it bug ya when ya can't remember the name of summat lol, anyway, used it all on my daughters hair but it never worked, i was really peed off too at almost £10 a can, i almost wrote to the company about it but didn't bother

Now that I'd take back and/or complain about as its specifically made to work on all nits (including the 1 in 5000 )

wallet_2

thanks divadee an sorry not in best forum.

bedshaped - thanks 4 reply. reason for not tablets - last time i had tablet form of that ibrufen i ended up with major need of suppositorys and tree surgeon !. also i need for esomoprasole occassionally excuse guessed spelling. startin to sound like hypochondriac now - normally totally tablet /medicine free

lady_noluck

I was given some prescription drugs once (can't remember what they were, poss painkillers or anti inflammatory) which I never even opened as I got rushed to hospital a few hours later and was refused a refund by the chemist when I took them back! :mad: That was £6.25 wasted.

heather38

the reason that you can't get a refund is that pharmacy doesn't allow them, i am a community pharmacy tech, we often have people bring back meds that don't work, but there is nothing we can do, if they don't work you just have to pay and get a new prescription, the reason is that we only supplied the meds the doctor prescribed and you don't pay for the drugs you pay for the prescription, thats why everyone pays £6.50 not the cost of the drug.
bed shaped hospital pharmacy is different than community pharmacy as we are not operated by the nhs but are run as private companies, so asking for a refund wont work-you can't have one simple as that