£25 charge for GP to fill in form - do I have to pay?

united4ever

Hello, I consulted my GP once who prescribed physio for my problem. When I mentioned I get private health care through work he suggested that route and said if there is any form they need him to fill in he would happily do it - he didn't mention any cost.

I filled in my section of the form and left the small section the Gp has to fill in and posted it to my GP with a SAE asking him to send it on to the Health Insurance people. I then got a bill for £25 from my GP which seems excessive for a few minutes of form filling. He didn't mention any cost before I got the bill. Am I legally obliged to pay. What can they do if I don't?

dmg24

If you want the form completing, then yes, you have to pay. The GP works for the NHS, and is quite entitled to charge for assisting you in a private referral.

If they have already sent the form, then they will pass your debt on to a debt collection agency. If they have not, then they will return the form to you incomplete.

exetergirl

Hi, i'm a Drs receptionist, (a nice one I should add ) & it is standard practice for GP's to charge for form filling. Their general feeling is that they are there to help sick patients & anything else is taking up their valuable time, which therefore warrants a charge. (They are obviously poorly paid :rolleyes: ) That said, you should have been advised in advance that there would be a charge & it may be worth contacting the Practice Manager to see if they can persuade the Dr to waiver the cost. Good Luck.

united4ever

Thanks for that, I've actually had a couple of letters from them over a couple of months now which I've ignored - didn't think they'd pass it onto a debt collection agency. I think I'll call on Monday and ask them to waive the charge since they didn't advise me of it in advance. Thanks again.

dmg24

united4ever wrote: »

Thanks for that, I've actually had a couple of letters from them over a couple of months now which I've ignored - didn't think they'd pass it onto a debt collection agency. I think I'll call on Monday and ask them to waive the charge since they didn't advise me of it in advance. Thanks again.

The problem is that it is your word against that of the GP. Hopefully he will be honest, but if not, if you keep ignoring the letters and it goes to court, you can imagine that the judge will take the word of the GP over that of your own.

Poppy9

My GP practice has a notice up advising patients that they charge for form filling.

Voyager2002

Apart from anything else, if you don't pay something that they think you should and they send it to debt collectors, what will that do your relationship with your doctor? Upsetting you doctor is not a good idea: you never know when you will next need him.

Why not claim the fee from your insurance?

toady

Hi, I too work in a GP surgery and as part of my job I deal with complaints from patients. The cost of completion of some forms is met by the insurance company, so always check to see if the insurance company pay. (they send payment to GP once completed form is received). For other forms, the charge by GP is usually on a sliding scale depending on length and complexity of form. As previously stated, there should be a notice in reception detailing charges.

The problem you have is that you have ignored previous letters about the charge.

if I were in your position I would contact the Practice Manager, as already suggested, and apologise for non payment, recount the conversation you had with your GP originally, and say that you haven't paid because you were under the impression that there wouldn't be a charge. Ask PM to ensure the doctors make any charges clear to patients whilst in consultation, and then suggest they make notices about charges more prominent in case other patients make the same mistake. (thought: were you by any chance seen by a locum? in which case I'd let you off payment, as there's no way of verifying what the locum said). Otherwise it might just be a case of pointing out you weren't given the info about charges, and asking practice manager to take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.

I know it's no help, but it could have been a lot worse. Insurance forms are usually about £79 and HVG medicals come in at £160 every year. Doctors complete these forms in their so called "free time", so they are entitled to charge.

Scousebird_2

Aye this is true-in actual fact-my life insurance underwriting was sent to my GP for referral and my insurer paid £79 for the notes on my health, and it wasn't my GP who completed it, it was one of the high grade clerical staff who did it-but still I can see why the charge is in place because I am expecting a service outside of that of which my taxes pay for and I was taking up valuable time from a healthcare professional that could of been used on doing paperwork for an ill patient so I feel the fee paid was worth every penny. Bearing in mind I am a 21yr old female with no previous health complaints and no admittance to hospital in my life (touch wood) so why my insurer referred for Doctor's reports, I will never know!! But there we are!!

brightonman123

would the firm;s policy cover such fees?

or do they have a preferred list of doctors, that are paid direct?

axzed

Outraged! I just called my Dr. regarding verification of ID for a bank account. He has known me 30 years and I must pay £25-30 just for him to acknowledge such with a document verifying signature! Why don't banks swallow this charge as they refuse to set up an in-house reciprocal method of vouching for customers already cleared within the system? I resent being considered guilty of fraud until proven innocent by my superiors who in this day and age have proved themselves far short of scruples, not themselves being above accountability and malpractice. Okay, so they apparantly have more to lose and will not squander their reputation as we of the lower echelons are suspected of doing. Why can I not do this for free at a BANK! Or a Police Station, Post Office, Council Office or Job Centre etc? Money for the boys. Outrageous 'professional' fees that hit the working lower waged very hard. My boss, Director of a high profile company,based within an edifice and who has employed me for 12 years is not deemed significant enough either. Yet more inconsideration and oppression. No wonder kids are ready to show their frustration and anger. The kettle will explode.