NHS Penalty Charge Notice received

Londonsu

cosmicgirl8 wrote: »

I find it unbelievable and rather sad that some people on this forum feel the need to be so caustic in their judgement of what they read. Clearly you have never been made suddenly unemployed or else you would empathise with the complete sledgehammer effect it has upon someone. When I claimed JSA I was not aware that there were two JSAs and had not received any paperwork in the post at that point. During the claim for JSA you are asked many questions but no mention is made of any associated entitlements or otherwise which would be helpful. Indeed, when I eventually received my paperwork, one page referred to my "income based" JSA which was actually WRONG! During subsequent discussions with my local health board I was actually told by the chief executive that he sees cases "all the time" of elderly people especially getting caught out. Also, come on! Can you really say hand on heart that you read every single thing you sign to the last letter? I think not; if you do then you are exceptional. As I said, I was about to pay with my debit card when the receptionist led me down the path of signing this form whilst asking me to book in for my next appointment. She could have told me that it might be best to pay now and reclaim later (if eligible). It was only £13.50 after all. She even marked where (in her opinion) I needed to sign! That to me signalled that I didn't need to look further or read any other parts! In my opinion, dentists profit handsomely from NHS patients (sometimes fraudulently) therefore they should accept some responsibility in what they say to patients. No rights without responsibilities.

Yes I have been unemployed and yes I do read everything I sign and if I don't understand it make sure I find out if you look at my link the form you signed was very clear it was hardly reams of text with the prospects of penalties in the small print.


As for being caustic you were not asking for advice were you? You were just having a moan about how unfairly you thought you had been treated, No rights without responsibilities applies just as much to you as it does to your dentist because you were responsible for the claim not them


And even though you were not asking for advice I took the time and trouble to find you the information about appealing the fine, are you going to use it or just keep going down the 'its not my fault road'

ibrowze

At the end of Nov 2016 out of the blue I received an unexpected letter from the NHS Business Services Authority serving me with a Penalty charge of 100 pounds. I phoned them to find out what it was about. I'm a self employed musician who sings mainly in care homes and receive working tax credits due to my low income. Over the years my dentist has advised me to show the letter I get certifying my tax credits award as proof that I am eligible for free dental treatment. I phoned NHS BSA up to find out an appeal procedure which I followed to the letter however they didn't reply to my emails. I have since made 3 more phone calls which I recorded and are full of conflicting information which concludes in yesterday's conversation with the woman on the other end basically holding a kangaroo court claiming I have no right to appeal, contrary to the information from the previous two phone calls with different people each time. This is clearly some kind of racket as one is even allowed to appeal against parking ticket penalties but not in this case. Is it legal?

Bogalot

ibrowze wrote: »

At the end of Nov 2016 out of the blue I received an unexpected letter from the NHS Business Services Authority serving me with a Penalty charge of 100 pounds. I phoned them to find out what it was about. I'm a self employed musician who sings mainly in care homes and receive working tax credits due to my low income. Over the years my dentist has advised me to show the letter I get certifying my tax credits award as proof that I am eligible for free dental treatment. I phoned NHS BSA up to find out an appeal procedure which I followed to the letter however they didn't reply to my emails. I have since made 3 more phone calls which I recorded and are full of conflicting information which concludes in yesterday's conversation with the woman on the other end basically holding a kangaroo court claiming I have no right to appeal, contrary to the information from the previous two phone calls with different people each time. This is clearly some kind of racket as one is even allowed to appeal against parking ticket penalties but not in this case. Is it legal?

Have you ever received an exemption certificate, has HMRC told you that you are exempt from charges?

You do have a right of appeal, but your failure to establish your entitlement would not be a valid reason for the charge to be cancelled.

Are you disabled or is there another reason why you cannot get more regular employment? That would enable you to pay for treatment and not find yourself in this position again.

sheramber

She may have meant that you have no grounds to appeal.

Working tax credits alone does not entitle you to exemption

You only qualify for exemption from NHS charges if you
have a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate – if you don't have a certificate, you can show your award notice; you qualify if you get Child Tax Credits,
Working Tax Credits with a disability element (or both) and have income for tax credit purposes of £15,276 or less. You will be sent an exemption certificate of you qualify.

a valid HC2 certificate

If you are on low income you need to apply for a low income certificate

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcosts/Pages/nhs-low-income-scheme.aspx

NYM

ibrowze wrote: »

At the end of Nov 2016 out of the blue I received an unexpected letter from the NHS Business Services Authority serving me with a Penalty charge of 100 pounds. I phoned them to find out what it was about. I'm a self employed musician who sings mainly in care homes and receive working tax credits due to my low income. Over the years my dentist has advised me to show the letter I get certifying my tax credits award as proof that I am eligible for free dental treatment. I phoned NHS BSA up to find out an appeal procedure which I followed to the letter however they didn't reply to my emails. I have since made 3 more phone calls which I recorded and are full of conflicting information which concludes in yesterday's conversation with the woman on the other end basically holding a kangaroo court claiming I have no right to appeal, contrary to the information from the previous two phone calls with different people each time. This is clearly some kind of racket as one is even allowed to appeal against parking ticket penalties but not in this case. Is it legal?

This explains the criteria;

Who is entitled to free dental care?

If one or more of the criteria listed below applies to you when your treatment starts, you will be entitled to free NHS dental care.

You are entitled if you are:

• aged under 18, or under 19 and in qualifying full-time education
• pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months
• staying in an NHS hospital and your treatment is carried out by the hospital dentist
• an NHS hospital dental service outpatient – however, you may have to pay for your dentures or bridges

You are also entitled if you or your partner – including civil partner – receive, or you're under the age of 20 and the dependant of someone receiving:

• Income Support
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
• Universal Credit and meet the criteria

If you're entitled to or named on:

a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate – if you don't have a certificate, you can show your award notice; you qualify if you get Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits with a disability element (or both) and have income for tax credit purposes of £15,276 or less
• a valid HC2 certificate

blue555

My benefits cover the meds and they should be free for me.
But, 'NHS Business Services Authority have sent me another fine
of £51.60. £43.00 fine + £8.60 meds. and if it's not paid within
few weeks it goes up another £50.

There's a 2 week gap between their last given penalty
date and my new HC2, so they might do a 3rd time?

I needed the meds quick and it's slow to get a replacement
HC2 each year.

This doesn't seem fair to me, it should be folk who don't
have the right, but they're chasing folk who do have the right
but just not the correct forms.

When I complained to NHS BSA via email a woman got
back to me wanting to see my bank statements and the ruling
on my benefit. Which I gave thinking it would help my case
and I never heard from her again. Just another fine.
I think they're being pedantic.

Now 2 meds have cost me £100 I don't want anymore
no matter how important it is.

poppy12345

blue555 wrote: »

My benefits cover the meds and they should be free for me.
But, 'NHS Business Services Authority have sent me another fine
of £51.60. £43.00 fine + £8.60 meds. and if it's not paid within
few weeks it goes up another £50.

There's a 2 week gap between their last given penalty
date and my new HC2, so they might do a 3rd time?

I needed the meds quick and it's slow to get a replacement
HC2 each year.

This doesn't seem fair to me, it should be folk who don't
have the right, but they're chasing folk who do have the right
but just not the correct forms.

When I complained to NHS BSA via email a woman got
back to me wanting to see my bank statements and the ruling
on my benefit. Which I gave thinking it would help my case
and I never heard from her again. Just another fine.
I think they're being pedantic.

Now 2 meds have cost me £100 I don't want anymore
no matter how important it is.

What benefits would that be? Not all benefits give entitlement to free prescriptions. You then say about your new HC2 but if your benefits entitled you to free prescriptions you wouldn't need the HC2.

KxMx

NHS BSA take around a month to process an HC1 form, i'd suggest sending the next application in when there are 2-3 months left on current HC2, to ensure no break in qualification.

Murphybear

Just out of interest when I was on income related ESA our dental surgery asked for proof of entitlement to free treatment. They told me in advance they would need proof so I took my award letter along.

This seems an obvious solution and will save a lot of hassle when people claim incorrectly (knowingly or genuine error).

sheramber

blue555 wrote: »

My benefits cover the meds and they should be free for me.
But, 'NHS Business Services Authority have sent me another fine
of £51.60. £43.00 fine + £8.60 meds. and if it's not paid within
few weeks it goes up another £50.

There's a 2 week gap between their last given penalty
date and my new HC2, so they might do a 3rd time?

I needed the meds quick and it's slow to get a replacement
HC2 each year.

This doesn't seem fair to me, it should be folk who don't
have the right, but they're chasing folk who do have the right
but just not the correct forms.

When I complained to NHS BSA via email a woman got
back to me wanting to see my bank statements and the ruling
on my benefit. Which I gave thinking it would help my case
and I never heard from her again. Just another fine.
I think they're being pedantic.

Now 2 meds have cost me £100 I don't want anymore
no matter how important it is.

You can apply for a refund of the charges within 3 months of paying them. You need to obtain a receipt for the payment from the chemist when you get the prescription. You cannot get one later.