NHS penalty charge notice

wogam

Hi, I have been extremely worried about a recent letter surrounding an NHS penalty charge notice.

On the 30th of September, I received free dental care as I believed I had an HC2 certificate (being a student). Unfortunately, the certificate was actually issued a week later, on the 8th. I noticed that I did not have a certificate the day after receiving the treatment, and contacted the dental practice on 3 separate occasions (October the 1st, 15th and 29th), offering to pay the amount for treatment, with no response from the dental practice. I could not visit the practice as I travelled back to university on the day of treatment.

I have now been slammed with a £100 fine. While I agree that claiming treatment without full knowledge of a HC2 form was wrong, I think it is important to note that I trailed through multiple venues to try and pay the amount. Should I challenge the notice or should I pay the fee?

Thanks for your help.

BorisThomson

Did you pick up the phone and call the surgery, what did they say? Which other multiple venues did you use to try and pay, and what have you done since October?

You are free to appeal. It's unlikely an appeal will be successful but there's no harm in trying.

wogam

BorisThomson wrote: »

Did you pick up the phone and call the surgery, what did they say? Which other multiple venues did you use to try and pay, and what have you done since October?

You are free to appeal. It's unlikely an appeal will be successful but there's no harm in trying.

Thanks for the reply. I have called them every other week since October the 1st and have either been cut off, told that the HC2 will cover it or put on hold even after explaining the situation. I have even tried contacting the branch manager and locality manager (as this is a nationwide branch) with no success.

BorisThomson

wogam wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I have called them every other week since October the 1st and have either been cut off, told that the HC2 will cover it or put on hold even after explaining the situation. I have even tried contacting the branch manager and locality manager (as this is a nationwide branch) with no success.

Hopefully the people you have contacted will confirm what you have done.

Put all this information down in your appeal, and a copy of your phone records detailing the phone calls made.

Darksparkle

There’s never any harm in appealing, they can only say no.

None of what you have said seems to be an exceptional reason though.

dippy3103

When did you become a student? Ie when did you start college?

tomtom256

wogam wrote: »

Hi, I have been extremely worried about a recent letter surrounding an NHS penalty charge notice.

On the 30th of September, I received free dental care as I believed I had an HC2 certificate (being a student). Unfortunately, the certificate was actually issued a week later, on the 8th. I noticed that I did not have a certificate the day after receiving the treatment, and contacted the dental practice on 3 separate occasions (October the 1st, 15th and 29th), offering to pay the amount for treatment, with no response from the dental practice. I could not visit the practice as I travelled back to university on the day of treatment.

I have now been slammed with a £100 fine. While I agree that claiming treatment without full knowledge of a HC2 form was wrong, I think it is important to note that I trailed through multiple venues to try and pay the amount. Should I challenge the notice or should I pay the fee?

Thanks for your help.

If the notice was issued after you had the treatment, how could you have thought you did not have to pay!

If it was issued on the 8th, why did you ring on the 1st?

At end of the day, you signed a false declaration. By all means appeal, but the response will be based on actions done at the time of signing, not after trying to rectify it.

bspm

tomtom256 wrote: »

If the notice was issued after you had the treatment, how could you have thought you did not have to pay!

If it was issued on the 8th, why did you ring on the 1st?

At end of the day, you signed a false declaration. By all means appeal, but the response will be based on actions done at the time of signing, not after trying to rectify it.

Because the poster stated they noticed the day after treatment that they did not have the certificate. So that's why they called on the 1st?

tomtom256

bspm wrote: »

Because the poster stated they noticed the day after treatment that they did not have the certificate. So that's why they called on the 1st?

Yep makes sense, missed that bit.

Still signed a false declaration though, knowing they didn't have a valid certificate at the time of treatment.

w00519772

BorisThomson wrote: »

Hopefully the people you have contacted will confirm what you have done.

Put all this information down in your appeal, and a copy of your phone records detailing the phone calls made.

I agree with this. Go to your provider online and download your phone records. It will show all the times you tried to contact them. It will also show how long you were on the phone to them (showing you were cut off).

METAL_MICKEY

Something does not add up here. HC2 certificates do not automatically renew so prior to treatment you must have completed the HC1 application form. Thereby you were aware the previous one was about to expire.

The correct action was that you should have paid the NHS charges to the surgery and then when your new HC2 was granted you could have applied for a refund to the NHSBSA by via an HC5 form.

Your subsequent attempts to retrospectively pay the surgery are irrelevant. You have made an incorrect benefit declaration when you have signed the blue PR1 form in the surgery.

To have the penalty removed you would need to prove that " you did not act wrongfully or with a lack of in making the declaration ". You fail on all accounts.

And now the punchline. I used to issue those penalties!