PCR tests for travel - Are the charges fair?

Tucker

With countries like Spain now insisting on a private negative covid test prior to travel, it strikes me that the costs being charged for this are high. 

Are companies exploiting this situation charging £120 to £150 per test? 
It seems a lot and I'm sure it will be one of those things that will only reach a fair price over a period of time and for now, they can over charge for it. 
Or is there more to it and it's a fair price? 

MattMattMattUK

Define "fair", they are businesses, charging for a service, so that they can make a profit. There is no compulsion to travel internationally, it is a choice and you have to deal with the cost of the test just as you would have to deal with the cost of having a passport, visas etc. for relevant countries.

The concept of "fair" is highly subjective, prices may come down over time, what is more likely is that they will be phased out and proof of immunisation will be required instead, £120 for a test for a virus, to allow one to undertake voluntary travel during a global pandemic does not seem onerous to me.

Thrugelmir

Deduct VAT of 20% and the actual cost comes down somewhat. Likewise a service that requires a guaranteed turnaround time will always command a premium. 

As always it's down to a customers choice whether the cost is worth the price. No different to booking the front rows on a RyanAir flight for the convenience factor. 

Tucker

MattMattMattUK said:

Define "fair", they are businesses, charging for a service, so that they can make a profit. There is no compulsion to travel internationally, it is a choice and you have to deal with the cost of the test just as you would have to deal with the cost of having a passport, visas etc. for relevant countries.

The concept of "fair" is highly subjective, prices may come down over time, what is more likely is that they will be phased out and proof of immunisation will be required instead, £120 for a test for a virus, to allow one to undertake voluntary travel during a global pandemic does not seem onerous to me.

The definition of fair in my book is charging a reasonable price for a service. There's profit and there's exploiting a situation. 
I don't know what is involved but if the cost of each test was minimal and they could make a decent profit charging half as much then it's not a fair price and it is likely that over time competition will resolve that. 
There are families (not me I add) that booked to travel long before any such restrictions were applied. It may be voluntary travel, but that doesn't mean we need to have the attitude that it's their own stupid fault if they want to escape this miserable winter weather for a week or two  be it for a break from 9 months of working solid in a key role or for the good of their mental health. That's what holidays are for and your as likely to have to cancel a break, booking something in the UK right now. 

Ganga

Tucker said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Define "fair", they are businesses, charging for a service, so that they can make a profit. There is no compulsion to travel internationally, it is a choice and you have to deal with the cost of the test just as you would have to deal with the cost of having a passport, visas etc. for relevant countries.

The concept of "fair" is highly subjective, prices may come down over time, what is more likely is that they will be phased out and proof of immunisation will be required instead, £120 for a test for a virus, to allow one to undertake voluntary travel during a global pandemic does not seem onerous to me.

The definition of fair in my book is charging a reasonable price for a service. There's profit and there's exploiting a situation. 
I don't know what is involved but if the cost of each test was minimal and they could make a decent profit charging half as much then it's not a fair price and it is likely that over time competition will resolve that. 
There are families (not me I add) that booked to travel long before any such restrictions were applied. It may be voluntary travel, but that doesn't mean we need to have the attitude that it's their own stupid fault if they want to escape this miserable winter weather for a week or two  be it for a break from 9 months of working solid in a key role or for the good of their mental health. That's what holidays are for and your as likely to have to cancel a break, booking something in the UK right now. 

As nobody on this forum knows if these companies are making a profit on these tests it,s unfair to accuse them of exploitation

[Deleted User]

Tucker, you need to drop needless emotion from the equation. Also, I don't see stupidity mentioned apart from yourself. Is life fair?  People provide a service for whatever cost they wish,  either pay or don't . Unfortunate extra cost but it's a different environment we live in now. Regards

Tucker

Ganga said:

Tucker said:

MattMattMattUK said:

Define "fair", they are businesses, charging for a service, so that they can make a profit. There is no compulsion to travel internationally, it is a choice and you have to deal with the cost of the test just as you would have to deal with the cost of having a passport, visas etc. for relevant countries.

The concept of "fair" is highly subjective, prices may come down over time, what is more likely is that they will be phased out and proof of immunisation will be required instead, £120 for a test for a virus, to allow one to undertake voluntary travel during a global pandemic does not seem onerous to me.

The definition of fair in my book is charging a reasonable price for a service. There's profit and there's exploiting a situation. 
I don't know what is involved but if the cost of each test was minimal and they could make a decent profit charging half as much then it's not a fair price and it is likely that over time competition will resolve that. 
There are families (not me I add) that booked to travel long before any such restrictions were applied. It may be voluntary travel, but that doesn't mean we need to have the attitude that it's their own stupid fault if they want to escape this miserable winter weather for a week or two  be it for a break from 9 months of working solid in a key role or for the good of their mental health. That's what holidays are for and your as likely to have to cancel a break, booking something in the UK right now. 

As nobody on this forum knows if these companies are making a profit on these tests it,s unfair to accuse them of exploitation

I am not saying they are exploiting it. I was explaining my definition of fair where a charge for a service is involved. 

Tucker

thetimewill said:

Tucker, you need to drop needless emotion from the equation. Also, I don't see stupidity mentioned apart from yourself. Is life fair?  People provide a service for whatever cost they wish,  either pay or don't . Unfortunate extra cost but it's a different environment we live in now. Regards

I was asking if the price of the test was reasonable. 
But as always where foreign travel is involved, people have to start with the 'why do you need to travel during a pandemic' attitude. 
I wasn't asking for opinions on whether travel was voluntary, but trying to understand why the cost of test was seemingly so high. Is it reasonable for the work involved or profiteering knowing some will be stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

[Deleted User]

The test is a private medical service, never cheap.  No exploitation ,profiteering etc in my opinion.  That's business, that's life. Fair? Yes/no / maybe!

theoretica

Look at how much other private tests cost - there are a few common home tests that have been optimised to be very cheap (blood sugar, pregnancy) but many lab based tests are in the same ball park as this one.  And there is the pressure of needing a fast turn around which some other tests don't need.

DCFC79

thetimewill said:

The test is a private medical service, never cheap.  No exploitation ,profiteering etc in my opinion.  That's business, that's life. Fair? Yes/no / maybe!

Exactly, private tests wouldn't be cheap.