COVID DAY 2 AND DAY 8 TESTS WITH NOWTEST!!!!! EXTREMELY BAD !

Manaxais

We are a family of 5 returning from Spain on sat 3rd...we booked 5 day 2&8 test costing nearly £900 .
 With many emails and phone calls we got day 2 tests 2 days late .We did our tests straightaway expecting them to pick them up same day , but we still have them 5 days later (this is now day 8).....Yesterday (day 7) we received 1 out of 5 of our day 8 tests . We are hoping that we will receive the rest tomorrow.....
I have tried ringing and emailing  them several times a day with no joy(They have cut the phone lines).......
The Government have been very efficient  in warning me everyday the consequences of not self isolating and not doing the test ,when i informed them of what has happened they tell me to pay for more test (another £900) to get a negative result so we can leave the house .....We can not leave without a neg test......I then asked if i can order one of free tests from the goverment and they said no because its not from the government recommended companies ( this is telling me that this is financially motivated)  .....Surely what ever the test from the goverment provide should be ok!!!!! Surely!!??!!
NOWTEST have been completely incompetent . If this was a retailer I would know my rights but what are my rights with NOWTEST .
Has anyone else had problems with these tests?
Can any one advise me ....

silvercar

the free NHS tests are LFTs not PCRs. If you want to end isolation early then you will need to arrange a further test, this could be by visiting an approved testing centre. If one or two of you need to end isolation eg for work, there is no reason why you have to buy 5 tests.

you’ve chosen one of the cheapest suppliers, unsurprisingly they have been overrun with demand for tests and they are no longer selling new tests. In this case going for the cheapest has not paid dividends.

” .We did our tests straightaway expecting them to pick them up same day , but we still have them 5 days later ”

These tests require you to post the completed tests back for analysis. 

I’m not even sure if they will be valid for analysis 5 days later!

Manaxais

But it said once you have done the test then scan then arrange for collection which we did...They said it would come to collect on the same day.....Also this was recommended by the government web site and it shouldn't matter how much !  They are supposed to provide a service and they didnt ,  

Thrugelmir

Sometimes in life things go wrong. If fewer people were travelling internationally then there wouldn't be such stress on the system. Was your journey essential? Not as if global pandemics are a regular occurrence and there's an infrastructure in place. 

Grumpy_chap

Thrugelmir said:

Sometimes in life things go wrong. If fewer people were travelling internationally then there wouldn't be such stress on the system. Was your journey essential? Not as if global pandemics are a regular occurrence and there's an infrastructure in place. 

Whilst I agree with your sentiment, the current press reports are that test-test-test will be part of the Government strategy to allow international leisure travel.  

Given issues reported like the OP's around testing, plus press reports that transit through airports is running to many hours (4 - 7 hours was reported at one point for Heathrow passport control).   Add to that the changing countries in the "red list" and the likelihood of tougher social restrictions when away than at home, and quarantine going one way or both ways, the idea of being able to take overseas holidays seems far away


Perhaps it would be better if the Government just said we should forget the idea of holidays to foreign lands for this year at least.

[Deleted User]

Perhaps it would be better if the Government just said we should forget the idea of holidays to foreign lands for this year at least.

You could ask why people can’t look at the information and make their own minds up?  Some people want/need to travel but if they do they will have to follow the rules applicable.  A blanket ban is not the answer IMO (although I couldn’t be bothered with it all 😝) 

OP I agree you will probably have to either sit it out in quarantine (if this is acceptable 🤔) or request another test if you don’t receive your 8 day one by tomorrow.  Day 2 is now a moot point I would think and the test sitting there void. 

If you haven’t got what you paid for and what was agreed to then you should be able to get your money back but double check the t’s and c’s and any instructions given. 

silvercar

Manaxais said:

But it said once you have done the test then scan then arrange for collection which we did...They said it would come to collect on the same day.....Also this was recommended by the government web site and it shouldn't matter how much !  They are supposed to provide a service and they didnt ,  

On the government website that lists the approved testing companies, it says post. I took that to mean you post the tests back. I’d forget day 2 and work out what is going to happen for day 8. You need the day 8 test results to stop isolating if you don’t want to pay for test to release.

on their own website it says:
”

5) Where do I post my sample back to the Lab?

You can post your sample to any of the Priority Post Boxes, and these can be found here: https://www.royalmail.com/services-near-you#/

• Click the ‘Show my nearest priority post boxes’ tickbox

• Enter the postcode of where you are staying and select the address

• View your nearest priority post box and check its collection times”

  
  

  So clearly they expect you to post the samples back to them. 

GrumpyDil

I assume I'm missing something but how can they post the tests if they are supposed to be isolating? 

CKhalvashi

GrumpyDil said:

I assume I'm missing something but how can they post the tests if they are supposed to be isolating? 

It's allowed to leave self-isolation to fulfil a legal obligation. In my opinion, this satisfies the requirement of a legal obligation.

This means leaving home, posting the test and returning home with nothing else.

onashoestring

GrumpyDil said:

I assume I'm missing something but how can they post the tests if they are supposed to be isolating? 

From the Gov website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england

 “Where your tests are delivered and self-administered, if there is no one in your household or bubble who can post the test for processing, you may leave the premises to post your test. “

onashoestring

Thanks OP for alerting people to the problems with this supplier of Day 2 & 8 tests - people have also been reporting problems with some of the other “cheaper” suppliers on the approved list.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56687207

The supplier’s excuse is that they didn’t anticipate demand would be this high . Which begs the question if they can’t cope with demand now (whilst international travel for holidays is banned) what will the service be like when the restrictions on international travel for holidays are lifted ? 

When considering the cost ( time and money ) of holidays abroad people are going to have to factor in that quarantine doesn’t automatically end after 10 days you have to wait until you’ve had a Day 8 negative test result back so if your chosen supplier doesn’t deliver on time , it’s going to cost more time and money.