Ajid Javid It has pledged to crack down on the “cowboy” behavior of companies that use holiday vacationers to buy coronavirus test kits at misleading prices.
The Minister of Health highlighted 82 private travel testing companies, which account for about 18% of the country’s travel testing companies. government Website, they will receive two strike warnings and may be removed from the official gov.uk list.
A recent review by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) found that the prices they showed on the gov.uk website were lower than the prices people actually paid at checkout, which listed various vendors available.
As part of the new two-strike policy, if the company fails to take action within three days after the first strike, they will be removed from the website list.
Mr. Javid said: “It is absolutely unacceptable for any private testing company to take advantage of vacationers. Today’s action has combated this kind of cowboy behavior.
“57 companies will be removed from the gov.uk list, and another 82 companies will be warned of two strikes-if they advertise misleading prices again, they will leave.
“We will also introduce regular spot checks this week to ensure that all private suppliers comply with the rules and meet our high transparency standards.”
The difference between the price of the ad headline and the actual cost at checkout has been attributed to the company’s dishonesty and misleading to attract customers or to pass additional fees (such as delivery fees).
Consumer rights groups Which ? Condemn the government for spending nearly half a year “appropriately reviewing” its own list of private testing providers in order to delete non-existent companies and companies that promote misleading prices.
According to which, this state of affairs is “unforgivable”? Travel editor Rory Boland.
He said: “The number of companies that have been cancelled or facing warnings shows that travelers face great difficulties in choosing a trustworthy and reliable test provider. Many people will face delays and missed tests because they use government-listed cowboy companies. .
“Although it is frustrating that the government has taken so long to crack down on rogue suppliers and many summer vacations have been ruined, but now we must take immediate action to remove any companies that do not follow the rules.”
DHSC stated that the gov.uk website will be updated to reflect the true cost of the test, and the company will be warned this week that if they advertise misleading prices again, they will be deleted.
A total of 57 companies will be removed from the list on Monday because they no longer exist or do not provide the testing that should be performed by the returning company. U.K On the second and eighth day of their arrival from abroad.
Beginning this week, regular spot checks will be conducted to ensure that the company complies with the rules, accurately displays the price, the supplier is legal, and does not change the name in order to re-enter the list.
DHSC stated that it will share the results of its review with the CMA competition regulator.
It added that travel tests booked for companies not on the list can still be used for travel, provided that these companies meet legal requirements.
Earlier this month, DHSC stated that the cost of NHS testing and tracking testing for international arrivals will be reduced-the cost of passengers from green-listed countries or passengers from yellow-listed countries who have been fully vaccinated will be reduced from 88 pounds 68 pounds.
The cost of the two tests for people from the Amber List countries was reduced from 170 pounds to 136 pounds.
