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Expert Medicals removed from UK approved covid test list – is your cheap test worthless?

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Expert Medicals, probably the cheapest online provider of covid testing for travellers returning to the UK, has been removed from the Government list of approved testing providers.

Here is the list of approved test providers for Day 0-2 testing and the company is no longer listed.

The HfP comments section has seen many readers complaining about Expert Medicals service – if they received any service at all.

Expert Medicals removed from UK approved covid test list

However, there were also many readers happy to use them, irrespective of whether they actually provided tests after you paid them.

You DID receive a valid tracking number to put on your Passenger Locator Form when flying back to the UK, which allowed you to enter the country. There is no proof that the Government actually tracks whether purchased tests are used or not.

Here are some reader comments from the last month:

Expert Medicals Day 2 test turned up on day 6, and I’d already left the UK on another trip on day 5. 

Expert Medicals is working. Seems to come on about this time on a weekday. I ordered two last week and they arrived here, not fussed about what happens when I send it back.

Just used Expert Medicals for £28 for the day 2 test and the purchase went through without a hitch. Whether the test actually shows up is another question but getting the code for the PLF is the main objective.

Expert Medicals – 2 first time users here during the past fortnight. Paid with Curve. Both of us had our Curve cards compromised this weekend, with fraudulent in-person transactions in the north of England. We’re both abroad so could prove it wasn’t us. EM are the only new retailer common to both of us. Correlation isn’t causation but just putting it out there.

Has anyone been able to buy a test from Expert Medicals today? I fill in the form, click submit and the website just reloads, it never gets me to the payment processing stage.

I managed to order Expert Medicals over a week ago, but they haven’t bothered to ship the tests yet and I’m now on day 2 arrival from amber fully vaxxed. 

Expert Medicals is a dodgy company working from an office above a shop in Bradford. They specialise in medicals for (dodgy) insurance claims. I wouldn’t trust them to send a test kit out in time.

Expert Medicals PCR test – I used them previously without issues. Second time, they took my money 2 weeks ago, but failed to send PCR test at all – no emails about courier/expected delivery etc as per the first time. They are ignoring emails.

Expert Medicals – successfully ordered £28 PCR test yesterday for my wife. Today I can’t get the form to submit and go to checkout for mine. I’ve seen on here others have had same problem?

Expert Medicals for £28 if you don’t care much about testing arriving on time etc and just need it for PLF.

Expert Medicals is cheaper but probably won’t arrive. You only need the code for the PLF, so it’s up to you.

Has anyone successfully ordered an Expert Medicals test since the weekend? Numerous reports of people having issues with the website.

Can I still use my Expert Medicals reference on my Passenger Locator Form?

This is the big question.

Does this mean that if you have bought an Expert Medicals test but have not yet flown back to the UK, you will no longer be able to use the number on your Passenger Locator Form?

Which? magazine states that it believes that existing tests ARE still valid. However, Expert Medicals now appears to be using a new laboratory called ‘LY’ to process its tests. Which? magazine claims that no such laboratory has Government approval to carry out Day 0-2 testing in the UK.

The purchase reference number you give on your Passenger Locator Form does seem to be checked against a list of issued numbers so it is possible that numbers issued by Expert Medicals will cease to be accepted at some point.

This story will run on, I think.

Category

General

Comments (133)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • NFH says:
    3 Sep3 September 14:07

    In the eyes of the consumer, the only reason to pay for a day 2 test is to get a code to enter on the PLF. Most consumers don’t care whether or not the test arrives in time or at all. That’s why Expert Medicals have got away with charging for the code and failing to send the tests on time. If consumers receive the tests late, they are unlikely to send the tests to the lab, which saves Expert Medicals’ costs and increases their profits further.

    This all proves why day 2 tests for fully vaccinated travellers from amber and green countries need to be abolished. The pre-flight test should be sufficient, particularly as the so-called day 2 test can in practice be taken on the same day as the pre-flight test.

    • Paul says:
      3 Sep3 September 15:51

      Agreed, utterly pointless.
      Chronomics have not provided my test results more than 3 days after they were sent in which is a bit annoying because I paid for the service, but I have done LFT tests since coming back and dumped the NHS T&T app months ago.

      • Nick says:
        3 Sep3 September 17:20

        Be careful what you wish for. If the D2 is removed, the pre-flight requirement is likely to be upgraded to full PCR. LFTs are not good enough to ‘protect society’.

    • Margaret says:
      4 Sep4 September 11:07

      I thought that the point of the day 2 trst was to track where the bulk of covid from overseas came from (ie last summer it came from Spain), and pick up variants. Lateral flow tests don’t always pick up a live infection. My daughter had about 7 friends who has covid in July. Three of then didn’t show as positive and one only faintly, but they all tested positive on PCR tests, including one who was double vaxxed on May/June due to immune issues testing positive 17 days later, two days before a trip to Barbados so quickly did another test and it was ok!

  • Alfons says:
    3 Sep3 September 14:12

    Used them a few times, with the tests being a few days late each time, and a few instances of not receiving a result. Was able to claim back the cost from my bank each time so worked out very well!

    It’s a shame that the NHS provided Day 2 and 8 tests are priced at almost £70. With their volumes they should have the lowest marginal cost of all the providers, so they are wasting the opportunity to show leadership by offering competitively priced tests that actually reflect the cost.

  • kitten says:
    3 Sep3 September 14:19

    Not really sure why Day 2 should even be necessary if coming from Green country and fully vaxed. It’s not as though the UK’s infection rate is lower than any other Green country.

  • Ryan says:
    3 Sep3 September 14:25

    From the comments it would appear that you could buy just a £20 green day 2 test even if you need a day 2 & 8 test

    I’m still looking at getting 2 & 8 but just wondered hypothetically if it would work

  • Harrier25 says:
    3 Sep3 September 14:33

    We’ve now decided to remain in the UK until all this nonsense blows over! It was a complete palaver returning from Madeira last month. Was much easier when we visited Madeira at the start of October last year, between Lockdown 1 & 2.

    • John says:
      3 Sep3 September 14:55

      That’s why I travelled extensively in summer 2020 (and got lambasted for it on here and other forums, although I accept that it was my own choice to post about it) and again immediately after Lockdown 2, but have not left the UK since.

      It also helps that all the places I want / need to go still have hotel quarantines.

      £28 for Expert Medicals would be a significant proportion of the amounts I used to pay on day trips, even to expensive places like Switzerland, and even on slightly longer trips where I paid everything on points, £28 would have been a significant proportion of my cash outlay

      • Pete M says:
        3 Sep3 September 15:51

        I worry that you may not be travelling for a while in that case, John, even if your destinations open up. The PR value of this exercise and the outlays made by the testing people are clearly too much to drop it anytime soon…

      • Harry T says:
        3 Sep3 September 16:09

        I travelled a lot in summer 2020 too, as I had no faith it would become easier to travel for UK citizens this summer.

      • ChrisBCN says:
        4 Sep4 September 11:15

        Or move to Europe, we’re all traveling normally

  • Chrisasaurus says:
    3 Sep3 September 14:37

    Sure I am not alone on here but flying back tomorrow with expert medicals day 2 tests ordered and I think actually delivered so will be hoping the reference is accepted and doesn’t break the plf form. Have done and printed mine already but yet to complete wife’s as need to go seek out her passport.

    Will report back unless anyone gets back sooner and can beat me to it

    • V says:
      4 Sep4 September 18:14

      How did you get on with the PLF flying back?

      • David says:
        4 Sep4 September 19:22

        Just returned this afternoon, no questions asked with x2 PLFs with Expert Medical references from tests purchased on 26/08.

        Straight through e- gates.

  • mark says:
    3 Sep3 September 14:54

    to anyone considering Chronomics, I’d advise against. Ordered a Lateral Flow test-to-return on 22nd August, was due to dispatch 31st August and still hasn’t, and I fly out of the UK on 9th – not confident it will arrive and there is no way to speak to them about it.

    • John G says:
      3 Sep3 September 15:15

      I believe they only send out the tests 4 days before your departure. That has been my experience. Hopefully they send it to you in the next few days. Good luck.

    • Hennypot says:
      3 Sep3 September 15:19

      similarly would warn against Prenetics/ Project Screen for lateral flow. Took a couple to Portugal with me and on opening the packaging the test casettes were missing. Thankfully had back-up tests in the bag.

      • Pete M says:
        3 Sep3 September 15:38

        Not ideal, but they’re all still generally cheaper and much less hassle than looking for somewhere abroad. Just double-check contents.

      • meta says:
        3 Sep3 September 15:40

        Just take backups or open the package before you leave to check. You can use free NHS cassette to replace Prenetics one and still be issued with the PDF.

    • Graham says:
      3 Sep3 September 16:11

      Oh joy. Just bought some!

    • Gavin says:
      3 Sep3 September 16:35

      They seem to really cut it fine with their dispatch dates. I told them my departure date was several days before my actual departure to make sure I got it in time.

      • h2d says:
        3 Sep3 September 18:56

        To play devil’s advocate my experience using Chronomics has been flawless now over 5 trips so YMMV

        • Ben W says:
          3 Sep3 September 20:30

          I ordered prenetics lateral flow on bank holiday Monday and it arrived at 9am on Tuesday morning. Everything intact.

    • Kevin B says:
      4 Sep4 September 09:40

      My order from Chronomics didn’t arrive in time. Had to do a last minute drive-thru. Still waiting for refund.

  • grr says:
    3 Sep3 September 15:18

    The govt has put in place a system that seems like its absolutely worthless and unneeded where its only purpose was to be either a barrier to travel or a box ticking exercise to say ‘look at us, we’re the conservative party, see how proactive we are at protecting our borders!’ which, unsurprisingly, turned into the wild west with companies being spun up every day to cash in on it.

    Look at the state the govt teast list site… ‘The providers below offer day 2 tests’, filter it by self swab at home and see all of the £20 tests and yet when you actually try to order it, oh suprise! Its not £20, but £70.

    How can they now possibly justify requiring day 2 tests now when you can have 100,000 people at Reading festival for a weekend who can then freely move around the UK and every week 10s of thousands of people at football stadiums all over the country?

    The companies can set fire to the test samples for all I care so long as the box is ticked at border control.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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