A couple are warning others to double-check their NHS prescription prepayment certificates after being hit with a £100 fine, despite what they describe as an "honest mistake" made during a "time of extreme stress".
Robert Metcalfe and his wife Angela, from Great Smeaton, near Northallerton, were issued the fine after an error over the start date of Angela’s NHS prepayment plan.
Angela, who suffered a stroke in May this year, was prescribed six different medications on her discharge from the hospital.
In June, Robert applied for a three-month NHS prepayment certificate online, believing it would take effect immediately.
However, the certificate did not start until nearly a month later, on July 21, leaving a gap where Angela’s prescriptions were technically not covered.
The couple say they were shocked to later receive a £100 penalty notice from the NHS, despite being willing to pay the original prescription costs.
“When I took out the plan, my wife was in a bad way and I was under a lot of pressure,” said Robert, who served 22 years in the RAF.
“I assumed it would start straight away. It was an honest mistake — we weren’t trying to avoid paying.
"To then be treated like criminals was devastating, especially at a time when my wife was recovering from a stroke and I was facing my own prostate cancer diagnosis.”
After contacting NHS authorities and explaining the circumstances, the fine was eventually removed, leaving the couple to pay only the standard prescription charges.
But Mr Metcalfe says he is determined to raise awareness so others don’t go through the same ordeal.
“We just want to warn people to check the start date carefully,” he said.
“It’s easy to assume it starts straight away, but it doesn’t. We had the stress of the fine and then had to resolve it all in a time that we should have been focusing on our health."
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), which administers prescription penalty charges, advises patients to always check the start and end dates on prepayment certificates before using them.
An NHSBSA spokesperson: "If someone claims a free NHS prescription and we can’t confirm their entitlement, such as a valid prescription prepayment certificate, an initial enquiry letter is sent to patients.
"This allows patients to check their exemption and contact us to confirm that they were exempt from paying.
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"If they don’t contact us within 28 days, or if they weren’t exempt, a penalty charge notice (PCN) is then issued.
"When we receive evidence that someone is exempt from paying prescription charges, their case is then closed.
"When a patient purchases a prescription prepayment certificate (PPC), they can select the date that the certificate is valid from."
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