Still waiting for refund three months after cancelled PCR tests

Tuesday 23 November 2021

The States have acknowledged that some people are waiting "a long time" for refunds on covid PCR tests which were scheduled but then cancelled.

One man who has waited more than three months for a refund on a PCR test which he has still not undertaken says the States' system must be "flawed".

Alex Jans had to change the dates of PCR tests four times in August and says he has still not received a refund.

Islanders can make a request online for a PCR test if they need to show proof of a negative test to be allowed to travel. Each test is charged at £83 to the individual. 

“I’m currently waiting 90+ days for a refund on four PCR tests that I unfortunately had to change the date of in August,” said Mr Jans.

“I’ve got fed up with making phone calls to the travel tracker team requesting this be repaid and being told it will be looked at or it’s with the processing team. I have now had to resort to a charge back request to my credit card issuer.”

Pictured: Some countries and events require proof of a negative PCR test before allowing entry. 

Mr Jans is not critical of staff. He respects that they have been working very hard to keep up with a heavy and increasing workload.

“The process I am experiencing is flawed," he said. "You need to phone or email the travel tracker team, they need to speak to someone else, and then you effectively have to wait a week before reaching out again and speaking with someone else.

“If I am sat here waiting 90 days for a debt to be repaid - and at this point it is no longer considered a refund by me: it is a debt - how many other people are waiting for refunds, how long have they been waiting, and why has this not been escalated to another team to help relieve this pressure?”

Express asked the States if they were experiencing problems providing refunds in a reasonable time and, if so, whether these problems were being addressed. 

Richard Evans, Director of the States' covid-19 response team, said: “We are aware that we have some customers who are waiting a long time for their outstanding refunds.

“We apologise for the delay and we are moving more members of our team onto processing these so they can be completed quickly. We thank all of those waiting for their patience.”