Lateral flow tests - no longer free on demand

[Mike4]

I called into Boots the chemist on Friday just before closing time to get some LFT tests as the guvvermint are encouraging us to use them before going out to "meet people".

To my surprise I find I now have to "register an account" and obtain an authorisation number to be allowed a pack of seven LFTs. This has been in force apparently since 1st October 2021.

In order to "register", I had to give them my email address. Fair enough, I reluctantly decided. But in order to "validate" my email address, their email demanded my mobile phone number, at which I drew the line. I'm not willing to divulge my real mobile number, I'll probably get a burner phone and give them that, should I decide to carry on with LFT testing at all, that is.

Anybody else find this an invasion of privacy too far, or am I being too reactionary? My suspicion is, they plan to nag me endlessly to upload the results of my LFT tests, which frankly I won't be doing.

[Mike88]

I picked up several free LFT tests from a COVID community testing van yesterday with no requirement for me to provide any information. Even if I was required to register in order to provide personal details I would not object. Why would I as the tests are of as much benefit to me as the NHS and they probably hold personal information on me already.

[RockRabbit]

I called into Boots the chemist on Friday just before closing time to get some LFT tests as the guvvermint are encouraging us to use them before going out to "meet people".

To my surprise I find I now have to "register an account" and obtain an authorisation number to be allowed a pack of seven LFTs. This has been in force apparently since 1st October 2021.

In order to "register", I had to give them my email address. Fair enough, I reluctantly decided. But in order to "validate" my email address, their email demanded my mobile phone number, at which I drew the line. I'm not willing to divulge my real mobile number, I'll probably get a burner phone and give them that, should I decide to carry on with LFT testing at all, that is.

Anybody else find this an invasion of privacy too far, or am I being too reactionary? My suspicion is, they plan to nag me endlessly to upload the results of my LFT tests, which frankly I won't be doing.

Just order online - its free. They do ask for your mobile but you don't have to provide it. The 7 tests usually arrive next day. You don't need to set up an account if you don't want to.

https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-ra ... flow-tests

[mc2fool]

You can order online without creating an account or giving them your mobile number. Of course, you do have to give your name & address, and an email address.

https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-ra ... flow-tests

[JohnB]

The obsession of every Tom Dick and Harry website for Two Factor Authentication means that its becoming impossible to run your life without a mobile, because everyone wants a mobile number, and while 07700 900461 is an official fake number that passes the verification tests, you can never be sure they won't try to use it to continue the setup process. And of course once they have a number, they can't resist the urge to use it.

This may not apply to the NHS Covid tests, but unless we all push back, we'll be stuck with it.

[Mike4]

Brilliant, thanks you three.

I don't mind junk mail through my letterbox, I don't even mind email spam which I can redirect into the bin, but spam arriving by text is a confounded nuisance as there is no easy way to automate deletion. I get enough low grade junk by text already so pleased to find I can order these on line.

But as already expressed, I don't think it will be long before they start sending unsolicited texts to the mobile numbers harvested. There can be no other reason for demanding the numbers.

[JohnB]

There are mobile phone apps that filter out voice and SMS text messages by number. But I've yet to find one that will filter the SMS text itself to distinguish between the regular and pointless "your bill is ready to download" and the important "its stopped working" messages. So I hope HMRC don't text me with something important.

[seagles]

I have been given "free" kits outside local supermarket and by the local council in the town centre (since october). Recently at the pharmacy I need the code to pick up kits for the household (not just for me), used the QR code to get the code, they sent it via TEXT to my phone, via email and showed it directly on my phone. Bit overkill but a small inconvenience IMO for a better tomorrow.

Do I trust my number and email will not be used for other purposes, NO, but can you say the same for other services, like HMRC, Amazon, etc. For instance the only time I have used my gmail account was for Google services and I still get junk mail on it.

[Mike4]

To be fair the young lady at the counter did give me a box of seven tests but only because they were closing shortly and there was not time for me to muck about registering.

Here is the (much photocopied) leaflet she gave me telling me I had to register to get any test kits in future. Maybe this only applies to collections from Boots the Chemist specifically.

[Boots]

I went to our local library and picked up some tests just this Friday, no code required for there.

[GrahamPlatt]

A bit self-defeating this. Make it harder and people will stop bothering.

[Julian]

I called into Boots the chemist on Friday just before closing time to get some LFT tests as the guvvermint are encouraging us to use them before going out to "meet people".

To my surprise I find I now have to "register an account" and obtain an authorisation number to be allowed a pack of seven LFTs. This has been in force apparently since 1st October 2021.

In order to "register", I had to give them my email address. Fair enough, I reluctantly decided. But in order to "validate" my email address, their email demanded my mobile phone number, at which I drew the line. I'm not willing to divulge my real mobile number, I'll probably get a burner phone and give them that, should I decide to carry on with LFT testing at all, that is.

Anybody else find this an invasion of privacy too far, or am I being too reactionary? My suspicion is, they plan to nag me endlessly to upload the results of my LFT tests, which frankly I won't be doing.

Slightly off topic but thanks to someone (I forget who) on the “Computers TVs & Phones” forum on this site I was pointed towards a company called Zadarma (https://zadarma.com/en/) that offers virtual mobile phone numbers. I pay £1.99 + VAT per month plus a bit of top-up now and then to cover forwarding charges for my “burner” number that I use for this sort of stuff plus delivery drivers and anyone else that doesn’t need to know my real number. It was the requirement to sign in to pubs that pushed me towards getting a second number because I couldn’t be sure that every pub and restaurant I signed into would shred or otherwise safely dispose of that day’s contact list rather than risking it getting into the hands of spammers. I find the Zadarma web interface a bit non-intuitive but once you’ve worked out how to do it you can set up a Zadarma virtual number to forward text messages to your main mobile phone number and also send them to you via email which is very handy when using it for courier deliveries. That forwarding functionality is something that, as far as I am aware, you can’t get on PAYG phone plans which is why I went the VOIP virtual number route.

- Julian

[scotia]

I recently picked up a Lateral Flow test kit in my local pharmacy, while I was picking up a prescription - I was only asked if this was for my use, to which I responded yes. I suspect if I had said that it was for my wife and myself, I would have been given two kits. There were no requests for mobile phone numbers nor for email addresses - but I suppose my home address was on the prescription medicine. (in Scotland )

[staffordian]

I went to our local library and picked up some tests just this Friday, no code required for there.

But do you have to take them back within the next three weeks?

[Hallucigenia]

A bit self-defeating this. Make it harder and people will stop bothering.

I suspect part of it is to stop people shipping them overseas - since the border with the US opened up I've heard quite a few stories of Brits taking packs of tests to their USian friends and relatives. There's a few local initiatives to make free tests available in the US but in general they're paying say $10 a test over there, if they can find them at all.

I imagine the instances where people are able to pick them up without registration are the smaller places which still have pre-October stock, but certainly our local pharmacy is insisting on registration - and in that case you might as well just get them through the post.

[tjh290633]

Here is the (much photocopied) leaflet she gave me telling me I had to register to get any test kits in future. Maybe this only applies to collections from Boots the Chemist specifically.

That leaflet was included with the set of 7 LFTs I obtained from our local pharmacy back in September. I got the impression that you had to get a number via the QR code in the leaflet to collect further sets. As it was, back then they just took your name and logged it against the kit they handed over.

Some people are getting paranoid. I take it that you do not report your test result either?

TJH

[Watis]

A bit self-defeating this. Make it harder and people will stop bothering.

I suspect part of it is to stop people shipping them overseas - since the border with the US opened up I've heard quite a few stories of Brits taking packs of tests to their USian friends and relatives. There's a few local initiatives to make free tests available in the US but in general they're paying say $10 a test over there, if they can find them at all.

I imagine the instances where people are able to pick them up without registration are the smaller places which still have pre-October stock, but certainly our local pharmacy is insisting on registration - and in that case you might as well just get them through the post.

In my neck of the woods the local chemist, a Boots, want me to register now. However, the tests they supply are the variety that require the unpleasant throat swabbing and a 30 minute wait for the result. So we've switched to ordering tests over the Internet because then we get the tests that only require a nose swab and a 15 minute wait for the result.

Watis

[daveh]

I was in my local pub at the weekend picking up some beer as an offsale and I could have picked up a pack of LFTs whilst there. I'd just ordered a pack on the internet though. I'm afraid if they make it too onerous I'm much less likely to do them.

[Hallucigenia]

Apparently they've now run out since last night's announcement.

[swill453]

Apparently they've now run out since last night's announcement.

Available online again now.

Scott.