Doctors Fee for FAC
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Stalker62
Well-Known Member
it is interesting especially as it is usually done in cash, I wonder if they are declaring it 
I was asked for £18:00 5 years ago, and today paid £40.00 for the current one.
If they had asked for more than £50 I would have mentioned Medcert or the other one, and tried to negotiate a better price so they wouldn't lose out by having to do the paperwork but without getting a fee at all.
Alan
If they had asked for more than £50 I would have mentioned Medcert or the other one, and tried to negotiate a better price so they wouldn't lose out by having to do the paperwork but without getting a fee at all.
Alan
Use MedCert they did mine for £60. At the time I was not aware that NGO membership number would have given me a discount of £10.
BC.
BC.
I have heard of plenty of people having issues with Medcert being tardy and demonstrating a lack of decent communication. I would rather stay in control of the whole thing by walking in to my doctors and dealing with them directly.
I paid £90 to my Doc a coupla months back for my renewal. It seemed steep but I looked at it from a point of view of being less than a score per year which is nothing in the whole scheme of things.
It is galling but make your life easy, pay it and keep your fingers crossed that in 5yrs time this whole charade has been streamlined so that everyone pays the same. Obviously don't hold your breath though.
I paid £90 to my Doc a coupla months back for my renewal. It seemed steep but I looked at it from a point of view of being less than a score per year which is nothing in the whole scheme of things.
It is galling but make your life easy, pay it and keep your fingers crossed that in 5yrs time this whole charade has been streamlined so that everyone pays the same. Obviously don't hold your breath though.
Mine point blank refused, but pointed me in the direction of MedCert?
BC.
BC.
I don't understand this obsession everyone paying the same. What's the point of that if it's £200?
IMO the only 'streamlining' what would bring any degree of fairness would be reversion to the pre-BASC-involvement situation under which the FLDs paid the GPs directly for the medical reports they wanted. Applicants have already paid their statutory fee - and that should be then end of their financial liability for administration of this bit of law.
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I mean that would be nice but BASC or others do not make the rules or put forward the guidance. You are at the mercy of the regulations and when/if that is the case, it is reasonable and fair for everyone to pay the same to receive the same service.
It is what it is. I don't doubt that the more recent change of absolutely needing a medical report stamped the doc, is borderline useless for the overwhelming majority of cases but it does have some credibility when you stop and look at it from an objective point of view. If it even prevented one idiot getting a ticket, I am in favour of it. I accept that is hard to take for perfectly sane people who have held and used firearms for a number of years and know they are no threat to anyone but that is not the point.
Society will accept certain behaviour as will governments. Doctors are the ones who have access to medical files but their job is to fix people who are unwell or ill. We do not fall under that umbrella so it seems fair to pay for their professional opinion if it is asked for.
My view is that £65 for a 5yr coterm renewal of FAC and SGC is very very cheap. You often get what you pay for and we all know that nationwide, there is a laughable failure to adminster this service in a consistent way. They could make it £150 which includes them taking responsibility for the docs side of thing of which all doctors would be remunerated fairly and the same. All applicants would pay the same and you would be looking at £30 a year to be certified to possess and use firearms and shotguns. A vanishingly small amount that might result in a system that would better stand up to scrutiny from the public and HO and might also help streamline other concepts like taking moderators off ticket to free up more admin wastage. If it were put together well and run correclty. A big if I accept.
Of course, those things are unlikely to happen but it just seems mad that there are such variances in fees paid for the same item.
deerstalker.308
Well-Known Member
I paid £55 in cash and got a proper receipt for it so I very much doubt there is any dodgy stuff going on. Our surgery is in dire straits and seriously low on staff, I can’t say i blame them for charging, they do for HGV medical etc so we aren’t special.it is interesting especially as it is usually done in cash, I wonder if they are declaring it
They don’t want the responsibility for chasing GPs to get reports, or dealing with the situation when a GP refuses to engage in the process. They do not have the staff resources to do that work and are already looking for full cost recovery. GPs are businesses we are asking them to do private work so they can and do charge what they like.
The process is a mess, mad indeed, but sounds convincing to the uneducated populace that it is faultless.
However be careful for what you wish for.
It’s all going to end in tears at best but more likely in a court room. That’s my take on the potential for current arrangements to result in something being missed.
By which I mean it’s already been proven to xxxxxxx Constabulary’s satisfaction that there have been instances of GP front desk staff completing the Form, with no meaningful review of the person’s medical records, and then handing it to a GP for signature.
K
By which I mean it’s already been proven to xxxxxxx Constabulary’s satisfaction that there have been instances of GP front desk staff completing the Form, with no meaningful review of the person’s medical records, and then handing it to a GP for signature.
K
My GP wanted £117 to process my medical records and submit it to Devon & Cornwall Police. I opted for Medcert @£60, they messed me about for 6 weeks, telling me porkies
. I've submitted my application without the medical record (as per Firearms officer suggestion) and requested an 8 week extension for my FAC/Shotgun co-terminus certs. With hindsight I would have paid my GP the extra!!They used to manage before the BASC-approved process-change allowed the FLD to dump the cost on the applicant: and in any case, the processes which the FLDs feel they need to administer the law should not really the the applicants' concern beyond applying and pay the statutory fee.
If is is shown that GP reports are needed for every applicant, as opposed to before when they just asked for them in specific cases, then let the case be made for that and the funds provided to the FLDs to administer the system accordingly.
Just done mine & surgery charged £20 (full receipt). TBH, given that there is time involved with the admin of this, I thought that this was extremely reasonable
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