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As I've said i fully agree with the testing, my only gripe is how much they charge in given circumstances compared to other country's.
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You blame Boris for everything?This is an account of our nightmare return to the UK at the end of 90 days since the 1st January 2021 - quite long.
An early start on Monday to get to the nearby town laboratory for our COVID tests in France as soon as they started, a simple system and tests done and on our way by 09h30 with the promise that the results would be in our online account after lunch. So without too much risk as we had been isolating as best we could for months but of course a little trepidation in case of a false positive, we set off on our 1,000km journey to the ferry at Dieppe which has to be boarded within 72 hours of the test being done. Just after 2pm the phone pinged to say that something had arrived so we pulled in to the next services to put our minds at rest. Two NEGATIVE results had appeared in our account so pressure is off a bit.
We stopped for the first night in a forest just outside Vierzon which was about two thirds of the journey done, had a meal then the problems started, booking the day 2 & day 8 COVID tests for the UK while we would be quarantining on the drive at our sons house in East Sussex. Steve booked Judy’s first, a bit of a quirky form but it went through ok at £190 so a bit cheaper than Boris’s preferred lot who charge an amazing £210. Steve then immediately then did his own and payment was declined. Perhaps they don’t allow two tests on the same card so tried Steve’s card and that was declined so went through all our cards with different banks and all were declined. The security certificate was fine so had Boris allowed some scam merchants access to this system? Very worrying. Panic mode now setting in and now past midnight so decided to leave it till the morning. Not a good nights sleep obviously.
In the morning tried again and cards were again declined. Perhaps the internet is not strong enough. Although the router was showing 4 bars so motored on till about lunchtime when we found a Brico Depot and in their car park were getting a full 5 bars and 60 mbs download and upload from the 4G router. Steve had spent a lot of time researching setting up and testing home quality internet and phone in the Motorhome just to ensure that all this could be done on route. Tried phoning the company via the router to find out what was going wrong because a WhatsApp support message sent the previous evening had not been answered. Just a “mailbox full” message on the phone so Customer Service was zero, what a shower. Now in total panic as there is a 48 hour time limit for booking these tests. Phoned the bank and they said there was no problem with our cards and no requests for payment had been made other than the first which was Judy’s. So phoned Our son via WhatsApp and asked him to try with his card, he got declined as well so it must be the testing company with a cobbled together Mickey Mouse website. So tried a different company and cards were declined again. Then another company and this time it came back as “processing error submit again later” message, which was better than the others and just needed the button pressed again rather than filling out the whole form. Finally after about ten tries suddenly a green tick appeared with a successful message. Phew, total meltdown started easing so another cup of coffee to relax before heading on. What was this morning plenty of time, now was getting short and we now ran into rush-hour jams in Rouen which delayed us quite a bit more. Bearing in mind that we had to travel through two RED departments where we were not legally allowed to stop! We finally made it to Auchan Supermarket in Dieppe at 6pm with just time to fill with gas and diesel while keeping a distance from others and wearing a double mask and gloves. Then drive to where we hoped to park for the night which Steve had found on a Motorhome parking app, beside a cemetery about 5 km from the port. We arrived at 3 minutes to 7pm which is curfew time and the place seemed good to stay the night.
The stress and hard driving had taken its toll on Steve and the chronic Sciatica he was suffering from did not now allow him to sleep laying down, so he spent most of the night sat up in the driving seat.
The ferry was at 11am so we arrived early and were first in the que. The check-in was easy with just a check of the COVID tests from yesterday morning on the iPad which we had put into a plastic bag and an additional “on our honour” form to declare that we had not met up with anybody in recent days or en-route where we could have contracted the virus. The Duane however were a nightmare,not distancing or wearing masks properly and making us stand outside while one searched the van unsupervised. Then she wanted to go through Judy’s handbag checking for cash and touching everything with total disregard then she checked Steve’s wallet totally obsessed that we must have more cash as we’re only allowed to export less than 10,000 euros! Steve had €50. And she was only wearing cotton working gloves which she could have been touching anything with, not good practice at all.
Finally on to the ferry and a four hour cruise on a millpond sea. Then on to our sons house where we are now all set up for our ten day quarantine in the Motorhome and thankfully Judy’s kit has actually arrived with both tests and Steve has received an email that his will arrive tomorrow by DHL. So thank you Boris for setting up such a pathetic system to punish British Citizens who have been legally in a foreign country shielding from the virus. Not everybody is as tech savvy as Steve or have the internet on the move that he has set up. It is totally unfair to create such stress with ill thought-out laws and systems covered by the threats of heavy fines and to charge £200 for tests which they are scattering about like confetti to school kids for free. For UK citizens to return to their homeland after they have been legally abroad.
Very, very wrong.
steve
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I believe you have spent a great deal of time in France so you may be able to comment on how well( or not) the French have dealt with the virus and how much support the French people have given to their government and whether we as a nation could learn lessons from them ( or not)This is an account of our nightmare return to the UK at the end of 90 days since the 1st January 2021 - quite long.
An early start on Monday to get to the nearby town laboratory for our COVID tests in France as soon as they started, a simple system and tests done and on our way by 09h30 with the promise that the results would be in our online account after lunch. So without too much risk as we had been isolating as best we could for months but of course a little trepidation in case of a false positive, we set off on our 1,000km journey to the ferry at Dieppe which has to be boarded within 72 hours of the test being done. Just after 2pm the phone pinged to say that something had arrived so we pulled in to the next services to put our minds at rest. Two NEGATIVE results had appeared in our account so pressure is off a bit.
We stopped for the first night in a forest just outside Vierzon which was about two thirds of the journey done, had a meal then the problems started, booking the day 2 & day 8 COVID tests for the UK while we would be quarantining on the drive at our sons house in East Sussex. Steve booked Judy’s first, a bit of a quirky form but it went through ok at £190 so a bit cheaper than Boris’s preferred lot who charge an amazing £210. Steve then immediately then did his own and payment was declined. Perhaps they don’t allow two tests on the same card so tried Steve’s card and that was declined so went through all our cards with different banks and all were declined. The security certificate was fine so had Boris allowed some scam merchants access to this system? Very worrying. Panic mode now setting in and now past midnight so decided to leave it till the morning. Not a good nights sleep obviously.
In the morning tried again and cards were again declined. Perhaps the internet is not strong enough. Although the router was showing 4 bars so motored on till about lunchtime when we found a Brico Depot and in their car park were getting a full 5 bars and 60 mbs download and upload from the 4G router. Steve had spent a lot of time researching setting up and testing home quality internet and phone in the Motorhome just to ensure that all this could be done on route. Tried phoning the company via the router to find out what was going wrong because a WhatsApp support message sent the previous evening had not been answered. Just a “mailbox full” message on the phone so Customer Service was zero, what a shower. Now in total panic as there is a 48 hour time limit for booking these tests. Phoned the bank and they said there was no problem with our cards and no requests for payment had been made other than the first which was Judy’s. So phoned Our son via WhatsApp and asked him to try with his card, he got declined as well so it must be the testing company with a cobbled together Mickey Mouse website. So tried a different company and cards were declined again. Then another company and this time it came back as “processing error submit again later” message, which was better than the others and just needed the button pressed again rather than filling out the whole form. Finally after about ten tries suddenly a green tick appeared with a successful message. Phew, total meltdown started easing so another cup of coffee to relax before heading on. What was this morning plenty of time, now was getting short and we now ran into rush-hour jams in Rouen which delayed us quite a bit more. Bearing in mind that we had to travel through two RED departments where we were not legally allowed to stop! We finally made it to Auchan Supermarket in Dieppe at 6pm with just time to fill with gas and diesel while keeping a distance from others and wearing a double mask and gloves. Then drive to where we hoped to park for the night which Steve had found on a Motorhome parking app, beside a cemetery about 5 km from the port. We arrived at 3 minutes to 7pm which is curfew time and the place seemed good to stay the night.
The stress and hard driving had taken its toll on Steve and the chronic Sciatica he was suffering from did not now allow him to sleep laying down, so he spent most of the night sat up in the driving seat.
The ferry was at 11am so we arrived early and were first in the que. The check-in was easy with just a check of the COVID tests from yesterday morning on the iPad which we had put into a plastic bag and an additional “on our honour” form to declare that we had not met up with anybody in recent days or en-route where we could have contracted the virus. The Duane however were a nightmare,not distancing or wearing masks properly and making us stand outside while one searched the van unsupervised. Then she wanted to go through Judy’s handbag checking for cash and touching everything with total disregard then she checked Steve’s wallet totally obsessed that we must have more cash as we’re only allowed to export less than 10,000 euros! Steve had €50. And she was only wearing cotton working gloves which she could have been touching anything with, not good practice at all.
Finally on to the ferry and a four hour cruise on a millpond sea. Then on to our sons house where we are now all set up for our ten day quarantine in the Motorhome and thankfully Judy’s kit has actually arrived with both tests and Steve has received an email that his will arrive tomorrow by DHL. So thank you Boris for setting up such a pathetic system to punish British Citizens who have been legally in a foreign country shielding from the virus. Not everybody is as tech savvy as Steve or have the internet on the move that he has set up. It is totally unfair to create such stress with ill thought-out laws and systems covered by the threats of heavy fines and to charge £200 for tests which they are scattering about like confetti to school kids for free. For UK citizens to return to their homeland after they have been legally abroad.
Very, very wrong.
steve
Boris is the figurehead so basically everything is his fault, hence the comment. He has done a grand job but some things just don’t seem to be thought through properly. I hate to think where we would be if JC had got in! (and I don’t mean Jesus Christ)You blame Boris for everything?
You may have noticed he's been quite busy over the last year.
A few grumpy campers are the least of his worries.
We received multiple calls from both the Wales Arrivals Team and the local council track and trace team, 3 on one day! Eventually a daily call from the Arrivals team was agreed between them, however we still had another call from the track and trace team followed almost immediately by the Council Customer service team asking us to review the track and trace service !Well the my Mrs has had a phone call from track and trace still no test results
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I also fully agree with the testing but the bad way it has been set up with zero leeway for error and the excessive cost for citizens who have a right to be here is disgraceful.As I've said i fully agree with the testing, my only gripe is how much they charge in given circumstances compared to other country's.
Oh yes - me too -I’m a bit bored at the moment, the choice between ironing, working or making nuisances calls!Message me your phone number. I’m not doing much at the moment.
iI could really annoy you. Every half hour sound good?
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Not yet,,BUSBYWho would of thought people might have extra trouble and expense when travelling in the worst Pandemic since 1918?
At least Boris didnt get the blame for the traffic jam in Rouen!
No truckers then no food in the shops..Truckers are immune to covid anyway,,,BUSBYI also fully agree with the testing but the bad way it has been set up with zero leeway for error and the excessive cost for citizens who have a right to be here is disgraceful.
Just watching the super spreading truck drivers and officials and in our case the Duane just rubs salt into the wounds of people who take great care to protect themselves and others.
Also what about people who have no access to internet or knowledge of how to use it.
I'm not sure you're correct about the truck drivers. They only found a very proportional of the Christmas ones were positive. I don't think mh ers are much of a risk either.I also fully agree with the testing but the bad way it has been set up with zero leeway for error and the excessive cost for citizens who have a right to be here is disgraceful.
Just watching the super spreading truck drivers and officials and in our case the Duane just rubs salt into the wounds of people who take great care to protect themselves and others.
Also what about people who have no access to internet or knowledge of how to use it.
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We were not on holiday we have been shielding for many months while my wife was recovering from a stroke, then the law changed and we could only apply for a visa from the UK.You go on a holiday in the middle of a pandemic, with the whole nation in a state of flux and everything that goes wrong is someone eles fault.
Interesting how folk use Troll to mean anyone who has a different viewWe were not on holiday we have been shielding for many months while my wife was recovering from a stroke, then the law changed and we could only apply for a visa from the UK.
If you don’t know the full situation, perhaps best not to comment.
The purpose of my original post was to make people in the same situation aware of the problems with the system.
Interesting how the Trolls arrive after the sensible people have taken an interest.
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DefinitionTrolls arrive
If you are using an Android phone you can blame Google for your problems with communications and getting your payments made. A glitch in their Android System Webview software meant that lots of Android phones' apps and communications started playing up yesterday. Subsequently sorted out with an automatic update.This is an account of our nightmare return to the UK at the end of 90 days since the 1st January 2021 - quite long.
An early start on Monday to get to the nearby town laboratory for our COVID tests in France as soon as they started, a simple system and tests done and on our way by 09h30 with the promise that the results would be in our online account after lunch. So without too much risk as we had been isolating as best we could for months but of course a little trepidation in case of a false positive, we set off on our 1,000km journey to the ferry at Dieppe which has to be boarded within 72 hours of the test being done. Just after 2pm the phone pinged to say that something had arrived so we pulled in to the next services to put our minds at rest. Two NEGATIVE results had appeared in our account so pressure is off a bit.
We stopped for the first night in a forest just outside Vierzon which was about two thirds of the journey done, had a meal then the problems started, booking the day 2 & day 8 COVID tests for the UK while we would be quarantining on the drive at our sons house in East Sussex. Steve booked Judy’s first, a bit of a quirky form but it went through ok at £190 so a bit cheaper than Boris’s preferred lot who charge an amazing £210. Steve then immediately then did his own and payment was declined. Perhaps they don’t allow two tests on the same card so tried Steve’s card and that was declined so went through all our cards with different banks and all were declined. The security certificate was fine so had Boris allowed some scam merchants access to this system? Very worrying. Panic mode now setting in and now past midnight so decided to leave it till the morning. Not a good nights sleep obviously.
In the morning tried again and cards were again declined. Perhaps the internet is not strong enough. Although the router was showing 4 bars so motored on till about lunchtime when we found a Brico Depot and in their car park were getting a full 5 bars and 60 mbs download and upload from the 4G router. Steve had spent a lot of time researching setting up and testing home quality internet and phone in the Motorhome just to ensure that all this could be done on route. Tried phoning the company via the router to find out what was going wrong because a WhatsApp support message sent the previous evening had not been answered. Just a “mailbox full” message on the phone so Customer Service was zero, what a shower. Now in total panic as there is a 48 hour time limit for booking these tests. Phoned the bank and they said there was no problem with our cards and no requests for payment had been made other than the first which was Judy’s. So phoned Our son via WhatsApp and asked him to try with his card, he got declined as well so it must be the testing company with a cobbled together Mickey Mouse website. So tried a different company and cards were declined again. Then another company and this time it came back as “processing error submit again later” message, which was better than the others and just needed the button pressed again rather than filling out the whole form. Finally after about ten tries suddenly a green tick appeared with a successful message. Phew, total meltdown started easing so another cup of coffee to relax before heading on. What was this morning plenty of time, now was getting short and we now ran into rush-hour jams in Rouen which delayed us quite a bit more. Bearing in mind that we had to travel through two RED departments where we were not legally allowed to stop! We finally made it to Auchan Supermarket in Dieppe at 6pm with just time to fill with gas and diesel while keeping a distance from others and wearing a double mask and gloves. Then drive to where we hoped to park for the night which Steve had found on a Motorhome parking app, beside a cemetery about 5 km from the port. We arrived at 3 minutes to 7pm which is curfew time and the place seemed good to stay the night.
The stress and hard driving had taken its toll on Steve and the chronic Sciatica he was suffering from did not now allow him to sleep laying down, so he spent most of the night sat up in the driving seat.
The ferry was at 11am so we arrived early and were first in the que. The check-in was easy with just a check of the COVID tests from yesterday morning on the iPad which we had put into a plastic bag and an additional “on our honour” form to declare that we had not met up with anybody in recent days or en-route where we could have contracted the virus. The Duane however were a nightmare,not distancing or wearing masks properly and making us stand outside while one searched the van unsupervised. Then she wanted to go through Judy’s handbag checking for cash and touching everything with total disregard then she checked Steve’s wallet totally obsessed that we must have more cash as we’re only allowed to export less than 10,000 euros! Steve had €50. And she was only wearing cotton working gloves which she could have been touching anything with, not good practice at all.
Finally on to the ferry and a four hour cruise on a millpond sea. Then on to our sons house where we are now all set up for our ten day quarantine in the Motorhome and thankfully Judy’s kit has actually arrived with both tests and Steve has received an email that his will arrive tomorrow by DHL. So thank you Boris for setting up such a pathetic system to punish British Citizens who have been legally in a foreign country shielding from the virus. Not everybody is as tech savvy as Steve or have the internet on the move that he has set up. It is totally unfair to create such stress with ill thought-out laws and systems covered by the threats of heavy fines and to charge £200 for tests which they are scattering about like confetti to school kids for free. For UK citizens to return to their homeland after they have been legally abroad.
Very, very wrong.
steve
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But it could be said for a lot in life. Something is done or created and there are loads of arm chair experts who say that they know how it should be done. Only have to look at Aires.Strange how all the apologists for the current administration totally ignore the well documented problems and excessive costs of the government's mandatory testing system. I doubt if any right minded person would deny the need for testing, but the current system leaves a lot to be desired.
I was not using an Android system I was using windows and iOS. It was badly designed shopping cart systems that caused the payment problems.In this particular case the government testing system seemed to have worked fine until a Google glitch prevented further communications from Android phones.
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Boris is the figurehead so basically everything is his fault, hence the comment. He has done a grand job but some things just don’t seem to be thought through properly. I hate to think where we would be if JC had got in! (and I don’t mean Jesus Christ)
Maybe best to explain the situation in full before calling genuine people’s comments out as trolls? Maybe that way people may read your post and possibly not read it as moaning about how your trip in Europe ended badly because of covid tests after from what seems a jolly you went on in January knowing the worlds covid situation!! Hope your wife is now recovering well.We were not on holiday we have been shielding for many months while my wife was recovering from a stroke, then the law changed and we could only apply for a visa from the UK.
If you don’t know the full situation, perhaps best not to comment.
The purpose of my original post was to make people in the same situation aware of the problems with the system.
Interesting how the Trolls arrive after the sensible people have taken an interest.
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Exactly, we cleared off in August, leaving the U.K. was the best decision for us and we had a fantastic time until we sadly had to return to these shores last week.I seem to remember, that in September, boris johnson was promising that we would be back to near normalcy by Christmas.
So where is the wrong doing if some of us went to Europe in the autumn.
That's purely down to luck i can assure you ... laughing, smoking, shaking hands, back patting even one young romanian guy running and lifting another of the ground like a rugby tackle was what i was watching lorry drivers doing at calais last week very few with masks on that werent simply warming their chins ....they aren't being tested so they could still be carrying the virus and passing it around.I
I'm not sure you're correct about the truck drivers. They only found a very proportional of the Christmas ones were positive. I don't think mh ers are much of a risk either.
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So why are they not up there. I drive lorries a couple of days a week. Its insular, you go all day and maybe go in a couple of offices max all screened or talk through open windows ,That's purely down to luck i can assure you ... laughing, smoking, shaking hands, back patting even one young romanian guy running and lifting another of the ground like a rugby tackle was what i was watching lorry drivers doing at calais last week very few with masks on that werent simply warming their chins ....they aren't being tested so they could still be carrying the virus and passing it around.
And on the ferry from Greece to italy all drivers sat in the bar/lounge with no masks ....the only folk wearing masks were the staff
Were you actually crying when you got back ? As for being miserable ? Bizarre I had plenty of things productive to do , etc . Discover plenty about my local area I never knew .Exactly, we cleared off in August, leaving the U.K. was the best decision for us and we had a fantastic time until we sadly had to return to these shores last week.
There seems to be this attitude that if you did not stay in the UK and be as miserable as you could have been then you are some sort of criminal