The brazen seller promised to guarantee next day delivery when she posted her advert in a Bentilee community Facebook group and claimed to have ‘large quantities’ of kits
Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A greedy woman has been slammed for trying to sell free Government lateral flow kits online for £10, as thousands struggle to get tests.
The Facebook user tried to flog to the tests in a community Facebook group, boasting of having “large quantities” of kits.
The brazen seller even promised to guarantee next day delivery.
The sale of these kits is prohibited.
At the time there were hardly any kits in stock at pharmacies across the country and on the Government’s website, StokeonTrentLive reports.
The post sparked fury among others and she has since been banned from the Facebook group, for people in the Stoke suburb of Bentilee.
It comes as thousands of Brits have struggled to find rapid tests
The profiteering ploy was rumbled as thousands of Brits returning to work and school today have struggled to find rapid tests after the festive period.
Others have tried to sell tests for as much as £100, it has been reported.
Greedy vendors have been advertising NHS rapid tests online with hefty price tags, as revealed in an investigation by The Sun.
(
Image:
Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The kits, free from the Government website, are being sold on Facebook, eBay and at independent auction houses.
Conservative MP Tory Nigel said: “It is a disgrace that some people would try to exploit a national shortage of tests as a way to make money.
“The online websites and any auction houses should refuse to list the tests for sale.”
It comes after pharmacies and private online vendors sold out of lateral flow tests as Covid infections skyrocketed across the UK.
Video Unavailable
However, Health Minister Edward Argar has since assured the public free kits are not in short supply and orders have been ramped up.
He added: “Tests are available. We advise people to keep going on the website to refresh it and they will find that every hour more slots are available for booking one for delivery or for collecting from pharmacies.
“We’ve ramped up supply to reflect that and you’ll continue to see that supply increasing in the coming weeks.”
Yesterday, the UK’s daily Covid cases have increased by 157,758 – a rise of 45 per cent in just one week.
Despite still being worryingly high, the infection rate has continued to drop since the New Year’s Eve peak when it hit almost 190,000.
The latest official figures, released by the government this afternoon, compare to last Monday’s count of 109,077.
Deaths recorded within 28 days of infection, meanwhile, are 42 – a significant drop on seven days ago when there were 143.
Read More
Read More
www.mirror.co.uk
