Travellers unable to book new half-term Covid travel tests as official website crashes

HOLIDAYMAKERS seeking to book half-term travel tests faced chaos as the Government site crashed amid complaints of “rip-off ” prices and fake advertising.

The bespoke site offering cheaper lateral flow tests was launched at 4am on Friday morning before crashing within hours, leaving holidaymakers unable to book their tests for their return to the UK next week.

Even before they lost access, however, tests of the site by The Telegraph found the lowest advertised prices either did not allow customers to book the tests, or the actual costs were much higher. C-19 Direct is listed as offering the tests for £14.94, but the cheapest available option on its website was £59.95 yesterday morning.

By noon, it had updated to offer tests at the advertised price but said they were out of stock with more coming next week.

The link for Testing for All, which advertised tests at £19, initially did not work but, once it came online, it had to announce at noon that it had temporarily paused sales due to “very high demand”.

One firm offered click and collect for £19.99 but only from Nov 3, after the end of half-term, while another sold a walk-in lateral flow swab for £35 but only if you travelled to Liverpool.

Frustrated travellers on Twitter described the listings as “fake advertising” and “clickbait”. Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: “Why does the Government fail to learn?

“Yet again it is quoting prices for daytwo tests which are not reflected by the actual test providers on their own websites. Its poor oversight and lack of regulation of this multi billion-pound industry continues to beggar belief.

Fully jabbed consumers shouldn’t have to pay more than £25 at most for a daytwo antigen test which they can take at home.”

But 48 of the 450 UK providers on a parallel site offering both PCR and lateral flow tests are selling the lateral flow tests for at least £100, with the most expensive being offered by ROC Health Services for £217.