The HfP chat thread – Monday 11th October

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• Amy C says:

  11 Oct11 October 08:15

  I just did something naughty. Initially it was an experiment but it worked 🤷🏼‍♀️
  Used my old PCR code on my current PLF 😬
  Yes I know, I’m a reckless bastard, playing with the lives of others etc etc.

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    11 Oct11 October 08:28

    Just typing in 5 letters followed by the required amount of numbers should work. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of significant checking of this value. There is, of course, always the risk that someone will check

    • Blenz101 says:

      11 Oct11 October 08:41

      Odd that you would want to link your passport number to duplicate reference numbers and then advertise it as a way of beating the system.

      I’m firmly in the camp that it is a waste of time and neither the number or result is currently checked. But I would at least get a new number even if I didn’t take the test or subsequently cancelled it.

      There is a whole industry around selling these tests. If the news comes out that large numbers of people have been reusing codes or making them up the easiest thing to detect will be duplicate use. There is a whole test and trace regime sitting pretty much idle ready to follow up on this kind of practice if needed.

      • Amy C says:

        11 Oct11 October 08:57

        Blenze101, thing is, I bought an Expert Medicals one last month for Spain and then never used it as once I got home, I had two weeks off so pottered around and only went out once to fuel the car. I did lateral flows daily for a week as I have a stack at home. My IPad had saved some of the info from last months form when I logged in to do a new one, inc that EM code so I pressed submit fully expecting it to be rejected and it accepted it. I do actually need to be back at work on Wed so I’ll do the EM one and also one at work as get them free there and results in 6 hours.
        My conscience is free as the system is a joke and only there to make money IMO. I’m also fairly confident they are too idle or stupid to do anything about made up numbers etc as that’s been going on to a not insignificant degree since day 1.

        • blenz101 says:

          11 Oct11 October 10:02

          I said straight away I agree the system is a joke. If they wanted to do a strict system it would be very easy to do mandatory PCR testing on arrival before you enter the country linked to a passport and mobile phone number OTP. Not that it is now necessary.

          My point was that you are a bit mad to put yourself in a situation where you have completed the PLF declarations and deliberately provided information, directly linked to yourself, which could later trip you up. You have used the same information twice and don’t have receipts for two tests booked and paid for which you could have ‘mixed up’.

          What makes less since still is to come onto a website like this and advertise the fact to potentially tens of thousands of people, presumably encouraging them to do the same?

          Pretty easy, and potentially front page story, for a journalist to get some FOI requests in surrounding this racket. Public outrage follows that X thousand people a day have been entering with duplicate or made up codes and not a single fine issued.

          It’s hugely unlikey you would ever be caught but if you yourself think a significant number of people are doing the same then there is at least some risk of them catching up with you. I’m sure Capita would love a contract to take a look at the PLF database and get some fines out though the post at some point.

      • Regular poster says:

        11 Oct11 October 09:06

        They can already detect duplicate use, and the block that particular code. No follow-up, though.

    • Amy C says:

      11 Oct11 October 08:48

      I did wonder about that but several people on various travel forums I belong to say that even their legit codes often don’t work and get rejected.

      • JDB says:

        11 Oct11 October 09:01

        I guess you are fairly unlikely to get caught, but isn’t the penalty for a first offence still £2k for failing to have booked a test, and £1k for not taking the test, in addition to the more serious offence of providing (in this case, deliberately) a false PLF all of which are recorded in some IT system. While it wouldn’t be proportionate to scrutinise every form for truthfulness, the PLF system (like tax returns) relies on honesty backed up with spot checks (at any time) and penalties.

        • Anna says:

          11 Oct11 October 09:18

          Isn’t the requirement to “take a test” though? There’s no booking required for the ones you do at home, after all, and aren’t these changing to lateral flow soon anyway?

        • TGLoyalty says:

          11 Oct11 October 09:25

          No there’s just one single £1k fine.

    • Dominic says:

      11 Oct11 October 09:08

      Hilariously, the system changed to make it easier for people to lie – there is now a maximum number of characters you can type, so you don’t even need to know the correct length..

      The whole system is a joke.

      • JDB says:

        11 Oct11 October 09:16

        Generally all over the world people think all sorts of laws/rules/regulations are a joke or they don’t like them, but they still by and large accept them and comply with them. Advertising deliberate breach in a public forum seems to be the bigger joke.

        • Anna says:

          11 Oct11 October 09:19

          Where’s the breach, exactly?

        • Anna says:

          11 Oct11 October 09:25

          The rules state that you must currently “book and pay for” a PCR test. Clearly this is clumsy wording as there’s not actually a requirement to book any kind of appointment, so effectively it means “order and pay for”. Amy C has actually done this – it doesn’t specify that the test you take has to be the one you ordered. This is borne out by the fact that you can order a PCT test from the NHS if for whatever reason you can’t take the one you ordered. So while the responsible thing is to get tested when you return from abroad, it’s all a bit murky when it comes to the actual process.

        • JDB says:

          11 Oct11 October 09:27

          @Anna I am sure you know what the breach is from having completed PLFs. At the start of the process it says “ It is a criminal offence to provide false or deliberately misleading information when filling out your passenger locator form.” There are additional specific offences about various parts of the form.

        • Anna says:

          11 Oct11 October 09:35

          What’s false or misleading about it? She has booked and paid for a test. I don’t recall anywhere on the form where it states that this can’t be a code you’ve used previously. This doesn’t surprise me as it was obviously cobbled together without a lot of thought, e.g. nowhere do you have to provide codes for children’s tests.
          I’m being Devil’s Advocate here, JDB, as you are rather fond of accusing fellow posters willy nilly of breaking the law without providing solid grounds for your allegations!

        • JDB says:

          11 Oct11 October 09:42

          @Anna I don’t think you read the first part of her 08.57 post. She says she failed to take the test on her return from Spain.

        • Anna says:

          11 Oct11 October 09:50

          https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/582/regulation/6

          Interestingly the legislation only refers to a requirement to be in possession of a testing package on return, or obtain one as soon as possible if not. So the “book and pay for” element doesn’t even seem to be included.
          It would be very interesting indeed if it turned out that there’s actually no legal obligation to pay for a day 2 test, and we’re all being misdirected because of what the guidance says …

        • Anna says:

          11 Oct11 October 09:58

          But Amy was in possession of a testing package, and took a test. I don’t have the inclination to dig into this too deeply, but I can’t see that PCR tests are specifically cited. I suspect there will never be a successful prosecution under this legislation!

  • k says:

    11 Oct11 October 09:20

    you’re merely proving (for those that didn’t already know) that the whole thing is a farce and a cash cow for cronyism.

  • WaynedP says:

    11 Oct11 October 09:27

    All forms of social cohesion rely on an element of self-policing.

    In a liberal democracy, there’s greater freedom for individuals to decide the extent to which they simultaneously enjoy the benefits of social order while exercising their own responsibility to contribute to it (or not).

    Each individualistic action that plays the system and seems to get away with it is another small assault on that social freedom.

  • ankomonkey says:

    11 Oct11 October 10:31

    Creation will be cancelling your cards for that one…

• Mikeact says:

  11 Oct11 October 08:19

  Anybody remember the Marriott up at Gateshead/Newcastle with the the theme rooms on the top floor…sleep in a Wild West wagon, the Rock and Room..choose your own music from the free jukebox etc. etc… must be around 25 years back.

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    11 Oct11 October 08:24

    The only Marriott I can think of in that area is in the Metrocentre. Was there another one in the past or are you thinking of that one?

    • Mikeact says:

      11 Oct11 October 19:05

      Perhaps you’re right, I think it was the Metro area. In those days I had a US Black Marriott card and they always insisted ‘top floor, which room ?’ I got sick of it in the end….’Please, just a regular room !’

  • Andrew says:

    11 Oct11 October 08:46

    Don’t remember that.

    I do remember the Marriott V&A in Manchester had rooms themed with the old Granada studios that were opposite. The Sherlock Holmes themed 221B with flickering Victorian lamp outside. The Hilda & Stan Ogden room with flying ducks.

    And the dreaded Mrs Merton room with the life size framed poster of her and Peter Stringfellow hugging to wake up to. I swear the eyes followed you around the room.

    • Blair says:

      11 Oct11 October 09:57

      That hotel now has MUFC themed suites

      • TGLoyalty says:

        11 Oct11 October 10:10

        What a shame.

  • E says:

    11 Oct11 October 16:06

    It was the Metrocentre one. They had those rooms about 15 years back as I had a colleague who got upgraded into one of them. Not sure how long after that. Think it was to try and make a dull Marriott seem more exciting.

• Dave says:

  11 Oct11 October 08:33

  Morning from the brand new Hilton Porto Gaia.

  It’s nice. Upgraded to a duplex suite as a lowly Gold. Some Nespresso-clone coffee machine. Very dark interior, mind.

  Exec lounge with views over the city, beer, wine and deep-fried snacks.

  Tremendous value on their current rates compared to the Intercontinental.

  • Ukgeorge says:

    11 Oct11 October 09:00

    Interesting, as I am just looking at making a booking in Porto. What level room did you book to get an upgrade to a duplex suite?

  • stairali says:

    11 Oct11 October 09:28

    Did you get asked for your test by the airline Dave or have they updated their policies to reflect the FCO website now?

    • Dave says:

      11 Oct11 October 12:23

      BA.com kept declining our documents until we did a negative test (even though it’s no longer required). We had some £18 Chronomics tests at home so uploaded their PDFs for peace of mind.

      On arrival in Portugal immigration just cared about our NHS double vaccine certs, did not ask for a test.

      I think BA’s records are just out of date.

• Gary says:

  11 Oct11 October 08:35

  Presumably should have no expectation in terms of lounges at TFS? CE and dragon pass.

  • Graham C says:

    11 Oct11 October 08:54

    The Sala lounge is open. Nothing to write home about but it does the job.

    • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

      11 Oct11 October 09:04

      Nice views of the apron and runway though – including from an outdoor terrace. Pre-covid, food was plentiful but basic.

  • r* says:

    11 Oct11 October 12:28

    When I was there you have to order what you want, scan qr code for the menu. I thought it was an okay louge.

• Robman says:

  11 Oct11 October 09:01

  Hi all. I’m off to Mauritius for the first time in late November and need some advice Re accommodation. Have Hilton Diamond and IHG ambassador statuses. Has anyone recently stayed at either the Hilton Mauritius in Flic-Flak or the intercontinental at the north of the island, who can advise their thoughts. Are there any great hotels I should be considering. Also, can Emyr get good benefits at these hotels?

  • meta says:

    11 Oct11 October 09:48

    Doubt anyone has been there since pandemic started as they’ve been closed off, so that’s about two years given low season Jan-Feb. Below is my take on areas pre-pandemic.

    Flic-Flac used to be party place of Mauritius, but that might have changed due to covid. IC is an area with lots of coral and rocks and they are not good for swimming, but great for snorkelling. St.Regis now downgraded to JW Marriott is in a very nice location, but service terrible from what I remember. If you want the best beaches then you really need to look further north and north east – Grande Baie, Belle Mare, Pereybere… There’s Constance, One&Only, Shangri-La and Emyr should get you extra benefits.

    • APB says:

      11 Oct11 October 09:57

      I can thoroughly recommend Constance Prince Maurice – up there with the best hotels I’ve ever stayed in and if Emyr can help with benefits it would be a win/win.

      • Jill (Kinkell) says:

        11 Oct11 October 19:48

        Agree with PMaurice. Lovely sheltered beach Also Oberoi is very nice, but doesn’t have a ‘proper ‘ beach. Hoping to go back sometime and I’d be heading for a week in the south then heading to Oberoi

• Can says:

  11 Oct11 October 09:08

  Financial Times, today: “Hilton portfolio of 12 hotels, including properties in Lon, Edi, Dub and Bri, has been sold to Henderson Park real estate group

  • TGLoyalty says:

    11 Oct11 October 09:44

    Hopefully a good sign

    They bought the London and Birmingham Metropoles and both are being completely refurbished. Not saying the other need it but looks like they’re willing to invest if it’s needed and not just run into the ground.

    • Can says:

      11 Oct11 October 09:55

      Fingers crossed… If you ask me a lot of them need some serious refurbishments..

      • KBuffett says:

        11 Oct11 October 13:03

        There’s a huge new Hilton opening in Woking Town Centre. Strange choice of location for such a large hotel

        • Save East Coast Rewards says:

          11 Oct11 October 14:35

          It’s for fans of royalty who want to visit that famous Pizza Express.

        • Tariq says:

          11 Oct11 October 14:43

          Probably underwritten by McLaren F1 team… one of their show cars was in the lobby of the tired old Doubletree when I visited a couple of months back.

• Harry T says:

  11 Oct11 October 09:14

  Has anyone used a chronomics predeparture test as a predeparture covid test for entering the Netherlands recently? As far as I can see, it should meet the requirements laid out here: https://www.government.nl/topics/coronavirus-covid-19/visiting-the-netherlands-from-abroad/mandatory-negative-test-results-and-declaration/information-on-the-test-result. But I wondered if anyone had any concrete practical experience? I’ve got a couple of these chronomics tests lying around that we didn’t manage to use before the UK gov scrapped the return to the UK test.

  • MM says:

    11 Oct11 October 19:50

    it does. however, be advised no one asks for covid test only proof of double vaccination.

  • h2d says:

    12 Oct12 October 22:16

    I have used Chronomics tests recently to travel to the Netherlands and all worked smoothly

• Reney says:

  11 Oct11 October 09:19

  The Virgin card claim missing cash*back function has not worked for me in days – the merchant list doesn’t load. Any suggestion on how to file a request not using the app?

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