By Shoppers accuse Boots of “vile profiteering”
Shoppers across the country have accused Boots of “vile profiteering” as the high street retailer announces plans to sell lateral flow tests (LFT).
According to reports, Boots is now selling LFT kits in packs of four as well as singular tests.
A single test currently costs £5.99, with a pack of four priced at £17.
As of next month, Boots will be reducing the price slightly, allowing people to purchase a single test for £2.50 or £12 for a pack of five.
Tests will also be available online with four tests priced at £9.50.
This follows the announcement of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ‘Living with Covid’ plan which included the end to free mass testing by April 1st.
Discussing the update, Asif Aziz, Director of Healthcare Services at Boots UK, said the company are “pleased” to offer Covid-19 testing services at “affordable” prices.
Speaking to the BBC, a source added that the decision to introduce paid tests ahead of April 1st is intended to “prepare both supply chains and customers ahead of the end of free testing”
But Boots’ decision has been met with anger, with one customer accusing the company of “vile profiteering” in midst of an inflation crisis.
One Twitter user said: “Many families simply won’t be able to afford that. For many it’s already heat or eat, and bills are going up even further. I think it’s safe to say the majority of people won’t buy them”
Another coined Boots’s announcement as a “shameful money making scheme,” branding the prices as “extortionate.”
Dan Shears, the National Health and Safety Director at the GMB Union called the monetisation of lateral flow tests “rampant profiteering.”
“The cost would be a big sacrifice for the lowest-paid workers,” he added.
