Frequently Asked Questions

Delivery

Delivery times vary based on the option you choose at the checkout. We offer free delivery using the Royal Mail tracked 48 delivery which can take 3-4 days, we also offer Royal Mail delivery options which can be with you as early as 9am the very next day. However, all delivery options are subject to ordering before the cut-off time and can be affected by weekends and bank holidays. The delivery time is also based on the point at which your order is approved by a prescriber. Therefore you may sometimes need to factor in extra time to allow for a clinical decision to be made.

Our services are only available for those in the United Kingdom. This is because there are strict laws regarding prescription medicines and we are not able to operate outside of the UK.

Yes, you are able to add additional shipping addresses to your account which you can then select at the checkout. However, your main address must match the address on your card and it will be your main address used in the identity checks in the background.

 
Most of our orders will fit through your letterbox, so no signature is required. 
 

Because we acknowledge the importance of privacy when it comes to your health, we pride ourselves on offering a discreet service. All of our orders are sent out in bags that are unbranded and unmarked, bearing no clues as to their contents or who they are from.

Unfortunately, the shipping address cannot be amended after your order has already been placed. We encourage you to double-check all details before finalising your order.

Yes. By logging in to your account, you are able to track your parcel once it's left the pharmacy and can see when it's due for delivery.

Payment

We accept most major payment methods including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. However, you must use a card that is registered within the UK.

No, the payment card used must belong to the person ordering the medication. This is to increase the security in our system and make sure that medications only ever go to the person it is intended for. It's also because we run identity checks in the background and a non-matching name between your account and your payment card will result in a fail and an automatic rejection of your order.

We do not accept payment over the phone and all orders must be placed online. Our phone number is designed for customer service purposes only and is not an option for placing an order.

There are a number of reasons that your card might decline. The first possibility is that you entered the details wrong, in which case please check carefully and try again. Another possibility is that you do not have the funds available, in which case you will need to check your bank account and contact your bank directly if you believe the funds should be there. It could also be because you are attempting to use a card that is registered under someone else's name. In order for your order to go through, you must always use one of your own cards and make sure the name matches the one on your account. If you have tried all of these things and still cannot successfully place an order then either contact ourselves or your bank.

On your bank statement, your payment will be reflected as UK Meds or ukmeds.co.uk.

When you put your repeat order through, we take a pre-authorised payment to capture the funds and then only take them once the order has been approved. If your order is not approved then the pre-authorised funds will simply be released and will return to your available balance within 3-5 working days. Please note that because it's a cancelled payment, not a refund, it will not appear as a transaction on your bank statement. If you have filled in a consultation for a medication you have not had from us before, then no payment will be taken until your consultation has been approved and you have selected your chosen treatment.

Returns

The return time generally depends on how you send them back and what service you use. If you are returning by courier then DPD will normally return within a week, while Royal Mail can take up to 18 days. Please bear in mind that not all orders are eligible to be returned and you should check our returns policy before attempting to send anything back to us.

Once returned to sender, please advise our customer service team (by phone, live chat or email) about whether you require a refund or a re-send, and the reason for returning.

Once we have received and processed your returned order (which can take up to 2 weeks), it can take 3-5 working days for you to receive a refund. The amount of time can vary and is dependent on your bank.

To keep our patients safe, we cannot accept returns of any opened orders and especially not partially used ones. If you are unhappy with a medication then you can get in touch with us and we may be able to recommend a suitable alternative for you to order next time.

Complaints

You can make a complaint by emailing us at [email protected]. Please try to provide as much information about your complaint as possible in your email, so that we can hopefully resolve it as quickly as possible for you.

Placing an order

A prescription is not required when using our service as you will be issued a private prescription from a pharmacist independent prescriber regulated by the GPhC. If your consultation is approved by the partner prescriber, we will automatically send this over to the pharmacy to process.

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept any existing prescriptions from the NHS or another private company. However, the price of our prescription service is included in the price you see for the medication so it will cost you no extra to get a prescription using our service. Simply proceed through the consultation process to have your request looked at by an independent prescriber.

When placing your consultation, you will be given the option to include your GP practices information and asked whether or not we have permission to contact them. We strongly recommend that you speak to your GP about medical conditions you have or any medications you are taking. However, we respect our patients' confidentiality and in line with GDPR legislation, we will not contact your GP without permission.

All medical information and patient accounts are confidential and can only be accessed by UK Meds Direct Ltd, the independent prescribers and the dispensing pharmacy. We treat your privacy and security with the utmost of importance and do not share your data with any other third parties. You can find out more by reading our privacy policy.

On a weekday, we are able to offer next day delivery on all orders placed before 3pm on weekdays. Please be aware that this refers to the moment which you pay for your approved treatment, not from the moment you first place your consultation.

Our website is specially designed to be user-friendly and to take any confusion or difficulty out of the process. You can search our treatments by category, by A-Z or by using the search function and then you can begin the consultation process. This entails filling out some general health questions and personal information and, a set of questions about the specific ailment. This process should take around 10 minutes and your consultation will then be passed to an independent prescriber.

A prescriber should look at your consultation within a few hours and may get in contact with you if they have any further questions before being happy to prescribe any medication. In circumstances where a prescriber is not happy with your consultation then it could take slightly longer, because it could then be referred to the clinical lead. For this reason, you will need to factor in this time when placing your consultation and should generally allow for an extra 24 hours (although this can take up to 72 hours on rare occasions).

Delays with your order may occur due to a number of reasons, such as your consultation being referred to the clinical lead, our system requiring an identity check from you or delays with the shipping service. Please check your order status within your account and feel free to contact our team if you require further information.

This tells you what stage your order is at. A 'review' status means that your consultation is being looked at by a prescriber. A 'Label Created' status means your order has been approved and sent to the pharmacy. A 'Complete' status means that your order has successfully left the pharmacy and is on its way to you, using your chosen delivery method. You can then use the tracking tool to find out how close your order is, before the status is then classed as delivered and complete.

If you'd like to cancel your order for any reason then please get in touch with our customer service team for assistance (phone is probably best). Please note that cancellations over the weekend may not be possible and you will not be able to cancel your order once it reaches the 'dispensing' status.

How it works

Our service is a convenient and safe way to have medication delivered to your address when you are otherwise unable to go out and get it. Our prices are inclusive of the prescriber and pharamcy costs, so you will fill out a set of questions to be looked at by a prescriber, the prescription will be processed in the pharmacy and then shipped to you using your chosen delivery method. You can read a more comprehensive version of how our service works here.

Yes. To ensure that medications only ever make it to the right person, we run soft identity checks in the background using a company called Yoti. If you fail these initial checks then you may be asked to provide additional information.

Yoti is a digital identity verification platform that allows individuals and businesses to securely prove their identities online or in-person. Yoti enables individuals to create a digital identity using their biometric data such as a facial scan or fingerprint, which can be used to verify their identity for various purposes such as age verification and online identity verification.

In this instance, do not worry. This does not mean your order will not go through successfully, it just means that Yoti weren't able to verify you upon doing the initial checks. You will receive emails from Yoti with instructions as to what documents they require, as well as how to complete this process online. Once you've done this, your order will continue through our process as normal.

Our prescribers are all GPhC registered pharmacist independent prescribers that will check your questionnaire and medical information in a timely fashion and make a decision about whether the medication you are requesting is suitable or not. All prescriber decisions are final and will not be overridden or challenged.

If our prescribers feel that they would like to discuss any further points about the medical information provided then they will be in contact with you before approving or refusing the order. However, if they have decided that the order is not appropriate then you will be unable to get in contact with them to try and challenge their decision. Your reason for refusal should be emailed to you upon the decision being made and all staff at UK Meds will treat that decision as final.

Our partner pharmacies are all regulated with the GPhC. Not only are our medications legitimate but they are also purchased from exactly the same suppliers as your high street pharmacy and we stock a number of leading brands.

We treat the safety of our patients with the utmost of importance and it is our number one priority. When you create an account and place your first order, we run an identity check in the background to verify that you are who you say you are. If this background identity check fails, then you may be asked by our third-party provider, Yoti, to send additional information to help to verify your account. If you either don't do this or fail on the additional checks then your order will be cancelled and the pre-authorised payment for your order will be released. We will also cancel any orders for people who we suspect are abusing the service and we find multiple accounts with duplicate information being set-up then we will disable all accounts held. If you suspect that someone you know is abusing our service then you able to give an anonymous tip-off by clicking here.

If you experience any side effects or require any medical attention then you should contact a doctor or emergency service (depending on the severity). Our telephone number is for the purpose of customer service only and should not be used or relied upon in the event of needing medical attention.

You can see who issued the prescription by visiting your account area and viewing an order. This will list the name, registration number and location of the prescriber. You can find a full list of our prescribers here.