Mum left distraught after Asda pregnancy kit wrongly gave her positive result three times in ten days
Each time Rebecca Barratt, 31, used the £9.50 kit, other tests showed she was not pregnant
A MUM was distraught after an Asda pregnancy kit wrongly gave a positive result three times in ten days.
Each time Rebecca Barratt, 31, used the £9.50 kit, other home tests and hospital checks showed she was not pregnant.
Rebecca, a designer, said: “We already have a toddler and would have been happy to have another child.
“But there would be health implications with the contraception I’m on so it was also a worry.
"I dread to think how many other women have been devastated by this. Despite my complaints to Asda it’s now four months later and they haven’t given me a proper explanation or a refund.”
Rebecca took the £9.50 digital test – which comes with a promise of 99 per cent accuracy – when her period was late in November.
Receiving a positive result, Rebecca, of Hyde, Gtr Manchester, double checked with a First Response test, which came back negative.
Left unsure, Rebecca was referred to the early pregnancy unit at Tameside Hospital, where a blood test showed her HCG levels – a hormone that spikes during pregnancy – to be very low, meaning she couldn’t be pregnant.
When Rebecca’s period still hadn’t arrived a week later, Rebecca did another Asda test, which came back positive. A follow-up Clear Blue test was negative.
Just to make sure, she carried out a third Asda test the following day, and again it was positive.
Concerned the hospital may have got it wrong, she returned to the unit, where a blood test and scan confirmed she was not – and never had been – pregnant.
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She added: “The Asda test instructions say they pick up HCG levels of 10mIU/ml or above, but my result was three, so I never should have had a positive result. This caused me a lot of worries and health concerns.”
Rebecca complained to Asda and waited weeks for a response, which came in a letter seen by the M.E.N. denying any fault and suggesting "the health of the user and the way the kits are used" could impact the result.
Rebecca replied with a raft of questions on January 24, but is yet to receive a reply.
Online reviews on Asda’s website support Rebecca’s claims, with 13 users marking it an average one-and-a-half stars out of five. All but one complained of false positive results.
An Asda spokesman said: “We’re truly sorry for this situation and understand how upsetting it will have been for Ms Barratt.
“We want our customers to trust our products and we are currently investigating with our supplier to find out what has happened.
“Our customer service team will continue to keep in touch with Ms Barratt throughout the investigation.”