New Yorkers Complain of Waiting More Than a Week for Test Results From Both Companies
Two Letters Follow Similar Letters to LabQ, Labworq, Sameday Health, and ClearMD Health
New York Attorney General Letitia James yesterday issued two warning letters to two companies facilitating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing — EZ Test NY (a Brooklyn-based collection center) and Keep Health Safe (a Fort Lee, New Jersey-based collection center) — for not meeting promised turnaround times for test results. Both companies have testing sites throughout New York City where they are advertising the delivery of results within 24 hours (EZ Test NY) or 48 to 72 hours (Keep Health Safe), yet both companies have made customers wait in excess of seven days for results, with some complaints to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) detailing wait times as long as 11 days. The two letters notify both companies that New York law prohibits false advertising and instructs the companies to immediately update their websites and any signage at test sites to accurately reflect how long individuals can expect to wait before receiving COVID-19 test results.
“Across the city, labs and collection centers continue to make false promises about turnaround times for COVID-19 test results when there is no way for them to actually fulfill those promises,” said Attorney General James. “Both EZ Test NY and Keep Health Safe must immediately stop their false advertising and give New Yorkers realistic turnaround times for COVID-19 test results. Waiting more than 11 days when results were promised in 24 hours is completely unacceptable. We are demanding both companies to immediately update their websites and signage and to notify patients of realistic timelines in which they will receive results. Positivity rates have skyrocketed due to Omicron and holiday gatherings, so any company conducting COVID-19 tests must do so with realistic timeframes. Any New Yorker who continues to see misrepresentations about COVID-19 test turnaround times is encouraged to file a complaint with my office immediately.”
In addition to warning EZ Test NY and Keep Health Safe to update their websites and signage and to instruct their employees to provide accurate information concerning turnaround times, the letters issued by Attorney General James request that both companies contact all of their customers who are currently awaiting COVID-19 test results to let them know when they can realistically expect to receive those results.
Yesterday’s letters follows four separate letters Attorney General James sent last month to LabQ, Labworq, Sameday Health, and ClearMD Health demanding that the companies take similar steps to update their websites and their signage, and to inform consumers about realistic wait times for COVID-19 test results.
Attorney General James asks any consumer who believes a lab or other testing facility is making misleading statements about turnaround times for COVID-19 test results to file a complaint online with the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau or call the office at 1-800-771-7755.
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