Disabled travel pass refused, can i sue?

jetta_wales

toffeecoated wrote: »

It might not be much help on it's own, but it is worth sending as much evidence as possible. GMPTE are being deliberately awkward. They know this person is entitled to a pass but they are hoping to save money by refusing the application. If it was me i would take this case as far as possible.

I agree better to take too much than not enough.

Have you only been aplying by post and phone? Maybe if you go into the council to see them directly then you get more luck face to face? If they still say no then just tell them that, that's fine you'll just straight from there to the local paper instead because that is completely ridiculous and other people should know about it.

The local press is a great idea and you can also write to your local mp too, be it officialy or non they do have the power to kick people in line and sort things like this out.

Indie_Kid

toffeecoated wrote: »

It might not be much help on it's own, but it is worth sending as much evidence as possible. GMPTE are being deliberately awkward. They know this person is entitled to a pass but they are hoping to save money by refusing the application. If it was me i would take this case as far as possible.

But rules are rules. If the rules state that the OP has to apply for a driving licence before they'd give a bus pass, then that's what should happen.

Whilst some LAs are happy to just been given a letter from the GP, some need more evidence. It's like with mine, I just had to tick a box to say that I am known as a disabled person to adult social services. For my bus pass in 2008, all I needed to bring was evidence from the eye hospital.

[Deleted User]

notrams4me wrote: »

When i lived in Newcastle i had a free travel pass due to my medical condition (Epilepsy). I moved to Manchester and applied for a pass but was refused. They said i could appeal but would need supporting evidence from my doctor. According to the rules i qualify as i am unfit to drive. My doctor wrote me a letter confirming this and i expected to receive the pass. Instead i got another refusal saying i would need a letter from the DVLA confirming i had been refused a licence on medical grounds. I contacted the DVLA and they said i will have to apply for a licence and pay a £50 fee. My own doctors opinion apparently counts for nothing as they have their own medical team who will decide if i am fit to drive. If they say i am fit to drive i will receive a useless provisional licence and if they agree i am not fit i will get the letter i need but there is no guarantee that i will get my £50 back. As i am on Incapacity benefit and have just spent all my savings on the move i can't afford to lose £50. I have heard Manchester are well known for refusing perfectly valid claims. So my question is can i sue them or is there somewhere else i can take this as i am getting nowhere with GMPTE.

I live in manchester and get the pass due to my epilepsy,they are perfectly correct in insisting that you apply for a licence and be refused for it before they will issue a pass,and even though it will cost £50 it will save you more in fares probably in the first month as you can use manchester passes on trams and local trains.Luckily i kept the letter i got from the dvla withdrawing my licence and just send gmpte a copy of that every 2 years.
However you can use the pass isssued in newcastle on buses in manchester if its still in date.
You say you are on I/B dont you claim DLA as well??

and NO you cant sue.

[Deleted User]

notrams4me wrote: »

I am on clonazepam. It helps but i still have the occasional seizure which means it would be unsafe for me to drive.

wow youre lucky im on clonazepam epilim and tegratol and still have an average of 3 seizures a weeks plus daily absences

jetta_wales

sh1305 wrote: »

But rules are rules. If the rules state that the OP has to apply for a driving licence before they'd give a bus pass, then that's what should happen.

Whilst some LAs are happy to just been given a letter from the GP, some need more evidence. It's like with mine, I just had to tick a box to say that I am known as a disabled person to adult social services. For my bus pass in 2008, all I needed to bring was evidence from the eye hospital.

Not all rules are right though and a free bus pass should be free and not cost £50 to prove you need especialy when a doctor has already given proof.

Rule or not it is wrong and it's only by standing up for ourselfes and bringing attention to things like this that they can ever be changed.

This is where still having a register can be an advantage to those with hearing and sight disabilities we just give our number they look us up and they give our pass or badge. Having a register of blind and deaf people sounds awefully archaic but it's so much easier.

Tehya

Hi, I live in the Greater Manchester area. Both me and my hubby have the GMPTE bus pass. He got one automatically because of being on higher rate DLA, all he needed was to send a copy of his award along with a photo and the application form.

I also applied in May last year and was awarded a pass because I have Meneire's Disease which causes severe vertigo which isn't controlled properly by my medication. I've never tried to drive or get a license so don't have a letter from the DVLA.

All I sent them was an application form, which they returned with a medical form to fill in asking about my condition and asking for proof of medication and GP's name. I filled the form in and because I didn't have a current prescription I just sent them the label from my box of meds. They didn't even write to my doctor. Two weeks later I got my pass which is for the next two years.

Hope this gives you a bit of hope that you can get a pass without a DVLA letter.

Regards, Tehya

Indie_Kid

woodbine wrote: »

even though it will cost £50 it will save you more in fares

I agree.

What good will suing do?

Tally-Ho_2

Hi,

Although disabled myself, I actually work for a local authority (not in Manchester though) in the department that deals with both Concessionary Travel Passes and Blue Badges.

To the Op - may I point you in the direction of the Department for Transport's Guidance to Local Authorities on assessing eligibility of Disabled People in England for Concessionary Bus Travel. This is the current (2008) version:

Link here:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/concessionary/informationlocalauthorities/guidancedisabled/ancetolocalauthoritieson3561.pdf

As noted in the document this guidance also applies to such as GMPTE and other PTE's in Metropolitan areas (outside London).

In particular, with regard to people applying under Para G of the legislation
:
"(g) would, if he applied for the grant of a licence to drive a motor vehicle under Part III of
the Road Traffic Act 1988, have his application refused pursuant to section 92 of the Act
(physical fitness) otherwise than on the ground of persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol."

These are listed as:

Para 54: Under Section 92 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 the Secretary of State may refuse
to issue a driving licence on the grounds of the applicant's medical fitness. Those who are
currently barred from holding a licence are people with:
i. epilepsy (unless it is of a type which does not pose a danger - see below);
ii. severe mental disorder;
iii liability to sudden attacks of giddiness or fainting (whether as a result of
cardiac disorder or otherwise);
iv. inability to read a registration plate in good light at 20.5 metres (with lenses if
worn);
v. other disabilities which are likely to cause the driving of vehicles by them to
be a source of danger to the public.

Para 56: It is not a condition of entitlement under this category that the disabled person
should apply for and be refused a driving licence (which would be unduly burdensome for
everyone involved). If, for people with any of the disabilities (ii) - (iv) listed above, the local authority can be confident that a licence would be refused it should therefore be able to issue the travel pass automatically. For (i) epilepsy - the bar is not automatic and depends on the circumstances.

57 The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 permit the grant of a
driving licence to a person with epilepsy if that person:
(a) has not had an epileptic attack whilst awake for a year or more; or

(b) has a history of attacks whilst asleep, and only whilst asleep, over the past three
years or more,
…provided that the driving of a vehicle by that person is not likely to cause danger
to the public.

In my local authority, in cases of epilepsy, we do follow Para 56 (in that no application to DVLA is needed) and as the 'bar is not automatic and depends on circumstances' a Doctors letter does suffice.

It may be worth copying the relevant extracts from the DfT document and actually showing it to GMPTE.

Tally

Edit to add: - Although you cannot sue in cases such as this, GMPTE are agents acting both for and on behalf of the relevant local authorities. Thus, there may be a case of maladministration which may be taken, by due process, to the Local Government Ombudsman.

Tally

jetta_wales

Tally-Ho wrote: »

Hi,

Although disabled myself, I actually work for a local authority (not in Manchester though) in the department that deals with both Concessionary Travel Passes and Blue Badges.

Tally

Lol nice one. That really is a brilliant spot of luck to find a person who actualy does the job. Couldn't have gotten a better reply than that.

Homersimpson

I feel that the OP's attitude is typical of whats wrong with this country. You want a free buspass paid for by the state (which given your condition I don't disagree with by the way), they have told you how to apply for it but you don't want to go through all that hassle so want to sue them because for some reason you feel that you should be exempt for the rules that apply to everyone else.