Great 'What discounts can I get when I'm disabled' Hunt

1955jmgs

We should all know now that a car is VAt free for wheel chair users (including those that because of their condition i.e MS may need a chair sometimes) but don't forget that all repairs and replacements are VAT free as well. Tax Disc is also foc.
In Spain the reduced rate VAT (IVA) @12% and the matriculation (Car Tax) of up to 12% is dependant on assessment and is at two levels, 33% to 65% disability = Reduced VAT
66% + = Reduced VAT + matriculation.
(should include the 'unable to use public transport statement)
Local Road Fund is Exempt also.

Saving €7k + €3k discount on a petrol automatic Ford Kuga =€25K £20.8k approx

It is all based on the magical 'Certificado de Minusvalidez' (Handicap Certificate), applications obtainable from your local gov office - takes up to 6 months for the assessment.
Protection over 66% extends to private health care where premiums must be equal to a normal person and rises are limited to accross the board ones (Thank you Mapfre Insurance)
Showing your 'certificado' at your local 'concello' will allow you to get a spanish 'blue badge' valid for 10 years.:j

Hannah_10

The terms and conditions on all of these vary a lot so I haven't written them all out, see the links for more information.

For Residents of Cornwall

This is the page for a disabled persons bus pass for people resident in Cornwall: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4466
This is the page about disabled peoples parking permits for residents in Cornwall: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4109
I couldn't find a page but I know if you are in reciept of disbility benefits that you get concessionary fees at the Libraries in Cornwall and you qualify for an hour of free interenet access a day, not the usual 30 minutes- ask in the library, usually signs are up.
And the Cornwall Council run leisure centres and pools only offer a discount with a pass obtained via a doctors letter recommending excercise and then they only offer it against the pool and the gym, not other sports. The pass lasts 12 months.

For Residents of and Visitors to Cornwall

Flambards theme park has a discounted Disabled Person & Carer ticket for £25, rather than the usual £39 for 2 adults or £32 for a child and adult: http://www.flambards.co.uk/prices.html
The Eden Project admit a carer free and also have free powered wheelchairs for visitors to borrow to access the massive and hilly site: http://www.edenproject.com/come-and-visit/tickets-and-prices/index.php
The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth admit a carer free and have wheelchairs for visitors: http://www.national-aquarium.co.uk/ticket-prices
Paradise Park have a slightly lower disabled persons admission fee: http://www.paradisepark.org.uk/visitorinfo/prices.htm
Bodmin Jail also have a lower dsiabled persons admission fee: http://www.bodminjail.org.php5-2.dfw1-1.websitetestlink.com/visit/

I'll be back if I think of any more.

WordsWorth

isualive wrote: »

I was recently given a driving grant. I can 45 lessons with BSM, 2 cracks at the theory & 2 cracks at the pratical test. I am now 8 lessons in!

I'd LOVE that! Where do I contact??:j:j:j

kingfisherblue

The driving grant is probably through the Family Fund. To apply, you must be the parents or primary carer of a child with disabilities and have an annual income of up to £25,000 a year. From April 1st,2010, this includes benefit payments.

The applications can take up to four months if you use a paper application. Online applications are much quicker, but you are limited to applying for certain items. First applications are always on paper and you may receive a visit from a Family Fund representative. Some applications are turned down because the child is not disabled severely enough to qualify.

Barnabysue

Originally Posted by shykins
ooh just thought of another thing i was told. If u are going on the eurotunnel u get upgraded to first class and get the associated drinks/food etc if u are in a wheelchair but still only pay the basic price. Havent tried this but was told by a friend who is in a wheelchair

Sorry but this is not true, whoever told you that may have meant Eurostar, I wouldn't know about them but I work for Eurotunnel and this just does not happen. People pay a high supplement to travel FlexiPlus, we don't just give that away.

dealchaser

adoreholidays wrote: »

This is infuriating that people being told wrong about merlin annual pass. We have for years always bought merlin annual pass with tesco vouchers. Then 3 seasons back we were about to renew our passes so as we go on to the merlin annual passholder site for info I noticed mention of disabled and free carers pass which we are now into our third season with so not sure how long they have being doing it but atleast that long. I am so glad they do now do this I remember an incident at thorpe park when my son was abt 6 when things would get stressful he wld run and hide this happened on one visit we had only got there it was abt 1030 I was with my sister and her 2 boys he had hidden in some trees and bushes we had all the staff looking for him and didn't find him untill 2pm by a member of staff he had stayed there all that time then we just left as it had been all so stressful and day ruined for everyone. Atleast with annual passes you are not paying entry every time you go in case this happens again. He became ace at hiding especially in school they would spend hours trying to find him before he was statemented behind pianos in dark corners under stairs in cupboards because he was very thin and small he was quite a challenge to them

Do you know if you can use clubcard vouchers to buy a disabled ticket with a free carere pass? Thanks

mysterons

Oh dear free disabled driving lessons from BSM, I remember it well even though it was over 10 years ago now. Our son (cerebral palsy sufferer) got a grant through Scope for 35 lessons when he was just 16 to start learning and only BSM were able to provide a car with hand controls at the time.
The entire experience was less than stellar, firstly they allowed him to drive the car without properly checking his licence. You can drive a car at 16 if severely disabled but DVLA mistakenly sent him a motorcycle provisional instead of one for a car. BSM let him drive round for weeks with inappropriate licence and consequentially no insurance and the mistake was only discovered when he put in for the car theory.
Having sorted that out they then made sure they used up every single one of the lessons paid for before allowing him to take the practical test. The night before his test the BSM car that he'd been learning in was written off by the instructor resulting in him being presented with a car he'd never driven and with a different set of hand controls to attemp the test in. He failed of course.
With the grant from Scope used up we managed to beg another half dozen lessons paid for by the Family Fund. At this point BSM (having dispensed with the services of his previous instructor) decided they were'nt prepared to come to our home town to teach our son anymore and that we'd have to travel 40 miles away to meet their instructor and he'd have to learn in a very busy city that he didn't know. One of the tricks to passing the test is knowing where the pitfalls are likely to be encountered on the test route. With no knowledge of the new area and no time to learn the local catchouts he failed again.
Eventually we bit the bullet and borrowed some money to buy his own car with hand controls and managed to persuade a local instructor to sit with him in his own vehicle to teach. He only had 4 lessons that way and 2 of them were used on the practical test which he passed no problem. He's driven daily for the last 11 or so years with no incidents.
In my opinion BSM just wanted to grab every penny of the grant before putting him in for the practical test.

shykins

barnaby sorry u are right it was eurostar not eurotunnel. my apologies for the confusion

KeithP

coolbadmo wrote: »

Diasabled railcards as someone else has mentioned gives you a discount. You could always call up the train companies as well to book assistance in advance if you need any kind of assitance that includes wheelchair as well as luggage.

For Eastcoast the number is 08457 225 225 (select option 2 and then 5) textphone is 08451202 067.

Trainline seems to be a popular site to book cheap tickets

FAQ is how come there isn't any one place that you can find ticket types and restrictions that covers all the train stations and after doing a lot of research I came across this site and it seems to be the only 1 that covers that subject.

alltrainstickettypes.co.uk

Coolbadmo, you forgot to mention that we will not know exactly what we are getting from that website until we have sent [STRIKE]you[/STRIKE] the site owner £30.00.

Isn't £30.00 a bit steep just for a list of train ticket types?

You can travel from London to Newcastle for less than £30.00.

adoreholidays

dealchaser wrote: »

Do you know if you can use clubcard vouchers to buy a disabled ticket with a free carere pass? Thanks

Hi I asked when we renowed this year at london eye and were told no we couldn't use tesco clubcard vouchers but we had an offer from london dungeons renewal for £75 for disabled pass and a carers pass and then my husband used the tesco voucher for his. so that was a good offer unfortunately we sent of the tesco vouchers for the deal before they advertised the £75 renewal otherwise we wld have done that instead of using the tesco vouchers for my husbands as well and used them instead for restuarant vouchers. POST 213 mentioned they were able to use tesco vouchers with a carers free pass not sure where they renowed thou as their seems to be mixed information at different venues.