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

Shadow26

Went on the London Eye last week. Reduced price of £15 if registered disabled and can take carer for free.

oldbaldwiser

kevanf1 wrote: »

Blue Badge holders can get 'free' travel on the M6 Toll but they have to first apply for a special pass costing a one off 'admin' fee of £15. It's up to the individual if you think it is worthwhile spending that £15. I only live about a mile from the Toll end junction 11a and have never used the road.

We had this offer when we lived in Coventry and regularly had to travel up to the North West it was a godsend only problem They insist on you nominating a vehicle and its registration and will not deviate unless you change the vehicle reg with them which costs £15 every time you change I still feel that this should be available to the Badgeholder present in any vehicle as it is for most of the Bridge Tolls and normal parking

savingsusie

Swindon Library service offer concessions to some disabled people - you have to be eligible for their 'housebound service' (even if you don't actually use it), they will mark your library account as such and you will not receive fines for overdue items and can take out the Audio books at no charge. You can also hire the budget priced dvd's and cd's at no charge. I use North Swindon Library and the staff are great, always helpful.

shinysheena wrote: »

I am neither blind or in a wheelchair and have (and use often) a Disabled Person's Railcard to travel alone, due to the reciept of middle rate-care DLA. I wasn't aware of an entitlement to DLA until a free benefits lawyer at the Wiltshire Law Centre informed me. He filled out the 40-page form on my behalf and both he and my therapist said they would reject it initially. That came to pass, yet on a letter of appeal written by the lawyer, it was awarded. tricky benefit to get, sure I wouldn't have succeeded alone.

A 3-year card cost £48 and has more than paid for itself. It opens doors in recieving conscessions as a form of proof of disability. (although why should we have to 'prove' disability?) Haven't been challenged (my disablities aren't physical) and it seems most people are too embarrassed to - especially when they can't tell out of me and my companion who is meant to be disabled!

A bonus when travelling in London, is the discount on underground travel, and your companion can travel on a £2 child's travel card.
"Better still, Railcard holders can save even more. If you hold a Disabled Persons Railcard, you can get an Oyster card and have the Railcard discount entitlement loaded on to it. You can then use Oyster Pay-As-You-Go at adult-rate, but your Off-Peak Oyster daily price cap will be 34 per cent lower than the equivalent adult-rate cap."

It's been fun finding exploring the discounts - Alton Towers was awesome: we each paid £15.20 for a disabled/carer ticket and I only needed to flash the railcard to obtain the wristbands that fast-tracked us onto all rides. It felt great!
London Galleries (tate etc) with ticketed shows offer discounted disabled/free carer
All London attractions
as do Bristol attractions.. @bristol, bristol zoo etc

Glastonbury festival has special disabled camping, viewing platforms and loos plus a PA scheme where you carer goes FREE

My town of Swindon offers a conscessionary bus pass (2 travel free) and something called a supporter's Swindon card which offers discounted disabled/free carer- for all the borough's facilities inc. swimming, ice-skating,mini golf, theatre... have saved a fortune and it gets us out more

great thread

savingsusie

Rapido wrote: »

I have just discovered your website and am amazed at what I've learned already, thank you to all concerned. Now I have a question, I have been told by my local council, Kirklees in West Yorkshire, that the willow trees in my garden, which overhang the public highway, need lopping back. As a disabled pensioner I cannot do the job myself, I certainly can't afford tree surgeon prices, and the council won't help either. As anyone any suggestions as to whom I could contact for the job doing at a reasonable rate, or better still FREE! I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you in anticipation.

First I suggest you talk to the Council as many have schemes to help disabled or elderly people to do gardening or maintenance. If they cannot help look for a 'Care and Repair' scheme in your area, you may find them in phone directory, website or via local Age Concern, Royal British Legion services or other such organisations. Good Luck

hkminca

Buckingham Palace do a Royal Day out ticket which gives entry to the Palace, Queens Gallery and Royal Mews. Carer goes free, you can pre-book a wheelchair and the best bit - free parking INSIDE Buckingham Palace. This means your carer/guests get to walk up/down the main staircase entrance the Queen uses (the same one you always see on TV) and it's even got a red carpet!!

The audio tour is fantastic and adapted for wheelchair users, you get a seperate shop too and the staff are so helpful. You can take the wheelchair from location to location, or use your own scooter between each one as we did, then go back to the Palace and pick your car up afterwards. Highly recommend it for a day out.

Premier Inn London Southwark (Tate Modern) also have 1 free disabled parking place available if you ask. Given the cost of London parking this saved us loads. But be warned, it's controlled by the university accommodation office next door and you can't access your car after 10pm at night and before 10 am (at least not on a Saturday, might be earlier during the week).

jpieter

Hi all
I dont know if it has been mentioned on here before, but you can get a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE on tickets for THE O2 arena at greenwich, london. I have been doing this for years. I go with my girlfriend and 2 carers or friends who act as carers, as both of us are in wheelchairs we take the 2 carers for free.

I have just booked 4 tickets for the O2 indigo theatre with places right near the front in a dedicated wheelchair area.
They have just recently started wheelchair climbs OVER the O2 arena, which I am going to book up.
http://www.theo2.co.uk/upattheo2

portlandboy

I've mentioned it before, but it may be worth saying again. If you are considering using your mobility component of the DLA to get a car on the Motability scheme, do some maths first.
I worked out that most Motability cars will cost about £200 a month, which is about £7200 (plus any initial down payment, depending on the make/model) for the 3 year term. At the end of the term the car goes back to Motability and you start again.
Yet I bought a nearly new (demonstrator) from a dealer, got a discount because it was "used" and then got the VAT back as I needed to carry my wheelchair in the car. Total VAT back and discount was nearly £4000 off the new price of just over £13,000. Three years on, the car is mine and is worth about £6000, so if I sell it now, it has only cost about £3000 over the 3 years.
VAT can be taken off/reclaimed from the price of a vehicle that is used for a the purpose of transporting a disabled person.

Pippin12

I don't know if it's already been mentioned but Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) operate a scheme for people who use more water because of their disability. This reduces your maximum bill to £250 a year (or if you have a meter and it's less you just pay that).

sunnyone

portlandboy wrote: »

I've mentioned it before, but it may be worth saying again. If you are considering using your mobility component of the DLA to get a car on the Motability scheme, do some maths first.
I worked out that most Motability cars will cost about £200 a month, which is about £7200 (plus any initial down payment, depending on the make/model) for the 3 year term. At the end of the term the car goes back to Motability and you start again.
Yet I bought a nearly new (demonstrator) from a dealer, got a discount because it was "used" and then got the VAT back as I needed to carry my wheelchair in the car. Total VAT back and discount was nearly £4000 off the new price of just over £13,000. Three years on, the car is mine and is worth about £6000, so if I sell it now, it has only cost about £3000 over the 3 years.
VAT can be taken off/reclaimed from the price of a vehicle that is used for a the purpose of transporting a disabled person.

This post has errors, only wheelchair or stretcher users can buy cars with zero rated VAT and you cannot reclaim the VAT, it must be zero rated at the point of sale.

GrahamB

portlandboy wrote: »

........I worked out that most Motability cars will cost about £200 a month, which is about £7200 (plus any initial down payment, depending on the make/model) for the 3 year term. At the end of the term the car goes back to Motability and you start again......

But don't forget that the £200 a month will also include car insurance/all maintenance and servicing/cost of windscreen repair/replacement, and I think it's up to 4 new tyres a year.

In fact, the only additional cost is the fuel!

Plus, you get a new vehicle every 3 years, often the point at which things can start to go wrong/wear out and require replacement .