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

sunfleur

Yes you were definitely told wrong as we also got a carer in free at Warwick Castle which is also in the Merlin Group. If I am planning a holiday and I know roughly which of the bigger places we will be visiting I always ring and double check. If someone says no I will ask to speak to the boss!



like many others i always ask, tho when i asked merlin i was told i culdnt get a free carers ticket so paid full tesco voucher price for us all, now seems i was told wrong so bear in mind it always pays to double check!!

thanks everyone look forward to hearing more[/QUOTE]

shykins

GRRRR :mad: thought so, cost me £37.50 in tescos vouchers i could have used elsewhere... oh well u live and learn i suppose

sunfleur

I keep thinking of more and more places we have been to! We visited the Royal Yaught Britannia in Edinburgh and Carer goes free there too and the Scottish Bird Sanctury. Also Woburn Abbey Safari Park, Twycross Zoo, Lake District Safari Park - not sure about Edinburgh Zoo I seem to think that we had to pay with Tesco vouchers there - not sure though.:rotfl:

sunfleur wrote: »

What a great thread! My daughter is autistic and we could be at a place for five minutes or five hours depending on her mood! When I first learned about carers going free into places it was so embarassing to ask as she is high functioning and looks and acts 'normal' most of the time so people look at you as if you are not telling the truth. However, now I am not embarassed to ask - there has only ever been one place in five years that don't do some sort of concession and that was a private stately home - other private stately homes also offer concessions. Sometimes the child will also go free or get a concession but mostly I find that the carer goes free so for us we pay for one child and one adult and one adult goes free. It really helps my child get a lot of enjoyment visiting places of interest as she soaks everything up. She does tend to flit to this or that quite quickly but with there being two of us with her one of us can have a leisurely stroll around while the other looks after our daughter and vice-versa.

Places we have had a carer get in free are: Hampton Court Palace, Legoland (plus exit pass), Tower of London, National Trust (I and daughter are members and dh uses the extra carers pass for the year), lots of other places in London. Also The Sage, Gateshead for a concert, Seven Stories (book place for children in Newcastle), Wetland Wildfowl Centres - it's a good idea to buy children's yearly passes to places like the last two I mention here as it is way cheaper to get these for them then one parent/carer will always go free and you only have to find the entrance fee for the second adult that is if you visit a particular place alot like we do. Also Centre for Life Museum in Newcastle.

Really there are too many places to mention but I just ask - I'm not embarassed if they say no. In the Summer I generally have my carers letter or my daughters DLA form (copies) with me or a letter that her Paediatrician gave us but hardly anyone ever asks to see them. They usually realise once they talk to my daughter and by the way she flaps her arms about that she is different to other children. Once they know that your child has a disability most places are usually soooo helpful too.

Another great place we went that was well worth it was Portsmouth Historic Dock, Portsmouth and Hartlepool Historic Marina (Hartlepool) carers went free at both places.

I don't shop that much at Tesco now so don't collect lots of vouchers but we also used a lot of these over the past five years on days out and we ended up paying for one adult and one child with those and one adult going free as the carer. We have been to so many places for so little it has been amazing.

sunfleur

Sorry you were told wrong there shyskins. Depending on disability you can also get an 'exit' pass for Legoland too. We had to show DLA to get carer in at the ticket office and then we went inside the gates to the right where the Customer Services are and showed a letter saying from the Pead saying that my daughter was autistic and could not stand in queues then the three of us had our hands stamped. We could then go on any ride that my daughter went on from the exit point. You just go to the exit of the ride show your hand stamps to the person running the ride and you get to go on straight away. We did get some bad looks from some of those who had waited half the day for the ride but after a while you get a thick skin to that as I just tell myself they ought to live with autism for a week then they would know the difference! It made such a lot of difference to my daughters enjoyment of legoland I can't tell you. There was no stress involved and we just let her go on anything she wanted (that her height was eligible for) so she was in charge of the day. I think this is only for certain disabilities and I can't tell you which ones but I do know Autism is one of them.

shykins wrote: »

GRRRR :mad: thought so, cost me £37.50 in tescos vouchers i could have used elsewhere... oh well u live and learn i suppose

thermalaudio

JayWalker wrote: »

Well, there's the disabled person's railcard. You have to buy it, but you then get discounted travel for TWO PEOPLE for the duration of the railcard.

Clear info and application form here: http://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/buying-your-railcard

- and there's lots of assistance available when you travel, all free of charge.

Not all Disabled people can actually get a Disabled Railcard though which is a bit of a con, to get one as quoted by the Railcard Team in Newcastle, you must be either Blind or a Wheelchair user.

Personally i think thats pretty ridiculous, I hold a Disabled National Concessionary pass, but have been turned down 3 consecutive times by the disability railcard team despite sending as much photocopied proof as I can possibly give them, they still demand a letter from 'my social worker' well I'm sorry but just because i'm disabled doesnt mean i need nor have a social worker.

Perhaps MSE can look into this?

East Coast just refunded me £25.00 that I was forced to pay to sit in First Class for a London to Leeds journey because their onboard team were too lazy to move some chavs from disabled seating.

leathersofa

SCOTLAND - we live in Edinburgh and my son who is 19 has severe autism and severe LD. We have found that just about any facility that is run by the council, any council, will give concessions at least and free entry at best if we show a photocopy of his DLA letter - and I fold it over so that the person behind the grille just sees the bit about his 'high care, low mobility' award, not the actual amounts.

At Deep Sea World at South Queensferry, near Edinburgh, we generally have to insist (nicely!)because they seem to have quite a few temporary staff. But we always get the concession.

The CEA cinema card is a godsend - we use it regularly and I have never, repeat never, had it refused. Cineworld, Vue, Odeon are the main ones we go to and they all accept it no problem at all in every branch I've ever been to. I'm not sure they'd recognise it in arthouse cinemas but as my son likes things like Die Hard and Fast and Furious it's never been an issue!

Basically, I'd agree with others that it never does any harm to ask. The worst they can do is say no.

cripcrones

Many places - eg theatres, cinemas, museums, will have either a discount or a free place for anyone giving assistance to a disabled person. This is especially important if disabled people employ their own personal assistants.

Sometimes these concessions are not advertised - so always ask.

The National Trust will always give free entry to an assistant for a disabled person, if this is required. If the disabled person is a member, they can request a card that confirms that any person assisting them can have free entry. They also we provide a free access guide to all of their proerties.

Also, check out English Heritage for similar arrangements.

leathersofa

thermalaudio - in your situation what I would do is to phone the local social work department and ask for the duty social worker. We don't have a regular SW any more either even though my son is severely disabled; we just use the duty SW on the rare occasions we need input from them and I'm sure they would have the authority to tick the box that's needed without you having to get into the system. I keep coming up against the box-ticking thing when we get forms that need a doctor's signature; my son is not ill and rarely sees a doctor, and our GP barely knows him, but oh no, when he was at school the signature of the headteacher of his local authority special school who saw him every day and knew all about him wouldn't do, and now the boss of his day service won't do either, it has to be some doctor who doesn't know him. Infuriating.

Erinath

portlandboy wrote: »

I'm not sure what "extra" help you get when travelling with a Disabled Persons Railcard but it is the same price (£26) as a "Family Railcard" which allows up to 4 children and 2 adults to travel at a dicounted rate. If you have a disabled person travelling with the family this option could work out cheaper still and the staff will still provde the same assistance if you inform them of your journey.

According to the website the disabled persons railcard is only £18 per year, but it's definitely worth checking which one ends up saving the most money.

HappySad

janaltus wrote: »

There is a definitive guide on not just discounts for us disabled people but also incentives and benefits, produced by RADAR called: "If only I'd known that a year ago ... 2010" and it costs £14.99. It has probably saved me thousands of pounds over the years and yes, I wish I'd bought it years before I actually did! :j

I'm not sure if I can paste about it but I'll try ...

If Only I'd Known That a Year Ago

Subtitled 'A guide for newly disabled people, their families and friends', this book provides an introduction to relevant services, rights and facilities. Covering areas such as accommodation, aids and equipment, education and employment, discrimination, health and social services, transport, sport and leisure, benefits and personal relationships, it gives all the information needed to 'start the ball rolling' and the signposts to gain more detailed knowledge as required.

Also, invaluable for some of us, the National Key Scheme for accessible toilets. [Note for those that don't yet know: disabled toilets are toilets with broken bowls, missing toilet seats, no chain or door lock and half a dozen toilet rolls preventing it from being flushed, hence, the toilet is disabled!!! Accessible toilets are the ones that have been built or adapted so that disabled people can get access into them and to use them. Funnily enough they are not, as a lot of non-disabled people seem to think, provided for them to have prolonged sex sessions in!]. The keys also fit a lot of these new self-cleaning street toilets that put the fear of God in me every time I use one; worried that I'm taking too long and will get flushed away! :rotfl: The cost of a key about £3.50 and can pay for itself within a short time (pun intended).

National Trust (England) has an admission policy for disabled people which admits the "necessary companion" or personal assistant of a disabled visitor free of charge, on request, while the normal membership, or admission fee, applies to the disabled visitor. To save having to ‘request’ a companion's free entry each time you go, you can apply for an 'Admit One' card to be issued. There's no charge for the card, it is in your name but it takes quite a long time to arrive so book early! Maybe take a deep breath before checking out their website; the text is archaic and a bit patronising! :eek:

I guess the definitive guide to discounts and benefits for disabled people attending the arts, ballet, opera, theatre and concerts (in London) is the Artsline. It promotes access for disabled people to arts and entertainment venues, promoting the clear message that access equals inclusion. It has a massive online data base of venues and events but this covers mainly Greater London with, sadly, no coverage of the rest of the UK. In it you can find details of how to get on to the Access List of the Royal Opera House, Barbican, Royal Albert Hall, etc. and get mega-discounts. Warning: in some cases the venues claim that discounts only apply to recipients of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or the Blue Badge and not to all disabled people, but I believe this is unlawful and probably should be challenged.

As you probably know, under 16s and over 60s get to swim free in many boroughs, and in some enlightened boroughs, disabled people are also encouraged to swim, either with free swimming or major concessions. I'd be grateful if everyone and anyone would post where their borough is, and whether swimming is free for disabled people or concessionary (and, if you know, how much). Many thanks in advance!

WOW...... I am ordering this book from my library. As a disabled person you just stumble upon things likes benefits, discounts and offers. I should have been getting DLA for years but only found out about it in my 30's.

I just found out about Council Tax excemption for disabled people. You can get upto 100 percent off your council tax bill depending on how many others live with your. One your own then 100 percent. Living with 3 others then get 25 percent. I would out from my Manic Depression Fellowship newletter that I read a few month ago. I am applying for this now.

I also found out last year that I can get discount or free entry for my partner as a carer. Many times I am new anxious to travel to kids farms and other events .. so my partner has to come with me and the kids. Now we can afford it more as he can sometimes go in for free!!!! As a mentally disabled person I have had one person think I was to con the system. .. I was so angery. I try to keep my illness as private as possible and don't want other seeing me get all worried, destressed etc. So when people see I am getting in as a disabled person they think "What is wrong with her???!!"