MoneySaving tips for disabled people
MSE_Sarah
Posts: 327 MSE Staff
On average, life can cost a whopping £583 more each month if you're disabled, according to disability charity Scope. So we've rounded up as many tips and tricks for disabled MoneySavers as we can – from knowing your consumer rights and what adjustments firms should make for you, to how to get a free (or cheap) key to accessible toilets or a 'free' cinema ticket for a friend/carer.
Read the full guide: MoneySaving tips for disabled people
Read the full guide: MoneySaving tips for disabled people
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If you use an electric wheelchair, take the charger with you and you can recharge for free in many supermarkets and shopping centres if you ask nicely if you can plug in while you have lunch.A kind word lasts a minute, a skelped erse is sair for a day.0
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In addition to providing a free ticket to a companion, Arsenal disability tickets are also half the normal cost of a ticket. My son is disabled and it means that he is able to attend with my assistance and also makes it a lot more affordable!0
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Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »If you use an electric wheelchair, take the charger with you and you can recharge for free in many supermarkets and shopping centres if you ask nicely if you can plug in while you have lunch.
Really? That's very cool! I shall have to keep it in mind for whenever I'm well enough again to go out for more than a few hours.
If you need a basic powered wheelchair not covered by the NHS but can't afford one new, do your research on different models, decide which would likely be most appropriate for you, then look on eBay. (Make sure you can test it out first before committing to buy though.) Also many mobility companies have sales on ex-demo models or stock clearance - not as cheap as eBay but they are practically new and usually come with the standard warranties.
Ebay is also good for other mobility equipment or daily living aids, but if it's from a business seller make sure they don't charge you VAT.0 -
You can use industrial injuries to get disabled rail card if you don’t claim PIP. Just email them . Same for cinema card.
~Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.~:)
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If you are disabled, or your travelling companion is disabled, do request Special Assistance from your airline when flying. My partner is disabled and walks with crutches: when we arrive at the airport, after check-in at the Special Assistance desk, she has a separate seating area in which to wait. She is collected by wheelchair and taken speedily through security - no queueing. I trot along behind! She is often loaded first onto the plane. She has a free suitcase allowance for medicines etc. She and I have free seat allocations. At the destination airport, she is met and taken to the bus stop, taxi rank etc. All this, free of charge, arranged through Ryanair! They may not be everyone's favourite airline, but they have taken good care of my partner on every journey. Once, when she was not collected promptly from the plane, the captain stayed with us and refused to leave - even though he had another plane to fly. She was his passenger, and his responsibility! Great Irish hospitality!1
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I'm a customer of Southwest Water and my daughter receives PIP and ESA benefits. She also has a skin condition which necessitates her taking regular baths containing a medicinal bath oil.
SouthWest Water run a scheme called 'Water Sure' which means we pay a capped price for our water (it's about £48.00 per month) even though we are on a meter. We applied for it on SWW's website, and it saves us about £500 per year.
I don't know if you have to be in receipt of at least one of these benefits as well as having a skin condition - I think you do need both - but it's worth asking for sure. Thinking on it, I do believe you have to be on a low income (hence the benefits proof) as well as having the skin condition.
To prove the skin condition, we just had to provide a copy of her repeat prescription list which has the medicinal bath oil listed on there.0 -
You can get free prescriptions if you have a disability that denies you being able to leave your own home without the help of another person.
I am a wheelchair user & I am on lots of medication, I always paid for the yearly pre- payment scheme where you pay a fixed amount every month or a 1 off payment so it didn't matter how many items I had on prescription.
After 5 years of paying this way someone told me that I should be entitled to free prescriptions because I could not leave my own home without the help of my carer.
I applied & received a medical exemption card that lasts for 3 years, there after a new one is sent every 3 years............0 -
You can link a Disabled Person's Railcard to an Oyster Card https://www.disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/using-your-railcard/the-benefits/#Oyster%20pay%20as%20you%20go0
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Jan_Tordoff wrote: »You can get free prescriptions if you have a disability that denies you being able to leave your own home without the help of another person.
I am a wheelchair user & I am on lots of medication, I always paid for the yearly pre- payment scheme where you pay a fixed amount every month or a 1 off payment so it didn't matter how many items I had on prescription.
After 5 years of paying this way someone told me that I should be entitled to free prescriptions because I could not leave my own home without the help of my carer.
I applied & received a medical exemption card that lasts for 3 years, there after a new one is sent every 3 years............
Thanks for this - is there a link ?
All that I can see is :
Am I entitled to free prescriptions?
You can get free NHS prescriptions if, at the time the prescription is dispensed, you:- are 60 or over
- are under 16
- are 16 to 18 and in full-time education
- are pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months and have a valid maternity exemption certificate (MatEx)
- have a specified medical condition and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
- have a continuing physical disability that prevents you going out without help from another person and have a valid MedEx
- hold a valid war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disability
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Thanks for this - is there a link ?
All that I can see is :
Am I entitled to free prescriptions?
You can get free NHS prescriptions if, at the time the prescription is dispensed, you:- are 60 or over
- are under 16
- are 16 to 18 and in full-time education
- are pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months and have a valid maternity exemption certificate (MatEx)
- have a specified medical condition and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
- have a continuing physical disability that prevents you going out without help from another person and have a valid MedEx
- hold a valid war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disability
^ that's the relevant bit 0
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